History

The boundaries of the Town of Sand Lake, as we know them today, are the result of many divisions and subdivisions down through the years. When Henry Hudson sailed up the river that would bear his name, the land was a wilderness, occupied by a few Indians.

The Manor of Rensselaerwyck was established in 1629, when Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, a wealthy director of the Dutch West India company, received a land grant from the West India Co, to establish a colony. This grant, which was for the establishment of a colony in the new world, included land on both sides of the Hudson River, between Berrent Island on the south and Cohoes on the north. The territory was 24 miles long and 48 miles wide broad, containing about 700,000 acres and constituted a patroonship.

The colony was under dutch control until 1664, when the English took possession, only to lose control in 1672. In 1674, the English again regained control and was the ruling government until the Revolutionary War. Under the English, the area was known as the Province of New York and was a colony of England.