Van Rensselaer Manor House

Built in 1765, for Stephen Van Rensselaer II (1742-1769), 8th Patroon & 5th Lord of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck; and, his wife, Catherine Livingston (1745-1810). It was a large brick building, 46-feet deep, with a gambrel roof and pedimented dormer windows. The interior was centered by the great hall. Mr Van Rensselaer died before it was completed, but his widow and her children lived here until their eldest son, Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764-1839), came of age. He served as Lieutenant-Governor of New York and further enlarged the family home, adding octagonal wings in 1820. William Cooper (1754-1809), modelled Otsego Hall on the Van Rensselaer Manor.