Crailo State Historic Site — Attraction in City of Rensselaer

This is an amazing place to visit for anyone who is interested in Colonial history or archaeology. The entire place is devoted to New Netherlands and Dutch colonialism of the area. You get to see archeology from Fort Orange, the first European settlement in the area. In the soil profile you can actually see cobblestones and stones from the moat wall from 1648 at fort orange. This is some of the oldest building works still surviving of fort orange! The building itself is beautifully done with large exhibits in each room (its larger than it looks form the outside). Upstairs there is a mock up of a 17th century Dutch hall and in the basement you can see the stone foundation dating back to around 1660. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, let us take time to read things and take pictures. I also liked how after the tour they let you have the run of the place to examine anything you may have missed. It was also only 5 dollars which is super cheap. The only thing that might be a little bit of a let down for some is that they don't talk a lot about the buildings use as a fort during the 1740s and French and Indian war that much. I didn't have an issue with it since there are a lot of sites in the area (fort William Henry, Fort Ticonderoga) that talk about this period. Learning about the earliest European colonization of the area I found much more interesting and unique for the site. Would...

Crailo today tells the story of the early Dutch inhabitants of the upper Hudson Valley through exhibits highlighting archeological finds from the Albany Fort Orange excavations, special programs, and guided tours of the museum. A few rooms in the house exhibit artifacts from the Dutch settlers of NY state. Two rooms in the house recreate what the house looked when it was being used by the Van Rensselaers. One is a living room of it's day with a very interesting box like bed where people slept upright. The other is the kitchen, which is located in the basement. The tour guide did a very good job at this house and the staff is friendly. For a small museum it does a good showing what life was like for Dutch settlers. The Dutch chairs are also interesting. If necessary the house could also double as a fort. One gunport in seen in the house, in case of an attack on the house. An interesting story told about the site is that Yankee Doodle was most likely written here! In 1758 a surgeon named Dr. Richard Shuckbugh wrote an ode making fun of the New England solders seen in the area. The ode was later put to music and became Yankee Doodle Dandy. Some parts of the house are original, other parts have been remodeled. There is a small gift shop inside. Staff was friendly. Call ahead to see when the best...

Don't let the construction on the outside discourage you. This is a nice little gem that goes unnoticed in the Albany Capital District. Set just across the river in Rensselaer, NY it offers not only a look into the regions past but into the history of the early Dutch settlers. For only $5 the slightly less than one hour tour was fun and interesting. Unfortunately because it is an almost historically correct building there may not be access to all three floors. You should call ahead to be sure you reserve a time slot for a tour and ask about any special needs...