Poestenkill, New York

For other uses, see Poestenkill, New York (disambiguation).

Poestenkill, New York
Town
Location in Rensselaer County and the state of New York.
Location in Rensselaer County and the state of New York.
Coordinates: 42°41′15″N 73°31′17″W / 42.68750°N 73.52139°W / 42.68750; -73.52139
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyRensselaer
Settled1770
IncorporatedMarch 2, 1848[1]
Government
 • Town SupervisorTom Russell[2]
Area
[3]
 • Total32.57 sq mi (84.37 km2)
 • Land32.35 sq mi (83.80 km2)
 • Water0.22 sq mi (0.57 km2)
Elevation
928 ft (283 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total4,322
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
12140
Area code518
FIPS code36-58805
GNIS feature ID0979380
Websitepoestenkillny.com


Poestenkill is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 4,322 at the 2020 census.[5] The town is southeast of Troy and is centrally located in the county.

The town is named after the Poesten Kill, an important stream in the area.[6] The phrase poesten kil (with only one l) is traditionally said to be Dutch for "foaming water" or "foaming creek".[7][8] While kil is, indeed, Dutch for "water" or "creek", Dutch dictionaries do not support the claim of poest meaning "foam".[9][10] It seems more likely that the creek was named after the nickname Poest for the 17th-century local farmer and miller Jan Barentsen Wemp, who had a pimple (poest) or had difficulty breathing (poesten = to breathe); he owned a farm and a mill on the Poestenkil creek.[11][12]

Among the earliest settlers in the town was Archelaus Lynd. He leased 300 acres of land from the Van Rensselaers and made his first clearing in the area of Hillside Cemetery, which was known as The Lynd Cemetery until about 1900. The Whyland and Ives families were other early settlers.

  1. ^ Sullivan, James; Williams, Melvin E.; Conklin, Edwin P.; Fitzpatrick, Benedict, eds. (1927), "Chapter VI. Rensselaer County.", History of New York State, 1523–1927 (PDF), vol. 2, New York City, Chicago: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., p. 459, hdl:2027/mdp.39015019994048, Wikidata Q114149636
  2. ^ "Town Supervisor". Town of Poestenkill. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  3. ^ "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference USCensusEst2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census results, Poestenkill. https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?searchType=web&cssp=SERP&q=Poestenkill%20town,%20Rensselaer%20County,%20New%20York
  6. ^ Anderson, George Baker (1897). "XXXII". Landmarks of Rensselaer County: Town of Poestenkill. Syracuse NY: D. Mason. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
  7. ^ Munsell, Joel (1852). The Annals of Albany. Volume III. Albany: Joel Munsell. p. 59. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  8. ^ Gobert, T.A.; Cara Manley; Richard Montena (April 25, 2007). "Natural Features of Mount Ida" (PDF). mountidatroy.org. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  9. ^ The obsolete Dutch word poest is retained in at least the dialect of Drenthe and can mean there (see dialect dictionary of Drents (Dutch province language)) 1. pimple (modern Dutch: de puist) 2. breath 3. illness: breathlessness 4. small bridge of which the middle part can be taken out 5. wooden board that can be placed over a stream 6. blowpipe (1m long) for the fireplace. If we may extrapolate these dialect meanings to seventeenth century NY Dutch language, then common sense would suggest meaning 4: Poestenkil = Creek with the little bridge with the movable middle, or 5. Creek with the board. Perhaps there are old pictures of a bridge over the Poestenkil ? Alternatively, there might have been a Dutch settler by the (nick)name of Poest (perhaps with a pimple?), so that the name would mean say "Mr. Pimple's Creek".
  10. ^ Neither does the extensive multivolume Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal WNL give the meaning "froth" or "bubbly" for poest, but is in line with the meanings given above (offers also: cowshed, piece of wood and the verb poesten (blow, brag, kiss, fight, what not! .... online results in Dutch to add to the confusion..).
  11. ^ See "Dutch Colonial Remains America 1600-1800". Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008. and, e.g., http://history.rays-place.com/ny/ren-troy-village-ny.htm on Jan Barentsen Wemp or Wamp.
  12. ^ Wemp or Poest owned a farm and a mill on the creek