Crailo State Historic Site - Historical place museum in Rensselaer - 9 1/2 Riverside Ave, USA

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 definitely come back!

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. 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 time to come is.

Had an amazing time at the Crailo home this morning. Staff were super friendly and a pleasure to speak with. Our tour guide *forgot his name* was awesome. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and just a great person to chat with about the history or NY, British and most importantly the Dutch.

This is a little known treasure about the first settlers of New Amsterdam and New Netherland. Rachel was a great guide and a plethora of information. I just learned that my paternal and maternal ancestors were original residents of this area. I will go back again soon.

Great visit specially being Dutch. The family meant more to the USA than people realize. They deserve more attention in history.

It is a fun and interesting little museum/tour in the house of a wealthy Dutch family in the colonial times. Being Dutch myself, and being interested in history, it was both interesting and also gave me a familiar feeling. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I think the collection of artifacts should be bigger, and maybe more information about how it was to live there during colonial times, how interactions with native Americans and settlers of other nationalities were, etc.

Great little museum offering insights into the Dutch history in the upper Hudson valley.

Best view of the river across the street at the park. U can see the capital and capture beautiful pictures especially in the evening before park closes. The museum is being renovated outside to keep it to it's glory. And inside is full of amazing things very informative.