Fort Crailo
Encyclopedia
Fort Crailo, also known as Yankee Doodle House or Crailo State Historic Site, is a historic, fortified brick manor house in Rensselaer, New York
Rensselaer, New York
Rensselaer is a city in Rensselaer County, New York, United States, and is located on the Hudson River directly opposite Albany. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,392; in 1920, it was 10,832. The name is from Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original landowner of the region in New...

, United States which was originally part of a large patroon
Patroon
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America...

ship held by Kiliaen van Rensselaer, c. 1585–1643.
Crailo is a Dutch word meaning Crow's Woods (Kraaien bos), and refers to the Rensselaer's Estate in Huizen
Huizen
Huizen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.The name "Huizen" is Dutch for "houses" and this usage has been linked to the belief that the first stone houses in the region appeared here.-History:...

, Holland, also named Crailo.
This property was inherited by Hendrick van Rensselaer
Hendrick van Rensselaer
Hendrick van Rensselaer Born in Watervliet, New York, was the fourth child of Jeremias van Rensselaer. He was the patroon of the "Eastern Manor" or "Greenbush and Claverack Branch" of the Rensselaerwick estates....

, Kilian's grandson, who built the house in approximately 1712. It was expanded in 1762–1768.

At various times, the grounds were used as a campground for British and colonial troops.

It is reportedly the place where, in 1755, British Army surgeon Richard Shuckburgh, quartered in the home, wrote the ditty "Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle
"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...

" to mock the colonial troops who fought with the British in the French and Indian Wars
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...

.
Fort Crailo was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 in 1961.

It is operated by the State of New York as a 17th century historic house museum that focuses on the history of the Dutch colonists in New York state. Exhibits include clothing, furniture, household and decorative items, and archaeological artifacts from "New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...

" historic sites in New York and New Jersey.

Addresses given for the house include 9½ Riverside and 10 Riverside.

External links

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