Nassau

Located in southern Rensselaer County, Nassau has witnessed great change since its incorporation in 1819. Nassau chronicles how the town transformed itself from an area tied to agriculture and industry to a bedroom community for larger population centers in the Capital Region. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, housing developments were built to accommodate the growing neighborhoods. With those changes came increased traffic, need for larger schools, and business expansion. America's longest highway, Historic Route 20, was carved out of Nassau's historic paths and primitive turnpike. It created more streamlined transportation routes across the entire state. Nassau serves as a visual repository of community values and history to illustrate everyday life and the people that lived it.

Kurt Vincent is a Nassau native with a deep interest in his community's past. As chairman of the Village of Nassau 175th anniversary celebration in 1994, he started collecting historic Nassau photographs and postcards and recording oral histories from many of the area's oldest residents. He is currently chair of the Village Historic Preservation Commission and a member of the Town Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation. Like his father was, he is the musical director of the Nassau Community Band, a group dating back to the Civil War.