Rensselaer Lake is an artificial lake in Albany, New York, United States named for Major-General Stephen Van Rensselaer, last patroon of Rensselaerswyck. The lake was Albany's first municipally-owned source of water. It is part of a 57acre park and the state's Albany Pine Bush Preserve. The lake and park have been under the purview of the Albany Water Authority since 2003.HistoryRensselaer Lake is at the headwaters of the Patroon Creek in the western section of the city of Albany. Once the location of several feeder streams that formed the creek, the land was purchased by the city in 1850 and dammed in 1851 as the city's first municipal source of water. The dam was located roughly 6mi from Albany City Hall, lending the lake its original name of the Six Mile Waterworks. Prior to this, the city was served by a private company, the Albany Waterworks Company. The lake fed water to the Bleecker Reservoir where it was used by portions of the city west of Pearl Street to the area around Lark Street. The lake was used as a water supply until 1926, and became a city park under Mayor Erastus Corning II in 1956.
