Town of the Week: Stephentown

  |  February 11, 2013

You’ve never heard of Stephentown, have you? That’s okay. We hadn’t, either, until recently, when we went down a rabbit hole during an Internet search of upstate New York real estate. Granted, it’s right on the border of how far north we’re willing to go: Stephentown is located in Rensselaer County, slightly west of the Massachusetts line,  just shy of 3 hours north of NYC. But we found the rural area to be surprisingly juicy, especially if you’re in the market for cheap, lots of land, and gorgeous surroundings. It’s rural, but Albany’s only 20 minutes away, and Pittsfield, MA even closer.

If you’re looking for a place where you can walk around a village, maybe grab a few things from the local market, Stephentown probably isn’t for you. There are a couple of restaurants nearby, but if you want to shop, you’ll need to hop over the border in MA or up to Albany. There is a farm stand in town (closed in the winters) and a public library. And we found ourselves quite interested in the Garfield Cemetery and the Stephentown Historical Society and Heritage Center, located in an old Methodist Episcopal church. Did you know that in 1790, Stephentown was the 9th largest town in the United States? True story.

As we said, there’s lots of land to be had in Stephentown, whether you’re looking for the kind with a house on it or without. Asking prices are extremely reasonable, with most of the goodies in the $200-$350,000 range, as well as some notable properties in the $100,000s. We found historical colonials, mid-century moderns, new construction, and a few other kinds in between. Stephentown might be a bit remote for some, but we think it’s a bit of a hidden gem, and we’re looking forward to exploring it this week.

Town of Stephentown Website

GMAP

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

Read more from Kandy Harris

Read On, Reader...