Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Event, Site

Location

5869 Johnston Rd, Slingerlands, NY 12159, USA

Lat/Long

42.6702038599, -73.891383023397

Grant Recipient

Guilderland Historical Society

The Van Bael Patent, originally spanning between 36,000 and 50,000 acres in the Normanskill Valley west of Albany, was purchased in 1672 from representatives of the Mohawks by Jan Hendrickse van Bael, a trader and magistrate in Albany. The acquisition, confirmed by the English Governor-General just weeks later, took place in the context of a larger land rush, as folks sought to stake claims amid uncertainty surrounding Dutch control of the region. Many feared that the Van Rensselaer family, who had long dominated landownership through their vast manor, might lose their hold as New Netherland transitioned into the English-controlled Province of New York. Seizing the opportunity, Van Bael secured a vast tract of land, but his claim soon became the subject of intense legal disputes that would last for nearly a century.

Van Bael’s death less than a decade later left the patent in the hands of new owners, with Symon Veeder purchasing half in 1681 and Omie Lagrange acquiring the remainder in 1686. Over the next ninety years, their descendants maintained control of the land despite relentless legal challenges from the Van Rensselaers, who continued to assert dominance over the region under English rule. As patroons, the Van Rensselaers exercised near-feudal authority over vast tracts of land, but the Van Bael patent stood as a notable exception—one that they sought to bring under their control through litigation and arbitration. The dispute reflected the broader tensions between independent landowners and the powerful manor system that shaped much of the Hudson Valley’s colonial history.

By 1774, the Veeder and Lagrange heirs made a fateful decision to submit to arbitration, agreeing to let three supposedly neutral referees determine the extent of their land claim. In May 1775, the arbitration panel ruled that the Van Bael patent encompassed only 1,000 acres—a drastic reduction that overwhelmingly favored the Van Rensselaers. However, the looming American Revolution soon overshadowed the ruling, shifting the focus away from colonial land disputes to the fight for independence. Today, the this once-expansive patent is commemorated on a historical on private property that sat within the bounds of the patent, which serves as a testament to the turbulent and contested nature of land ownership in colonial New York.

To learn more about the patent and the research that went into the historical marker application, visit:

Links

• https://mckownville.org/historypages/MIA-VanBaelpatent.html