[4] The word Greenbush is derived from the Dutch het groen bosch, referring to the pine woods that originally covered the land.

[5] The first settlement of the land now known as East Greenbush was made by tenants under patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer circa 1630.

Early European settlement along the Hudson River shoreline took place circa 1628-1629 and in 1669, a fort was built on Papscanee Island.

The hamlet of East Greenbush was settled around 1630, with a Dutch Reformed church first built in 1787, and a post office was established in 1845.

[6] The town's main thoroughfares are quite old, starting with the old post roads constructed during the French and Indian Wars by the English.

[7] The town saw at least one memorable event during the Anti-Rent War, which was a popular revolt among tenants of the last patroon of Rensselaerswyck over rent payments.

[6] The area of East Greenbush behind the Town Hall was the site of a huge cantonment, occupied by over 5,000 soldiers during the War of 1812; this included a hospital, barracks, and an arsenal.

[6] In the late 1980s, the descendants of the original Dutch settlers on Papscanee Island came under pressure from suburban development in the area, and the Open Space Institute purchased large parcels of land and development rights to surrounding areas, creating the Papscanee Preserve.

[21] On January 10, 2009, The New York State Police stopped a taxi cab for speeding on Interstate 90 in East Greenbush, westbound between exits 10 and 9.

When the trooper approached the vehicle, a passenger in the taxi opened fire with a high powered AK-47, prompting a massive police response.