Sand Lake is a town in south-central part of Rensselaer County, New York, United States.

In 1629, Kiliaen van Rensselaer acquired a 700,000-acre land grant to establish a Dutch colony, encompassing what later became Sand Lake.

[5] By 1772, present day Sand Lake was in the Rensselaerwyck District of Albany County.

[4][b] Municipal positions were established to be responsible to its citizens, including town clerk, assessors, and more.

[10] The soil, especially on the eastern lowlands, is fertile for grazing and agriculture, particularly small fruit, strawberries, and other berrys.

The Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church opened in 1816 at the West Sand Lake site.

[6][13] The Troy and New England Railway provided electric trolley service into Sand Lake from 1895 to 1925.

The nine-mile route ran from Albia (of Troy) east to Averill Park.

[5] Municipal Home Rule Law was enacted in 1964 by the State Legislature, which gave towns greater powers.

[16] Faith Mills (1829-1966) is one of the textile factories that were established, starting in the early 19th century, along what is now Burden Lake Road.

[6] It is located east of West Sand Lake and has a number of retail businesses, two churches, and the Averill Park High School.

There are several retail business, the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, a post office, town hall, a tavern, cemetery, and an elementary school.

In 1793, Bernhard Uhlein, a soldier of the American Revolutionary War, settled here and established a 325-acre farm.

It has a number of retail businesses, schools, banks, two churches and a post office.

[5] Sand Lake also has populated places named Maple Grove,[18] Sliter's Corner,[19] and Taborton.

It had homes for 34 workers, a store, school, doctor's office, and more residential and commercial buildings.

[6] The South Sand Lake post office was established there in 1854, with William Stevens as first postmaster.

[10] While the surface of the town is undulating in the west, it is quite mountainous in the east, a part of the Rensselaer Plateau.

[24] The lakes, stocked with many kinds of fresh water fish, draws tourists to the area.