The Town of Austerlitz straddles the crest of the Taconic Mountain
Range. It is a Town of mountains, valleys, and streams. It is a rural
community, with undeveloped woodlands, open fields, rural Town roads,
a dispersed residential pattern, and limited commercial development.
It has two hamlets. The Hamlet of Spencertown is the most densely
populated area within the Town. It is the community's business, civic,
cultural and religious center. The Hamlet of Austerlitz is a thinly
populated area that is one of most appealing locations for residential
and commercial development. This historic and geographic division
of the Town into two hamlets and the remaining rural landscape provides
for the logical creation of three zoning districts.