The community of Lansingburgh dates back to colonial America. Henry Hudson sailed north on the river that now bears his name as far north as Pleasantdale, which is today the northern section of Lansingburgh. In 1763, Abraham Lansing purchased land along the Hudson River, north of Albany, and divided the land into lots he called the city of Lansingburgh. In 1847, the Lansingburgh school district was legally permitted to raise money by taxation, thereby creating a free school. It was one year later, in 1848, that the free school system was initiated by New York State.

Herman Melville, the author of such literature as Moby Dick, attended Lansingburgh Academy School, which is now part of the Troy Public Library. Melville lived on the corner of First Avenue and 114th Street.

While the Village of Lansingburgh was annexed to the City of Troy in 1900, the school systems remain separate. The present school district was founded in 1962 when the residents of Lansingburgh, Schaghticoke and Brunswick voted to centralize. Soon after consolidating, Lansingburgh High School was built.