Lisha Kill is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Colonie, Albany County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. Lisha Kill lies on New York Route 5 (Central Avenue) in the western section of the town. The hamlet received its name from the creek of the same name, Lisha Kill, ''

kill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Kill may also refer to: Media *'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto * ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006 * ...

'' being

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for creek or stream. The stream is also referred to as Lisha's Kill and received its name from a local legend about a Native American woman who is buried along its banks.

History

Lisha Kill's history is intimately tied to the creek of the same name. Originally called Lysiens Kill, local legend says Lisha's Kill is named for a Native American woman who was buried along its banks. Some of the earliest settlers were of the Lansing family, a family long associated with nearby Albany, Cohoes, and Lansingburgh; Jacob Lansing is considered the first to have settled in the area and John V.A. Lansing, another early settler, arrived in 1792. His house still stands and has been on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

since 1985. Henry O. Lansing owned a saw mill powered by water or steam from the Lisha Kill in 1875. Several Lansings in the late 19th century were deacons, elders, and officers of the (Dutch) Reformed Church of Lisha's Kill.

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Jon T. A. Lansing and his four sons owned four farms consisting of bounded by Central Avenue, and Lisha Kill, Lansing and Consaul roads, the Town of Colonie Golf Course is built on over half of this acreage. The Albany and Schenectady Turnpike, built in 1799, connecting those two cities ran through the middle of Lisha Kill and had a toll-gate here. The hamlet quickly became thickly settled and well developed in the 19th century. There was a blacksmithy, hotel, stores, a tavern run by Josiah Stanford (father of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Se ...

); and a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

that was established in 1830. Two school houses served the local children, Watervliet School House (WSH) 7 (to the east on Consaul Road); and WSH 8 (in Stanford Heights). Today, the children of Lisha Kill attend Veeder Elementary School and Lisha Kill Middle School (since 1959) east of the hamlet and then Colonie High as part of the South Colonie Central School District. The residents of Lisha Kill for the most part were of

ancestry and belonged to the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

, they worshiped at the Niskayuna Reformed Church until 1852 when they petitioned the Classis of

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

for their own church. This was granted and the Dutch Reformed Church of Lisha's Kill began meeting in Watervliet School 8 until 1854 when a new church building was dedicated. The church still is in use as the second oldest Reformed Church in Colonie.

Geography

Lisha Kill is centered along Central Avenue (NY Route 5) in the western part of Colonie, between the cities of Albany and Schenectady. Lisha Kill is also the name of a creek that runs perpendicular to Central Avenue.

Location

References

{{authority control Colonie, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Hamlets in Albany County, New York