Loudonville 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 o ...

of Colonie, in 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. Loudonville was a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 US Census, but ceased to be in the 2000 Census, but became a CDP again in 2020.

History

The hamlet is named after

John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (5 May 1705 – 27 April 1782) was a Scottish nobleman and British army officer. Early career Born in Scotland two years before the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, in which his father Hug ...

and was originally a 19th-century summer resort for some of Albany's wealthiest residents. Loudon Road, known as Old Plank Road in the early 19th century, is lined with several historic Jeffersonian mansions. ''See also:'' Loudonville started as a hamlet on Loudon Road (originally a

plank road A plank road is a road composed of wooden planks or puncheon logs. Plank roads were commonly found in the Canadian province of Ontario as well as the Northeast and Midwest of the United States in the first half of the 19th century. They were oft ...

), at the intersection of Crumitie Road. Ireland's Corners was a separate hamlet to the north at the intersection of Loudon Road and Menand/Osborne Road, with a post office. Ireland's Corners is named for Elias H. Ireland who in 1832 bought the heavily wooded area from the

Patroon In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch '' patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms ...

Stephen Van Rensselaer Stephen Van Rensselaer III (; November 1, 1764January 26, 1839) was an American landowner, businessman, militia officer, and politician. A graduate of Harvard College, at age 21, Van Rensselaer took control of Rensselaerswyck, his family's mano ...

. In 1871 the post office at Ireland's Corners was renamed Loudonville.

Geography

The community is located directly north of Albany and south of Newtonville. The hamlet is centered on the original Ireland's Corners, the intersection of

U.S. Route 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, between ...

with Osborne Road ( County Route 154)/Menand Road ( NY Route 378) (west bound name/east bound names respectively), with the northwestern corner bisected by Old Niskayuna Road ( County Route 152). Though as a hamlet, it has poorly defined borders, the census designated place of Loudonville had concrete borders.

Location

Landmarks

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. S ...

: A private Roman Catholic College (Franciscan) *Schuyler Meadows Club: The Club was founded in 1926 by residents of Loudonville who did not wish to travel to the Albany Country Club, which at the time was located at the current site of the uptown campus of the

University at Albany, SUNY The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is on ...

. The clubhouse, built in 1927, is modeled on the central portion of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

home. *The

Bryan's Store Bryan's Store is a historic saloon and general store located at Loudonville in Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confl ...

, D. D. T. Moore Farmhouse, Gorham House, Hughson Mansion, Loudon Road Historic District,

Springwood Manor Springwood Manor is a historic home located at Loudonville in Albany County, New York. It was originally built about 1890 and is a -story, five-bay, masonry dwelling with a mansard roof. It was extensively remodeled in 1912 in the Colonial Rev ...

, Wheeler Home, Holub Home,

Friend Humphrey House Friend Humphrey House is a historic home located at Colonie, New York, Colonie in Albany County, New York. It is named after Friend Humphrey, former New York Senate member and former mayor of Albany. It was built about 1841 and is a two-story fr ...

, and Whitney Mansion are listed 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 ...

Notable people

Roger McNamee Roger McNamee (born May 2, 1956) is an American businessman, investor, venture capitalist and musician. He is the founding partner of the venture capital firm Elevation Partners. Prior to co-founding the firm, McNamee co-founded private equity ...

, venture capital and private equity investor, founder of

Elevation Partners Elevation Partners was an American private equity firm that invested in intellectual property, technology and media companies. The firm had $1.9 billion of assets under management. The firm was founded in 2004 and was headquartered in New York C ...

and

Silver Lake Partners Silver Lake is an American global private equity firm focused on investments in technology, technology-enabled and related industries. Founded in 1999, the firm is one of the largest technology investors in the world. Its investment holdings hav ...

, grew up in Loudonville. * Henry Reed Rathbone, present at Lincoln's assassination, lived on Cherry Tree Rd. *

Joan Vollmer Joan Vollmer (February 4, 1923 – September 6, 1951) was an influential participant in the early Beat Generation circle. While a student at Barnard College, she became the roommate of Edie Parker (later married to Jack Kerouac). Their apartment ...

beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the under ...

and common law wife of William S. Burroughs.Knight, B., Waldman, A. & Charters, A., ''Women of the Beat generation: the writers, artists, and muses at the heart of revolution,'' Conari, 1998, p.49 * James H. Fallon, American neuroscientist and author. * The Right Rt. David S. Ball, Former bishop of the Episcopalian Diocese of Albany

References

External links

Town of Colonie
* {{Authority control Colonie, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Former census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in Albany County, New York