Fullers 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 Guilderland, Albany County, New York, United States. The hamlet lies along

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

(Western Turnpike).

History

Fullers owes its origins, name, and early growth to the Fuller family. Major John Fuller of the New York State Militia owned a homestead and tavern here, and the station of the

West Shore Railroad The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad that ran from Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the Hudson River opposite New York City, north to Albany, New York, and then west to Buffalo. It was organized as a competitor ...

, along with the

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 ser ...

, were called Fuller's Station in his honor. His son, Aaron Fuller, Guilderland

town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the State of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, townships called "towns", and villages. (The only borou ...

and New York State Assemblyman, is credited with using his great influence and effort on growing the hamlet. Fuller was the only

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

elected as town supervisor for over a century. In 1799, the

Great Western Turnpike The Great Western Turnpike was a series of east–west toll roads that crossed part of New York in the United States. The toll roads that carried this name were: *The First Great Western Turnpike, extending from Albany to Cherry Valley over a path ...

was built, connecting Albany with the western frontier and in 1882, the West Shore Railroad would build its tracks crossing the turnpike on its way from

Ravena Ravena is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,271 in the 2020 census an increase of 3 over the 2010 census. The village is in the southeast part of the town of Coeymans. History The village of Ravena ...

and Voorheesville to

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 ...

. The Fullers Station would be built on Fullers Station Road, southwest of the turnpike. Also on Fullers Station Road was the Fullers

; this post office was located in the Van Allen General Store. Fullers even had its own one room school house, Guilderland District Number 13. After attending primary education here, the students would have to pay $7.50 a month to travel the railroad to Ravena for high school. The post office was discontinued in 1918, and today Fullers receives its mail from Altamont. In 1927, the railroad station was also discontinued when the Western Turnpike was lowered to allow for the West Shore Railroad's tracks to be carried over by a bridge.

Geography

As a hamlet, the borders of Fullers are indeterminate. Generally, Fuller is the area around

, known as Western Turnpike, at the intersection with Fuller Station Road; where the

CSXT CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

railroad crosses US 20.

Location

References

{{Albany County, New York Guilderland, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Hamlets in Albany County, New York