Roessleville 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 Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3 ...

, United States. It is a densely settled

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of the city of Albany, along

New York State Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syr ...

. Roessleville 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, such ...

in the 1990 Census, but was deleted in 2000, but became a CDP again in 2020.

History

Roessleville was originally of the Pine Bush

pine barrens Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...

that stretched from Albany 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 land later became farmland in the 1940s, then more recently transformed into a densely packed suburb. Roessleville is named for Theophilus Roessle, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

immigrant from the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

, who built one of the most elegant mansions in the Albany area in what is now Roessleville; today's Elmhurst Avenue was once his gated driveway. Two of the most famous residents of Roessleville was Josiah and Elizabeth Stanford; parents of

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

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 ...

; who moved the entire family here in 1840 and owned the Elm Grove Farm and hotel.

Geography

Roessleville is that section of the town of Colonie between Osborne and Wolf roads, it is bisected by Central Avenue (

NY Route 5 New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Sy ...

). The Albany city line is along its southeastern border, the village of Colonie is along its northwestern boundary at Wolf Road. The census-designated place of Roessleville, as defined by the

US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

for 1990, was in area.

Location

Demographics

Since hamlets are by definition ill-defined any attempt at accurate calculations of population related statistics will be difficult or inaccurate. As a

(CDP) prior to 2000 however Roessleville did have definitive boundaries, though they did change over time from one census to another. Roessleville was not a CDP in 1960, but was in 1970 when it had 5,476 persons which included 125 in a small slice of the town of Guilderland; the Guilderland section was not included in 1980, and in 1990 Roessleville had a population of 10,753.

References

{{Albany County, New York Colonie, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Former census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in Albany County, New York