South Bethlehem, New York
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South Bethlehem 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
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
, Albany County, New York, United States. The hamlet sits on New York State Route 396 (Bridge Street) and lies southwest of the Selkirk
Rail Yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
and just north of the Coeymans town line.


History

The oldest part of the hamlet is along the main street, Bridge Street. The heart of the community is the four corners formed by the intersection of Bridge Street with South Street (Albany County Route 101) and Willowbrook Avenue. In the 18th century, this place was called Janes Corners for resident Elishama Janes, and Kimmey's Corners in 1864 for Philip Kimmey. The South Bethlehem Plank Road was incorporated in 1851 with a charter lasting 30 years to build and operate 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 ...
from Bethlehem Center to South Bethlehem. The road began in Bethlehem Center at an intersection with the Albany and Bethlehem Turnpike, and traveled south to Becker's Corners, this section is today
US Route 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1–9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 (I-95) approache ...
; and then southwest from that hamlet to South Bethlehem, today New York State Route 396. The charter was renewed in 1881 and the use of planks was discontinued in favor of gravel and stone. The South Bethlehem
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 ...
was established in 1874. Being located just south of the Selkirk Rail Yard most of the residents in the 1920s were employed there. Though the rail yard has lessened in importance and employment, most residents continue to work locally at the
SABIC Saudi Basic Industries Corporation ( ar, الشركة السعودية للصناعات الأساسية), known as SABIC ( ar, سابك), is a Saudi chemical manufacturing company. 70% of SABIC's shares are owned by Saudi Aramco. It is active in ...
Innovative Plastics (formerly
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
plastics division), the school district, or
Owens Corning Owens Corning is an American company that develops and produces insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composites and related materials and products. It is the world's largest manufacturer of fiberglass composites. It was formed in 1935 as a partn ...
. In 1990, due to the shift of the area from rural farmland and woods to a more residential community the town decided to build South Bethlehem's first park. The South Bethlehem Park is on off South Albany Road purchased by the town in 1989. The playground at the park was built with money and materials donated by around 40 area businesses, including $10,000 of equipment from General Electric. Approximately 30 residents along with 75 employees from General Electric's Selkirk plant donated their time for the construction of the playground. This community activity spawned the birth of the South Bethlehem Area Association. In 1992, after years of controversy and complaints about odor and garbage
litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, ...
ing the landscape, a privately owned dump used by
Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...
of Greater Albany was closed.
Rowe Farm Rowe Farm is a historic home and farm near South Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. The farmhouse was built about 1875, and is a two-story, Italianate frame dwelling with a center hall plan and a gable roof. Also on the property are the contribut ...
was 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 v ...
in 2012.


Geography

South Bethlehem is at the very southernmost edge of the town of Bethlehem. The South Bethlehem Area Association covers from US 9W west to Albany County Route 102 and from Feura Bush south to the Coeymans town line.


Location


Demographics

In 1886, the population was placed at 135, and in 1906 at around 150 people. In 1987, the estimated population of South Bethlehem was 500 people.


Education

South Bethlehem is a part of the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District (R-C-S) and the children attend A.W. Becker Elementary School for kindergarten through fifth grade; and R-C-S Middle and R-C-S High for sixth through twelfth.


References

{{Authority control Bethlehem, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Hamlets in Albany County, New York