Loudonville is a

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

in the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Colonie, in Albany County,

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

, United States. Loudonville was a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 US Census. It ceased to be a CDP in the 2000 Census, but regained its status 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 British Army officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, North America from 1756 to 1757. Early life and career Born in Scotland two years before the creation of Gre ...

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 Plank (wood), wooden planks or wikt:puncheon#Noun, puncheon logs, as an efficient technology for traversing soft, marshy, or otherwise difficult ground. Plank roads have been built since antiquity, and were comm ...

), 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 Free ...

, Stephen Van Rensselaer. 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 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 a Private college, private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York, United States. It was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937 and is named after the Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena. The college enrolls approxi ...

: 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 (University at Albany, UAlbany, or SUNY Albany) is a Public university, public research university in Albany, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the St ...

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

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

home. *The Bryan's Store, D. D. T. Moore Farmhouse,

Gorham House Gorham House, also known as Elliot House, is a historic home in Loudonville in Albany County, New York. It was built in 1926 and is a 2-story, five-bay Colonial Revival–style brick dwelling with flanking -story wings. It was built partially ...

, Hughson Mansion, Loudon Road Historic District, Springwood Manor, Wheeler Home, Holub Home, Friend Humphrey House, and Whitney Mansion are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Notable people

* Roger McNamee, 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 ...

and

Silver Lake Partners Silver Lake Technology Management, L.L.C., is an American global private equity firm focused on technology and technology-enabled investments. Silver Lake is headquartered in Silicon Valley and New York, and has offices in London, Hong Kong, and ...

, 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 mid-20th century, who subscribed to an anti- materialistic lifestyle. They rejected the conformity and consumerism of mainstream American culture and expressed themselves through various forms ...

and common law wife of

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

.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) Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in Albany County, New York