Slingerlands, New York

Slingerlands is a hamlet in the town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. It is located immediately west of Delmar and near the New Scotland town-line and south of the Albany city-limits. It is a suburb of Albany. The Slingerlands ZIP Code (12159) includes parts of the town of New Scotland.

History

The history of Slingerlands begins in 1850 when the Albany, Rensselaerville, and Schoharie Plank Road Company was established by the state to construct a plank road from Albany, through Slingerlands, to Gallupville in Schoharie County. In 1854, the state authorized the company to abandon or sell portions and to turn other sections (including that part in Slingerlands) into a turnpike and charge tolls. The post office was originally called Normanskill and was built in 1852 with William H. Slingerland as the first post master. In 1863, the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad was built through Slingerlands with a station established here as well. William H. Slingerland was the surveyor of the road, and since his route came in $600,000 less than a previous survey the company named the station here Slingerlands in his honor. In 1870, the post office also took the name Slingerlands. After having been in the rear of a grocery store for a hundred years it moved to the Tollgate Building in 1953, until the 1990s when a newer larger location was built near the Price Chopper Plaza. In 1989, the New Scotland post office was closed and the 400 residents it served were transferred to Slingerlands' ZIP Code.