Elsmere, New York
33 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Bethlehem town. It lies in ZIP code area 12054. The Survey maps it on the Delmar quadrangle.
Then and now
1893 to 1989The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


On record in Elsmere
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register within a mile 1 record
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
US Post Office-Delmarlisted 1988 · 0.7 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
15 surveys from 33 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1893 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1895 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500
- 1898 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500, 8 printings
- 1927 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1947 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Delmar quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS Delmar quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
915 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 915 fires within 5 miles of Elsmere between 2000 and 2020, burning about 648 acres in total. 46 started naturally. 136 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 607 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 136 |
| Natural | 46 |
| Smoking | 37 |
| Debris and open burning | 30 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 23 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 22 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.2 acres | Fire Department of New York | NA |
| 9 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 9 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.3 acres | Fire Department of New York | N/A |
| 8 September 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 7 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | N/A |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 5,249 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 5,249 specimens collected within 10 miles of Elsmere between 1760 and 1975: 2,916 Animalia, 1,485 Fungi, 783 Plantae, 34 Unrecorded, 18 Chromista, 11 Protozoa, 2 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A C. Frederick, A C. Frederick, A C. Frederick, A. A. Heller and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Diplodia crataegi Fuckel | 1895 | Charles E. Fairman | |
![]() | Cephalozia media Lindb. | 1898 | Charles H. Peck | near Albany |
![]() | Coniothyrium Corda, 1840 | 1899 | not recorded | |
![]() | Hemaris thysbe Fabricius, 1775 | 1760 | W.W. Hill | |
![]() | Monotropa procera Torr. | 1817 | E. James | Near Albany |
| Fontinalis duriaei Schimp. | 1825 | H. H. Eaton | ||
![]() | Acalypha rhomboidea Raf. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
![]() | Alnus serrulata (Aiton) Willd. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
![]() | Apocynum androsaemifolium L. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
![]() | Apocynum cannabinum L. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
![]() | Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
![]() | Asclepias exaltata L. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
All 5,249 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Elsmere: 3 past producers, 3 producers, 1 occurrence. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Quartz. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Hill Deposit | Quartz | Occurrence | ||
| James H. Malloy, Inc. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| James H. Maloy Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Albany Clay Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| Albany Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Rensselaer Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Rensselear Clay Pit | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
11 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Elsmere in 11 storm reports between 2009 and 2020: 5 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 flood, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elsmere | $2,000 | A tree fell onto a car and broke its windshield. |
| August 2020 | Flash Flood | Elsmere | $1,000 | Route 443 East/west at Route 335 in the town of Bethlehem had all lanes closed due to flooding. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elsmere | - | A tree was downed. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elsmere | - | Large tree limbs were downed onto wires on New Scotland Ave. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elsmere | - | A portable stage set up for a concert on a golf course was damaged. A gate weighing 500 pounds was moved 15 feet, and a tent with trusses weighing 5,000 pounds was flipped. Musical equipment was also damaged. |
| August 2018 | Heavy Rain | Elsmere | - | Heavy rain resulted in 2.06 inches of storm total rain. |
| February 2016 | Flood | Elsmere | - | Urban flooding occurred on Elsemere Avenue under the railroad bridge in Delmar due to heavy rainfall occurring over a frozen ground. Nearly a foot of water was in the roadway near the intersection of Delaware Avenue. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elsmere | - | Trees were reported down on both Lenox Avenue and Euclid Avenue in Albany due to thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2014 | Hail | Elsmere | - | Quarter size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in the Buckingham Pond section of Albany. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Elsmere | - | Quarter size hail was reported near Buckingham Pond in Albany during a thunderstorm. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Elsmere | - | Penny size hail was reported in Albany during a thunderstorm. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delmar | 0.8 miles | 33 | |
| Normansville | 1.4 miles | 32 | |
| Bethlehem Center | 2.0 miles | 33 | |
| Houcks Corners | 2.0 miles | 33 | |
| Karlsfeld | 2.3 miles | 32 | |
| Kenwood | 2.4 miles | 33 | |
| Slingerlands | 2.5 miles | 32 | |
| Glenmont | 2.8 miles | 33 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 949611. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.

























