The Village of Hamilton is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

located within the town of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

in Madison County, New York, United States. Notably, it is the location of

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theolog ...

and has a population of 4,239, according to the 2010 census. The 2017 movie '' Pottersville'' starring Michael Shannon and Judy Greer was filmed here.

Geography and climate

The village, located at (42.825646, -75.544673), lies in the Chenango Valley, just south of the headwaters of the

Chenango River The Chenango River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in central New York in the United States. It drains a dissec ...

. Northeast of the village is the river Payne Brook, which starts at Lake Moraine and travels through the village before converging with the Chenango River. The village is approximately southeast of

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

and southwest of Utica. The elevation of the village's municipal airport (Hamilton Municipal Airport) is approximately above sea level. According to the

United States 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 th ...

, the village's total area is 2.5 square miles (6.5 km²), of which 2.3 square miles (6.1 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) (6.37%) is water. Snowfall is the most notable aspect of the area's climate, which is typical of central

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...

in the vicinity of Syracuse. Snowfall produced by

lake-effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up throug ...

from

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

and

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

usually extends into the Mohawk Valley and often inland as far as the southern Finger Lakes and the nearby

southern tier The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York region of New York State, consisting of counties west of the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County and geographically situated along or very near the northern border ...

of counties; with snowfall, at a minimum, in the range of 40 to 50 inches per season. Heavy

snow fall Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

s frequently occur, generating from 1 to 2 feet of snow and occasionally 4 feet or more. The village's average seasonal snowfall is approximately 80 inches.

History

The area that became the town of Hamilton (including the village of Hamilton) was originally inhabited by members of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

League, and some of the territory is still considered to be sacred by the Oneida Indian Nation. Following the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, the area was ceded to the State of New York.About Colgate, The Hamilton Area Until 1878, Hamilton was an original outpost of the

Chenango Canal The Chenango Canal was a towpath canal in central New York in the United States which linked the Susquehanna River to the Erie Canal. Built and operated in the mid-19th century, it was 97 miles long and for much of its course followed the C ...

. The town of Hamilton was founded near what is now Earlville, and has gradually expanded into a wide area populated by farms and settlements. The family of the brothers Samuel and Elisha Payne had been prominent in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

since before the Revolutionary War, in which they had served, possibly a
Ft. Stanwix
near what is now

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which l ...

. At the close of the Revolutionary War, The pair moved from

Lebanon, Connecticut Lebanon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,142 at the 2020 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, directly south of Willimantic, north of New London, and east of Hartford. The fa ...

, to the town of Whitestone (now

Whitesboro, New York Whitesboro is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 3,772 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Hugh White, an early settler. The Village of Whitesboro is inside the Town of Whitestown. History The vi ...

), a few miles from Utica. In 1794, Samuel Payne moved southwest from Whitestone into the town of Hamilton, where he started a farm on the hill that is today's location of

. In 1795, a year after his brother moved into the town of Hamilton, Elisha Payne did so as well.Hammond, 444 He and others from Whitestone and Connecticut moved to an unsettled area just north of his brother and that settlement grew to become today's village of Hamilton. Because of Elisha Payne's interest and ability in developing the settlement, it became known as "Payne's Settlement". He built a barn, the first framed building in the village, and in 1802 he opened a tavern at the intersection of Broad and Lebanon streets, taking the place of an existing tavern that had opened in 1800. This became the Park House (hotel), which in 1925 was replaced by the present-day Colgate Inn. B0000103 watermark 2 copy

By 1800, Payne's Settlement had, in addition to log cabins, five framed buildings and a nearby sawmill. By 1806 much of the land surrounding the settlement had been cleared and replaced by orchards and farms.Hammond, 432 Salt was the accepted form of currency in the settlement. Payne's Settlement experienced a financial boom from 1800 through the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

due to extensive crop exports to Europe and to the high prices obtained for provisions in New York during the war.Williams, 6 Serving as the trading center, the Settlement naturally prospered when farmers received higher prices. In addition, the 1808 opening of the Skaneateles Turnpike, which connected the village to western New York, probably contributed to the favorable economic climate. From the beginning, Payne's Settlement and the other settlements within the town of Hamilton strongly competed to be the principal location for development. Due to the advantages of its location, the balance of power shifted toward Payne's Settlement and, in 1812, the settlement obtained a charter incorporating the Village of Hamilton. Early commerce in the village included groceries, blacksmiths, book sellers, furniture and carriage makers, feed stores, quarries and lumber mills.History of Hamilton The village's first newspaper, the ''Hamilton Recorder'', was started in 1817. The

(1834–1878) passed through the west side of the village alongside what is now the Barge Canal Cafe, providing another connection between the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing ...

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

grain farms and East Coast markets. Agriculture in the surrounding area initially emphasized

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant '' Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to w ...

which gave way after the Civil War to dairy farming.

was founded in the village in 1819. Today, Colgate's campus is located on what was Samuel Payne's farm. In 1827, the farm, valued at $4,000 (then current dollars) covering , was donated by Payne and his wife to the Baptist Theological Society as the new location of the Society's Theological Institution, known as the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution, which later became Colgate. In 1846, the name of Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution was changed to Madison University. The year 1890 brought about the change in the university's name to Colgate University, in honor of the involvement and financial support of the Colgate family over many years. In 1903, John Vincent Atanasoff, creator of the first digital electronic computer, was born in Hamilton. Much of the historic core of the village is part of the Hamilton Village Historic District, which became 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 ...

in 1984. Many of the buildings in today's village date from 1895, the year of "the great fire" which destroyed much of the village. Many of those buildings were rebuilt in the same year, with "1895" on their facades. Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places are the

Old Biology Hall Hascall Hall is a historic institutional building located on the campus of Colgate University at Hamilton in Madison County, New York. It was built in 1884 and is a two-story stone building with brick trim measuring 40 feet by 70 feet. An additio ...

(today called Hascall Hall) on Colgate University's campus, Adon Smith House, and United States Post Office.

Government

The village is governed by a Board of Trustees. It consists of the Mayor, who is presiding officer, and four Trustees. The Mayor and Trustees are elected at the annual village election in June for staggered terms of two-years. The Mayor exercises the executive function and is assisted by the Village Administrator, the Clerk/Treasurer, and the Director of Utilities and Public Works. The Board of Trustees is the legislative body. It enacts local laws, adopts the budget, and exercises oversight over the Village departments, boards, commissions and committees. Trustees are assigned by the Mayor specific oversight and liaison responsibilities. The Mayor appoints all public officers and volunteer members of boards, commissions and committees with the approval of the Board of Trustees. In addition to the elected officials and professional officers, the governance of the Village rests in the hands of about fifty volunteers who serve by appointment on ten boards, commissions, and committees. The Mayor is an ''ex officio'' member of every Village body. Every Trustee serves a liaison on one or more of the bodies.Village of Hamilton, Government Info The 2009-2010 annual budget of the village is approximately 5.7 million dollars. The Village Court is independent of Village government. The Village Judge is elected by the voters for a four-year term. The village and all of Madison County are within the NY 22nd Congressional District.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 3,509 people, 707 households, and 320 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 1,492.2 people per square mile (576.5/km²). There were 785 housing units at an average density of 333.8 per square mile (129.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 90.85%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 2.91%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.09% Native American, 3.70% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.46% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 2.28% of the population. There were 707 households, out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.6% were non-families. 41.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.92. In the village, the population was spread out, with 8.6% under the age of 18, 62.6% from 18 to 24, 10.0% from 25 to 44, 9.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $36,583, and the median income for a family was $68,864. Males had a median income of $41,000 versus $33,750 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $13,203. About 3.1% of families and 18.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Hamilton Central School, located on a site off West Kendrick Avenue, is a K-12 educational facility for the village and surrounding town and the communities of

Eaton Eaton may refer to: Buildings Canada * Eaton Centre, the name of various shopping malls in Canada due to having been anchored by an Eaton's store * Eaton's / John Maryon Tower, a cancelled skyscraper in Toronto * Eaton Hall (King City), a conferen ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, and Brookfield.

is in Hamilton. Higher educational institutions within 50 driving miles of the village include Syracuse University, the State University of New York at Morrisville,

Cazenovia College Cazenovia College is a private college in Cazenovia, New York. Founded as the Genesee Seminary in 1824 and sponsored by the Methodist Church, in 1894 the college adopted the name of Cazenovia Seminary. It was reorganized in 1942 after church spon ...

, Hamilton College, the State University of New York at Cortland, the State University of New York at Oneonta and Hartwick College.

Relationship with Colgate

Colgate is the largest economic influence in the village: with a population of over 4,000, the village's population is just slightly larger than the size of Colgate's student body, which is just under 3,000. Approximately 85 percent of the university's faculty members live within 10 minutes of campus. B0000106 watermark 2 copy copy

The village, the town of Hamilton, and Colgate have formed th
Partnership for Community Development
which develops an active network of professional consultants, foundations, municipalities and not-for-profit organizations located throughout the Central New York region to assist area residents, businesses and visitors, including efforts to stimulate and support local business through small business development and the revitalization of historic buildings. To strengthen the relationship between the village and the university, and to add to the economic development of downtown, Colgate relocated its campus bookstore to the downtown area of the village.

Points of interest

The

Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Robert Trent Jones Sr. (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a British–American golf course architect who designed or re-designed more than 500 golf courses in 45 U.S. states and 35 countries. In reference to this, Jones took pride in sayi ...

designe
Seven Oaks Golf Course
is located on the east side of the village on the college campus. Th
Picker Art Gallery
is located on the Colgate University campus. Th

beginning in the village and extending northward for , consists of restored portions of the

towpath. The Village of Hamilton is also home to award-winnin
Good Nature Farm Brewery & Tap Room
Good Nature opened in 2012, was Madison County's first brewery, and among New York State's First Farm Breweries. In 2017, Good Nature opened a new brewery in the Village. A Utica television station travel show broadcast, in 2008, a two-part tour of things to see and do in the village. Farther from Hamilton, but within 50 driving miles, additional points of interest include: th
Earlville Opera House
the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...

Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the ...

, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, the

Everson Museum of Art Everson may refer to: People with the surname * Ben Everson (born 1987), English footballer * Bill Everson (1906–1966), Welsh international rugby union player * Cliff Everson, a New Zealand car designer and manufacturer * Corinna Everson (born ...

in Syracuse, th
Erie Canal Village
in Rome and the

Erie Canal Museum The Erie Canal Museum is a historical museum about the Erie Canal located in Syracuse, New York. The museum was founded in 1962 and is a private, non-profit corporation.an''Accompanying photo, exterior, from 1970''/ref> It is housed in the Syracu ...

in Syracuse.

Notable people

* John Vincent Atanasoff, physicist and inventor, inventor of first electronic digital computer * William L. Greenly, sixth Governor of Michigan * Matt Malloy, actor and producer * Philo A. Orton, Wisconsin legislator and jurist * Henry B. Payne, United States Senator and United States Representative *

Sereno E. Payne Sereno Elisha Payne (June 26, 1843 – December 10, 1914) was a United States representative from New York and the first House Majority Leader, holding the office from 1899 to 1911. He was a Republican congressman from 1883 to 1887 and the ...

, United States Representative, first

House Majority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are e ...

List of Colgate University people This is a list of notable students, alumni, faculty or academic affiliates associated with Colgate University in the United States. As Colgate is an undergraduate school only, all the graduates listed below earned bachelor's degrees there. Colga ...

References

External links

Official Town and Village of Hamilton, NY Website

Hamilton Real Estate

Village of Hamilton Information

General Aviation airport in the Village of Hamilton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton Village, New York Villages in New York (state) Syracuse metropolitan area Populated places established in 1813 Villages in Madison County, New York 1813 establishments in New York (state)