Hamilton, New York

For the village located within this town, see Hamilton (village), New York. For the county, see Hamilton County, New York. For the former town of Hamilton in western New York, see Olean (town), New York.

Hamilton
Town
Hamilton Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 42°49′45″N75°33′10″W / 42.82917°N 75.55278°W / 42.82917; -75.55278
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Madison
Government
•  Town Supervisor	Eve Ann Schwartz (D) [1]
•  Town Council	Members Dana Krueger, Travis DuBois, Darrell Griff, Ian Helfant [2]
Area [3]
• Total	41.48 sq mi (107.44 km2)
• Land	41.37 sq mi (107.14 km2)
• Water	0.12 sq mi (0.30 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	6,379
• Density	154.2/sq mi (59.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code	36-053-31720
Website	http://www.townofhamiltonny.org

Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, and is a college town, with Colgate University dominating the town's employment, culture and population.

The Town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton. The village is on the county's border.

History

Perspective map of Hamilton and list of landmarks from 1885 by L.R. Burleigh

The location was formerly called Payne's Corners. The Town of Hamilton was established in 1795, before the county was formed, from the Town of Paris in Oneida County. ^[4] The original town was reduced to create new towns in the county.

The Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, an appendant body in Freemasonry, was founded in Hamilton in 1890. ^[5]

Geography

The southern town line is the border of Chenango County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 41.5 square miles (107.4 km²), of which 41.4 square miles (107.1 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.3 km²) (0.28%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	2,681		—
1830	3,220		20.1%
1840	3,738		16.1%
1850	3,599		−3.7%
1860	3,894		8.2%
1870	3,687		−5.3%
1880	3,512		−4.7%
1890	3,923		11.7%
1900	3,744		−4.6%
1910	3,825		2.2%
1920	3,354		−12.3%
1930	3,687		9.9%
1940	3,618		−1.9%
1950	5,455		50.8%
1960	5,438		−0.3%
1970	5,906		8.6%
1980	6,027		2.0%
1990	6,221		3.2%
2000	5,733		−7.8%
2010	6,690		16.7%
2020	6,379		−4.6%
2021 (est.)	6,032	[6]	−5.4%
U.S. Decennial Census [7]

At the 2000 census there were 5,733 people, 1,546 households, and 935 families in the town. The population density was 138.6 inhabitants per square mile (53.5/km²). There were 1,725 housing units at an average density of 41.7 per square mile (16.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.65% White, 1.99% Black or African American, 0.07% Native American, 2.46% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.83%. ^[8]

Of the 1,546 households 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 29.6% of households were one person and 12.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.96.

The age distribution was 15.7% under the age of 18, 40.8% from 18 to 24, 16.8% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% 65 or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median household income was $38,917 and the median family income was $50,565. Males had a median income of $31,500 versus $26,643 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,564. About 5.1% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Hamilton

• Beekman Corners– A location between Hamilton village and East Hamilton.
• Brooks Corners– A hamlet ^[9] in the south part of the town on Route 12.
• Darts Corner– A location between Hamilton village and East Hamilton.
• Earlville – Part of the Village of Earlville is located on the southern town line.
• East Hamilton– A hamlet on Route 12, east of Hamilton village.
• Excell Corners– A location northeast of South Hamilton.
• Hamilton – The Village of Hamilton is in the northwestern part of the town.
• Hamilton Center– A hamlet southeast of Hamilton village.
• Hubbardsville– A hamlet north of East Hamilton village.
• Loomis Corners– A location northwest of South Hamilton.
• Poolville– A hamlet north of Brooks Corners.
• Shores Corners– A location between Hamilton village and East Hamilton.
• South Hamilton– A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town.

Notable people

• John Vincent Atanasoff (1903-1995), inventor of the digital computer
• Cordelia Throop Cole (1833–1900), social reformer
• Harold O. Whitnall (1877–1945), geology professor at Colgate University and member of the New York State Assembly

References

1. "Supervisor / Town Council | Hamilton, NY".
2. "Supervisor / Town Council | Hamilton, NY".
3. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
4. Loop, Jack; Walsh, Brendan. "History". Town of Hamilton, NY.
5. Schmidt, Alvin J. (1980). Fraternal organizations. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press. p. 151. ISBN   978-0-313-21436-3 . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
6. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates" . Retrieved June 9, 2017.
7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
9. Though the term "hamlet" is not defined under the Administrative divisions of New York law, many people in the state use the term hamlet to refer to a community within a town that is not incorporated as a village. Because a hamlet has no government of its own, it depends upon the town that contains it for municipal services and government. Hamlets often have names corresponding to the names of a local school district, post office, or fire district - though the boundaries are often not identical. Many hamlets are served, at least in part, by post offices and school districts with the names of adjacent hamlets, villages, towns, or cities. Though hamlets do not have official boundaries, the New York State Department of Transportation does put hamlet names on rectangular green signs with white lettering at locations of its choosing. The NYSDOT also provides community identification signs on some scenic byways to be placed at the boundaries of hamlets, as decided by the byway.

External links

• Official Town of Hamilton, NY Website
• Hamilton Public Library & Hamilton Historical Commission on New York Heritage Digital Collections
• Early Hamilton history
• Hamilton, from History of Madison County, State of New York by L. M. Hammond (Syracuse NY, 1872)