Hamptonburgh is a
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 ...
located in the north central part of
Orange 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. The population was 5,489 at the 2020 census. The municipal offices are at the hamlet of Campbell Hall.
History
The town was part of the patent of 1703, assigned to Christopher Denn and others. Hamptonburgh was named by an early settler, William Bull, for his place of birth,
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
, England.
Bull married Sarah Wells. Bull was a stone mason and built many stone houses in area. He built what is now known as
General Henry Knox's Headquarters, used as a headquarters in the American Revolution. William and Sarah married in 1718 and built the
Bull Stone House on 100 acres, now at the intersection of the Sarah Wells Trail and County Route 51. They raised 12 children to adulthood, who all married and raised children to adulthood. Today, the Bull Family still owns and occupies the Bull Stone House, hold America's second longest annual family reunion, and have maintained their genealogy since 1796. In his lifetime, Bull amassed thousands of acres around his original 100. He left much of it to his five sons, who handed much of it down to their children. William Bull and Sarah Wells are buried in the Hamptonburgh Cemetery. William died in the winter of 1755/56. Sarah died at the age of 100 years and 15 days in 1796.
The town was established in 1830 from parts of the Towns of
Blooming Grove,
Goshen, and
Montgomery, including land which previously belonged to Loyalist Fletcher Mathews (brother of
David Mathews who was Mayor of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
) during its occupation by the British during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
).
Campbell Hall
Early years
According to ''An Outline History of Orange County'' by Samuel Watkins Eager p. 378, the hamlet of Campbell Hall was named for Colonel Campbell who was a Scotchman, had two sons, and when the war of the Revolution commenced, one son sided with England, the other with his adopted country. The Tory brother would not speak with his Republican relative. The sentiments of this brother were changed by the happy results of the revolution.
Railroads
From 1900 to about 1960, Campbell Hall was a center of considerable railroad activity. The Erie, New York Ontario and Western, Lehigh and New England, New York Susquehanna and Western, came together and interchanged freight at the nearby large Maybrook railroad yard. NYO&W, financially struggling from inception, abandoned operations in 1957. Freight business for the other railroads diminished too, causing a considerable loss of railroad employment for Hamptonburgh.
Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (0.67%) is water. It includes the Thomas Bull Memorial County Park.
NY 207 and
NY 416 intersect west of Campbell Hall.
Demographics
According to the Census Bureau's 2020 Census, there were 5,489 people, and 1,642 households residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,532 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 92.3%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 3.9%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.0%
Native American, 2.6%
Asian, and 1.1% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population.
There were 1,338 family households, out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.2% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 14.9% were non-families. 12.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.43 and the average family size was 3.78.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 2.5% under the age of 5, 22.1% under the age of 18, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. 48.8% of the population is female, and 51.2% male.
The Census Bureau's 2020 Census showed that (in 2020 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $104,375. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the village was $41,399. About 6.9% 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 ...
.
Economy
Hamptonburgh is a wider area, but the main center of Hamptonburgh is Campbell Hall. Campbell Hall is home to America's first butter factory. It is also the location of the Otterkill Fire Department and the Campbell Hall post office. Its economy is derived from a number of sources: The General Store, Campbell Hall Salvage, American Fence, a Service Station, the Bull's Head Inn, and a number of horse and dairy farms. Campbell Hall also is home to Orange AHRC, the Otterkill Golf and Country Club, and a
Metro-North train station
A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...
.
Communities and locations in Hamptonburgh
* Burnside – Formerly a hamlet with its own post office, it is now serviced by the Campbell Hall post office. It is located near the town line east of Campbell Hall.
* Campbell Hall – The hamlet of Campbell Hall is the principal community in the town and is located on New York State Route 207.
* Campbell Hall Junction – A small railroad yard and terminus of the Maybrook Railroad line in Campbell Hall that was previously a major junction of five railroads including the
Central New England Railway,
Lehigh and New England Railroad
The Lehigh and New England Railroad was a Class I railroad located in Northeastern United States that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety after the New York, Ontario and Weste ...
,
New York, Ontario & Western Railway,
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...
, and
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...
, albeit, the Erie used a separate station.
*Hamptonburgh – The hamlet of Hamptonburgh is located south of Campbell Hall at the intersection of County Roads 8 and 51.
* Kipps – A location near the southern town line.
* LaGrange – A location southwest of Campbell Hall on NY 207.
* Neelytown – A location near the northern town line.
* Stony Ford – A location near the western town line.
References
External links
Town of Hamptonburgh
{{authority control
Towns in Orange County, New York
Towns in New York (state)
Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area
Towns in the New York metropolitan area
1830 establishments in New York (state)