Chatham 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 ...

in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 4,104 at the 2020 census, down from the 2010 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 Census Report, Chatham town, New York The town has a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

also called Chatham on its southern town line. The town is at the northern border of Columbia County.

History

The early settlers were Dutch, but later

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

and

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

ers arrived. The town of Chatham was formed from the towns of

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

and Kinderhook in 1795. Contradictory of its current condition or image, Chatham was an industrial center of multiple inter-state rail lines in the early 1900s, including the junction of the

Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The mainline is currently used by CSX for freight a ...

for connections east and west, the Rutland Railroad for connections to

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

to the north, and the New York Central's

Harlem Line The Harlem Line is an commuter rail line owned and operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. state of New York. It runs north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southea ...

for connections to

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 ...

. In 1887 a terminal designed by

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

was constructed.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

service on the ''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an Amtrak Long Distance, overnight passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the Northeastern United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. The central segment of the route runs along the s ...

'' passes through, east-west, but does not stop. In later years Amtrak has planned to build a rail station in Chatham. The Blinn-Pulver Farmhouse, Melius-Bentley House, Peck House, Riders Mills Historic District, Silvernail Homestead, Simons General Store, Spengler Bridge, St. John's Lutheran Church, James G. Van Valkenburgh House, and John S. Williams House and Farm are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 , or 0.59%, is water. The northern town line is the border of Rensselaer County. The northern terminus of the Taconic State Parkway is in the town, and

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

passes through the town. New York State Route 66 and New York State Route 203 intersect in the town.

Adjacent towns and areas

The town of Kinderhook is to the west, and the towns of

and New Lebanon are to the east. The towns of Schodack and Nassau are to the north in Rensselaer County. The towns of Austerlitz and

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

are to the south.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 4,249 people, 1,762 households, and 1,196 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,110 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96%

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 ...

, 1.74%

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, .21% Native American, .71% Asian, .16%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, .16% from other races, and 1.01% 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 0.75% of the population. There were 1,762 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% 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, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.87. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 33.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,234, and the median income for a family was $60,097. Males had a median income of $40,067 versus $26,452 for females. 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 town was $28,599. About 4.8% of families and 6.6% 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 6.6% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the town

* Village of Chatham – A village whose northern half is in the town, by the southern town line. *Chatham Center – A hamlet on NY-66, west of the geographic center of town and north of Chatham village. * East Chatham – A hamlet at the eastern town line, east of Old Chatham. *Kinderhook Lake – A lake partly in the town by the western town line. *Malden Bridge – A hamlet in the northern part of the town, east of North Chatham. *New Concord – A hamlet east of Rock City by the eastern town line. *North Chatham – A hamlet in the northwestern corner of the town. The Peck House and North Chatham Historic District are listed on the

. * Old Chatham – A hamlet northeast of the geographic center of the town. It is one of the earliest settlements in the town. *Rayville – A hamlet in the northeastern part of the town, northeast of Old Chatham on NY-66. *Riders – A hamlet in the northeastern quadrant of the town, between Riders Mills and Rayville. *Riders Mills – A hamlet in the northeastern part of the town. *Rock City – A hamlet south of the geographic center of the town and north of Chatham village.

Notable people

* Marguerite Chapman, film actress and model of the 1940s and 1950s, was born in Chatham. * Kristine DeBell, film actress and model, best known as A.L. in ''Meatballs'' (film), born and raised in Chatham. * Arthur Estabrook, researcher and eugenist, died in Chatham in 1973. * Horace Peaslee, architect and landscape designer, born in Malden Bridge in 1884 * Lillian Shadic, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player in the 1949 season, a Chatham native. * Actor David Schramm, who portrayed Roy Biggins in the 1990s

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Wings'', had a home in Chatham.

References

External links

Town of Chatham official website

Chatham Public Library

Shaker Museum, Old Chatham

Chatham Area Business Alliance
{{authority control Towns in Columbia County, New York Towns in New York (state) Populated places established in 1795 1795 establishments in New York (state)