In 1816, The Village obtained a charter to incorporate and the people change the name to “Hamilton,” in honor of Alexander Hamilton.
Samuel Payne and his wife, among the first settlers, donated their land to the Baptist Theological Society, which became Madison University and later Colgate University.
The Erie Canal was opened in 1825, with the Chenango Canal connecting the Erie from Utica and Binghamton in 1836. Its route passed through our village.
In 1895, a fire started which laid the whole business portion of the village in ashes. “Shantytown” sprang up as temporary buildings around the park. By that October, almost all the businesses had been rebuilt or were under construction.
Stagecoaches, the Chenango canal, and now the Ontario and Western Railway were some of the means of transportation for local citizens.
