Hamilton’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Hamilton. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗In the late 1830s, the land that present-day Hamilton was built on was sold by the owner Niconar Munson to Dr. Samuel Tuttle, who was the first to plat the town. The original name of the town was "Enterprise". Dr. Tuttle went to New York shortly thereafter, where he met Fisher Howe, president of a syndicate of capitalists. Dr. Tuttle sold all but one-sixteenth of the plat to him for $15,000. In the spring of 1838, Howe sent Sidney Gambia, an agent, to Enterprise to sell goods and develop the settlement. However, Enterprise was heavily ladened with illness that year, to such an extent that it became known for it. To improve the settlement's reputation, the name was changed to Hamilton. Eventually the town was sold to Sidney Gambia for $1 (and for other terms), and the name was officially recorded as the Town of Hamilton in 1844.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Hamilton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hamilton’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view"Kersplash" at Cold Springs, 1900: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Hamilton
See all 1 →Hamilton, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Hamilton is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Hamilton has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Pleasant Lake Depot in Steuben, 5.6 miles away.
Hamilton and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as "Kersplash" at Cold Springs (1900) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (1) and the Library of Congress (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.