Hamilton, New York

Hamilton is about 10 miles from the geographic center of New York state. The area is ideal for biking and running in the rolling hills of the Chenango Valley and hiking and skiing in the nearby Adirondack Mountains.

Cooperstown, with its famed Baseball Hall of Fame, Farmers’ Museum, and Glimmerglass Opera, is less than an hour away, as is the city of Syracuse with attractions such as Syracuse Stage, Everson Museum, and Syracuse Symphony.

Munson Williams Proctor Institute in nearby Utica is one of the country’s acclaimed small art museums. The scenic Finger Lakes region is two hours to the west of Hamilton, and New York City is about a five-hour drive, close enough for class field trips and extracurricular exploration.

A fully outfitted Base Camp on campus is headquarters for Colgate’s outdoor education program and provides rental equipment for camping, backpacking, skiing, and snow shoeing. Near campus lies the 85-acre Beattie Reserve with forested trails, and a little farther afield Colgate maintains a camp on Upper Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks for use by students and faculty.

The village was originally inhabited by members of the Iroquois League; the adjacent territory is still considered sacred by the Oneida Indian Nation. Ceded to the state of New York following the American Revolution, Hamilton (named for statesman Alexander) was founded in 1795 by Elisha Payne, who was responsible for bringing the first group of nonindigenous settlers from New England.

Hamilton was incorporated in 1816. By the 1820s, it thrived as a trading center for an extensive farming area, and boasted two taverns, several stores, a schoolhouse, a church, a newspaper, grist mill, and sawmill.

The Chenango Canal, completed in 1836, put the village on the water route between the Erie Canal at Utica and the Susquehanna River at Binghamton. The railroad, which replaced the canal in the 1870s, was supplanted by the highway in the 1940s.

For many years, Hamilton’s major industry has been Colgate University. A small, charming, and essentially rural community, Hamilton has changed little in either size or character during the past 100 years.

Area Schools:
Hamilton Central School
W. Kendrick St.
Hamilton, NY 13346
(315) 824-3300 / fax (315) 824-6314
Hamilton Central School

Hamilton Central Schools NCES district information
NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data that are related to education in the United States and other nations.

Colgate University
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton, NY 13346
(315) 228-1000
Colgate University

Area Attractions:

Earlville Opera House (Earlville) — 6 miles
International Boxing Hall of Fame (Canastota) — 24 miles
Ozstravoganza (Canastota) — 24 miles
Oneida Community Mansion House (Oneida) — 39 miles
Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute (Utica) — 34 miles
Picker Art Gallery/Colgate University (Hamilton) — 0 miles
Glimmerglass Opera (Cooperstown) — 43 miles
Farmers Museum (Cooperstown) — 43 miles
Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown) — 43 miles
Soccer Hall of Fame (Oneonta) — 46 miles
Turning Stone Casino/Resort (Verona) — 24 miles
Carousel Mall/Destiny USA (Syracuse) — 49 miles
Everson Museum (Syracuse) — 38 miles
NBT Stadium (Syracuse) — 49 miles
Syracuse International Airport (Syracuse) — 47 miles
Carrier Dome (Syracuse) — 38 miles

Hamilton, NY Road Trip provided by: Mohawk Valley Living
Road Trip to Hamilton including Porter Studios, Evergreen Gallery, Colgate Inn.

Road Trip to Hamilton Part 2 including the Palace Theatre, Maxwell’s, Chapel House

Some information provided by Colgate University.