Hometown Tuesday Spotlight on Hamilton

Each Tuesday we’re putting the spotlight on a local community and today we’re heading to the Village of Hamilton, home of Colgate University.

Paynes' Settlement
Hamilton was founded in 1795 and first known as Payne's Settlement.  Elisha Payne built a barn, the first framed building in the village, and in 1802 he opened a tavern that is now the Colgate Inn.

Colgate Inn

Colgate University
Colgate University was founded in 1819. Today, Colgate's campus is located on what was Samuel Payne’s farm. The university's campus was ranked as the most beautiful by The Princeton Review in 2010.

John Vincent Atanasoff
John Vincent Atanasoff, created the first digital electronic computer, was born in Hamilton in 1903.  His special-purpose machine has come to be called the Atanasoff–Berry Computer.

Concerts in the Park
The Hamilton Concerts in the park are held 7pm on the Hamilton Village Green. The Hamilton Concerts take place every Thursday through Aug. 16th. Rain location is the Barge Canal.

A farmers market is also held on the Village Green every Saturday from 8am-1pm..

National Historic Place
History surrounds this little village.  Many of the buildings date back to 1895, the year of "the great fire" which destroyed much of the village.  The Village was place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Downtown is filled with quaint little shops that offer food,  clothing, books and coffee.  There's even a movie theater and live theater house.

Source: Wikipedia.com, Hamilton-ny.gov