GAZETTEER

OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

By J. H. French

R. P. Smith, Publisher

Syracuse, New York

1860

COLUMBIA COUNTY

Page 244

Congress it was voted to recommend to that body the passage of a declaration of independence.¹  There are 7 churches in town.²

CHATHAM--was formed from Canaan and Kinderhook, March 17, 1795, and parts of Austerlitz and Ghent were taken off in 1818.  It lies near the center of the n. border of the co. The surface is moderately hilly, the ranges generally extending n. and s.  The principal stream is Kinderhook Creek, upon which are numerous mill sites.  The soil in the valleys is a gravelly loam intermixed with clay, and upon the hills it is slaty.  The valleys are broad and fertile, and the hills arable to the summits.  Near New Concord is a sulphur spring.  Chatham Four Corners, (p.v.) is situated partly in this town and partly in Ghent.  It is an important station on the A. & W. S. R. R. and the H & B. R. R., and is the terminus of the Harlem R. R.  The depots of these roads are in Ghent.  The village contains 3 churches, a machine shop, and 3 foundries.  Pop. 697.  East Chatham, (p.v.,) a station of the A. & W. S. R. R., near the line of Canaan, contains 2 churches, a gristmill, sawmill,  and candle factory.  Pop. 245.  New Concord contains 1 church and 109 inhabitants; Chatham, (p.v.,) 1 church, a furnace and plow factory, gristmill, and sawmill, and a pop. of 214; Rayville a Friends meeting house and 13 houses; Chatham Center, (p.v.,) 1 church and 127 inhabitants; Malden Bridge, (p.v.,) 1 church, a paper mill, sawmill, and tannery, and a pop. of 193; and Riders Mills, a gristmill, sawmill, and 12 houses.  North Chatham, (p.v.,) contains 2 churches, a sawmill, gristmill, and plaster mill.  Pop. 179.  The settlement of this town commenced about 1725.  The settlers were from Kinderhook, but originally from Holland.  A company from Connecticut settled at New Concord in 1758.³  The census reports 11 churches in town.⁴

CLAVERACK⁵  (Claw^/ve-rack)--was formed as a district, March 24, 1772.  Hillsdale was taken off in 1782, and Hudson in 1785.  It was recognized as a town, March 7, 1788.  A part of Ghent was taken off in 1818.  It lies near the center of the co.  The surface in the w. part is undulating, and the e. hilly.  Claverack Creek, upon the w. border of the town, and its tributaries, are the principal streams.  The soil is a rich loam in the w., and a gravelly loam intermixed with slate in the e.  Claverack, (p.v.,) in the w. part of the town, a station on the H. & B. R. R., contains 2 churches and the Claverack Academy and Hudson River Institute;⁶ pop. 496; Mellenville, (p.v.,) a station on the H. & B. R. R., contains 2 churches, a gristmill, and 30 dwellings; and Philmont, (p.v.,) a station on the Harlem R. R., contains several manufacturing establishments⁷ and 35 dwellings. South Bend Mills, Martindale Depot, (p. o.) and Humphreysville (p.o.) are hamlets.  Smoky Hollow (p.v.) contains several manufactories⁸ and 25 dwellings, and Churchtown, (p.v.) 1 church and 14 dwellings.  The Ref. Prot. D. church, Claverack, was organized in 1716, and the present edifice was erected in 1765.  There are 6 churches in town.⁹

CLERMONT--was formed from the Livingston Manor, March 12, 1787.¹⁰  It lies upon the Hudson, in the s. w. corner of the co.  The surface is undulating.  Roeliff Jansens Kil forms the e. boundary.  The soil is a fertile loam, and in some places sandy.  Clermont, (p.v.,) near the e. part of the town, has a pop. of 155.  The first settlement was made at an early day by Germans, who occupied the lands as tenants.  A school was established, in 1791, by a special act of the legislature, before any general school system had been adopted in the State.¹¹  Robert R. Livingston, a prominent statesman of the Revolution and the first chancellor of the State, was a resident of this town.  A German Lutheran church, about 3 mi. w. of the village of Clermont, is the only church in town.

COPAKE--was formed from Taghkanick, March 26, 1824.  It lies on the e. border of the co., between Hillsdale and Ancram.  Its surface is broken by ranges of hills separated by broad

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¹  William B. Whiting, Asa Waterman, Philip Frisbie, Martin Beebe, Elisha Pratt, Capt. Baldwin, Daniel Buck, Elijah Bostwick, Gideon King, Jarvis Mudge, Samuel Johnson, Samuel Gillett, L. A. Herrick, Joseph Wood, John Woodworth, and Samuel Baily were appointed a committee to prepare a memorial making such recommendation to Congress.

²  2 Bap., 2 M. E., Christian, Cong., and Presb.

³ Among these were John Beebee, and others named Cady, Hurlburt, Palmer, and Davis.  A little w. of Chatham Center was a stone house, used as a defense against the Indians during the Revolution.  A man named Vosburgh, who lived near this house, was killed and scalped; but his family escaped.

⁴  6 M.E., 2 Bap., Christian, Cong., and Ref. Prot. D.

⁵ This town formerly extended to the Hudson , and the bluffs on the bank were named the "Klauvers," (clovers,) whence "Claver-reach," or "Claverack."--Benson's Memoir, p. 44.

⁶ This institution is located upon a beautiful eminence in the n. part of the village, and commands an extensive view of the surrounding country and of the distant Catskills.  It is one of the most flourishing institutions in the State.  It has accommodation for 500 to 600 pupils

⁷  Three paper mills, a carpet factory, woolen factory, sash and blind factory, furnace and machine shop.

⁸ Among these are a woolen factory, cradle factory, gristmill, and sawmill.

⁹2 Ref. Prot. D., Bap. Evang. Luth., M. E., and Prot. E.

¹⁰ By an act of legislature passed March 2, 1858, a triangular tract, now constituting the n. part of Germantown, was taken off from Clermont.

¹¹ An academy was incorp. April 26, 1834, and received under the regents Feb. 26, 1837, but it was never successfully organized.

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