Chatham, New York, United States

🇺🇸 Chatham is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States.

The town has a village also called Chatham on its southern town line. The town is at the northern border of Columbia County.

History The early settlers were Dutch, but later Quakers and New Englanders arrived. The town of Chatham was formed from the towns of Canaan and Kinderhook in 1795. Contradictory of its current condition or image, Chatham was an industrial centre of multiple inter-state rail lines in the early 1900s, including the junction of the Boston and Albany Railroad for connections east and west, the Rutland Railroad for connections to Vermont to the north, and the New York Central's Harlem Line for connections to New York City. In 1887 a terminal designed by Henry Hobson Richardson was constructed. Amtrak service on the Lake Shore Limited passes through, east-west, but does not stop. In later years Amtrak has planned to build a rail station in Chatham.

The Blinn-Pulver Farmhouse, Melius-Bentley House, Peck House, Riders Mills Historic District, Silvernail Homestead, Simons General Store, Spengler Bridge, St. John's Lutheran Church, James G. Van Valkenburgh House, and John S. Williams House and Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 53.6 square miles (138.7 km²), of which 53.2 square miles (137.9 km²) is land and 0.31 square miles (0.8 km²), or 0.59%, is water.

The northern town line is the border of Rensselaer County.

The northern terminus of the Taconic State Parkway is in the town, and Interstate 90 passes through the town.

New York State Route 66 and New York State Route 203 intersect in the town.

Adjacent towns and areas The town of Kinderhook is to the west, and the towns of Canaan and New Lebanon are to the east. The towns of Schodack and Nassau are to the north in Rensselaer County. The towns of Austerlitz and Ghent are to the south.

Communities and locations in the town • Chatham – The northern half of the village of Chatham is in the town, by the southern town line. • Chatham Center – A hamlet on NY-66, west of the geographic centre of town and north of Chatham village. • East Chatham – A hamlet at the eastern town line, east of Old Chatham. • Kinderhook Lake – A lake partly in the town by the western town line. • Malden Bridge – A hamlet in the northern part of the town, east of North Chatham. • New Concord – A hamlet east of Rock City by the eastern town line. • North Chatham – A hamlet in the north-western corner of the town. The Peck House and North Chatham Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. • Old Chatham – A hamlet north-east of the geographic centre of the town. It is one of the earliest settlements in the town. • Rayville – A hamlet in the north-eastern part of the town, north-east of Old Chatham on NY-66. • Riders – A hamlet in the north-eastern quadrant of the town, between Riders Mills and Rayville. • Riders Mills – A hamlet in the north-eastern part of the town. • Rock City – A hamlet south of the geographic centre of the town and north of Chatham village.