Welcome to the new and improved home-on-the-web for Chatham Village Historical Society (CVHS). We’re so glad you’ve visited.
At our core, CVHS is dedicated to preserving the history of Chatham village, and educating the public on that history. We do this by collecting and preserving items and records of historical note, sharing educational content, and hosting events to share information and fundraise towards our eventual goal of establishing a museum dedicated to celebrating the history of Chatham village.
What does Chatham village history include?
Railroad history
Chatham village boasts a rich and varied history. If you love railroad history, you’ll be delighted to delve into the village’s place in railroad history as a crossroads for 5 major northeastern railroad lines.
The image here shows a clever late 1800’s ad for the Boston and Albany Railroad, promising:
- Safety is assured to all travelers in the Boston and Albany
- Perfect train service is obtained on the Boston and Albany
- Finest roadbed on the continent is found on the Boston and Albany
- Courtesy is shown to all who travel via the Boston and Albany
Because there were 5 railroad converging in town, the area had a high incidence of railroad tragedies. In 1852, an entire crew from Chatham tragically lost their lives to an accident on the Harlem line in Martindale (Claverack). Another train was lost in Philmont when a bridge gave way during a torrential storm, killing 3 members of the crew. There were many other accidents over the years; as so many people from the village worked on the railroad, locals would rush to the scene upon hearing news of an accident, hoping not to hear of Chatham men among the lost.
Farming history
Columbia County has long been a center of agriculture, so it’s no surprise that Chatham has it’s fair share of farming history. Dairy, produce, and milk have been produced on the village’s many farms.
The historic Blinn-Pulver Farmhouse on Hudson Avenue is what remains of a 182-acre farm established in the mid-19th century. Known as the Van Deusen farm, it was purchased by Philo Blinn roundabout the early 1860s. He maintained it as a working farm, diligently keeping records that are known today as one of the most complete accounts of New York farming in the late 1800s. The farm changed hands several times over the lifetime of the property, and was run as a dairy farm by Clyde Pulver from the 1950’s-1980’s.
Police and Fire History
Chatham village’s police department and fire department are an important part of village life, and ones we are proud to celebrate.
The Fire Department consists of two companies, Ocean Fire Co. No. 1 (established in 1858), and Sanford W. Smith Hook & Ladder Co. (established in 1929). While the Ocean Fire Co. No. 1 was originally headquartered in the ground floor of the clocktower building, both volunteer companies now reside in the Hoffman Street station.
The Columbia County Fair
No discussion of village history would be complete without touching on the Columbia County Fair. Held each year bridging August into September, the fair boasts 182 years of local history.
Originally held in Hudson, the first agricultural fair was held in Chatham on Park Row in 1852. The wide roadway at the time was ideal for events, and was used as a town park, and to host baseball games, Civil War drills, and circuses.
In 1856, the fair committee purchased 15 acres in “Chatham Four Corners” (as the village was then known); this is the fairgrounds we know and love.
It isn’t September without the Columbia County Fair! Here we see a family enjoying their day at the fair, very much the way we do today.
Learn more about the history of the Columbia County Fair at the fair website.
Plus so much more
There’s so much more history to explore in the village of Chatham. There’s art and architecture, houses of worship, cemeteries, restaurants, nature and more.
We hope you’ll join us for future updates and events.
A note
Chatham Village Historical Society is a community-led, not-for-profit-organization. All of our activities are thanks to the hard work of our volunteers, from staffing our events to caretaking our collections to writing these blog posts!
We appreciate your understanding that while we try our best to present an entertaining, educational, and factually correct view of the historical events and locations we discuss, we may make mistakes, miss names, or leave out details. We also appreciate your willingness to support our efforts and volunteers by sharing your own knowledge! Please bear with us as we continue building this new website to be the best it can be, and feel free to contact us with thoughts, suggestions, photos or information.
Thank you for reading!
– Ilana, on behalf of Chatham Village Historical Society
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