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The territory know as Durham was formally included within the boundaries of Albany County. It belonged tot he district of Coxsackie, as organized on 1772. In 1788 this district was formed into a distinct town retaining the original name, Coxsackie. March 8th, 1790 the town of Coxsackie was divided into two nearly equal sections by a line running north and south nearly east of the Villages of Greenville, Freehold and Woodstock. The eastern division retained the original name, Coxsackie while the western portion of the town was organized as the Town of Freehold.
The Town of Freehold, as thus constituted, was very extensive. It included not only the present Town of Durham, but large portions of each of the existing towns of Greenville, Cairo, Windham, Ashland and Prattsville in Greene County and nearly the whole Town of Conesville in Schoharie County.
This immense township must have contained at least 150,000 acres of land. With the exception of a few settlements in the present Town of Greenville and along the valleys of the Manorkill, the Batavia Kill and the Katskill it was wilderness in which the wolf, panther, bear, deer, fox and wild cat roamed in almost undisturbed security. it was heavily wooded with ash, basswood, beech, birch buttonwood, chestnut, elm, hemlock, hickory, ironwood, maple, oak, pine and white wood timber.
Upon the formation of the County of Greene, March 25th, 1800, Freehold became one of her townships. About this time the "Batvia Country", as it was called, which was that section of the town south and west of the eastern range of the Catskill Mountains, was attached to the territory which had been received from Ulster County and organized as the Town of Windham.
March 26th, 1830, the towns of Cairo and Greenville were formed, each taking a slice from Freehold.
March 28th, 1805, the name of the town was changed to Durham. Many of the early settlers came from Durham in Connecticut and from the very first they had called their settlement "New Durham". The name had continually gained favor with the people and was finally adopted by universal consent as the appropriate name for the town.
March 3rd, 1836, that section of the town north and west of the mountains was annexed to Schoharie County and organized as the town of Conesville; thus named in honor of the Rev. Jonathan Cone who was at the time the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Durham.
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7309 Rt. 81 East Durham,NY 12423 |
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518-239-6122 |
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© 2000 Town of Durham, NY |