Durham, Town of
Subject
Subject Source: Local sources
Scope Note: Durham township was originally settled in the 1750s while still a part of the district of Coxsackie in old Albany County. Partition from Coxsackie in 1790 as the Town of Freehold, Durham was renamed in honor of Durham, Connecticut where many of its earliest settlers hailed from in 1805. The oldest settlements in Durham are at Oak Hill, which predates the Revolutionary War, and at Meeting House Hill near the present hamlet of Durham which dates immediately following the end of the Revolution. Situated at the junction of the Windham and Susquehanna Turnpikes, the town of Durham prospered from its location along some of the region's main highways in the earliest days of the Republic. A portion of Durham was allocated to the town of Conesville in Schoharie County, and today it is bounded on the north by Westerlo and Rennselaerville [Albany County], on the west by Conesville [Schoharie County] and Windham, on the South by Windham and Cairo, and on the east by Greenville. Durham contains the hamlets of Durham, Oak Hill, Cornwallville, Durso Corner, East Durham, East Windham, Hervey Street, Mount Pisgah, Sunside, West Durham, and South Durham.