Hampton New York - A Town In Washington County

Hampton, a town on the Vermont border that is north of Granville and east of Whitehall, has basically remained an agricultural community since its official organization in 1786.

The number of dairy farms has greatly decreased over the years, however the remaining ones produce more milk per farm than previous facilities - keeping dairy farming important to the community. In one season around 1870 when the town was called Hampton Corners, a cheese factory in town used over 1.5 million pounds of milk produced by 400 cows from surrounding farms. Now approximately the same amount of milk is produced by one farm with an average of 95 cows.

Another important agricultural product to Hampton New York is apples. Hampton's rich soil is especially well suited for growing apples, so much so that several commercial orchards now exist in the area. Fairview Orchard on Route 4 in Low Hampton produces enough apples annually to ship some to customers, sell many at the orchard's roadside stand and make a good amount of sweet cider in its modern cider mill. The Vermont Apple Co. also owns an orchard on Route 4 and leases another one on Country Road 11. Most of its apples are shipped to New York and other cities to be sold from there. In 1983, the Vermont Apple Co. harvested enough apples from its orchard to hire local people and pickers from the British West Indies and Florida to help with the harvest.

Also in Low Hampton on Viadyka Woods Road is an orchard owned by Shirley and Concetto Poalino. They allow people to pick their own apples. They sell the balance at their Garden Center in Fair Haven, Vermont.

Slate production also has played a key role in Hampton's economy through the years. Red, green and purple slate has been extracted from slate quarries in Hampton since the late 19th century. The A.A. Hadeka Slate Co. still produces mostly red slate for roofing out of the old Staso Quarry. The Ritchie Bros. Slate Co. of Middle Granville owns a purple slate quarry which they work occasionally, while several other area quarries are inactive at this time.

Hampton's Carver Falls power plant is still producing electricity, also. The historic stone landmark, built in 1894 on the Poultney River, presently is being operated by the Central Vermont Public Service Corporation. This picturesque facility supplied the first electricity to Fair Haven, Vermont.

Students in Hampton New York presently attend neighboring schools in Granville and Whitehall. In the southern part of town, students attend schools in the Granville Central School District. Students K-6 attend Mary J. Tanner School in Middle Granville and grades 7-12 attend Granville Central High School. Children in Low Hampton are part of the Whitehall Central School District with all of them going by bus to Whitehall Elementary or Whitehall High School.

Hampton has many charming old homes and historic landmarks to see. Perhaps the most well known landmark is the chapel built in 1848 by William Miller, the founder of the Advent Christian Movement, and his followers. The chapel, in Low Hampton, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and still houses summer services by the Seventh-Day Adventists.

Hampton has experienced a significant growth in recent years, reflecting its attractiveness as a summer residence for many visitors. From 1970 to 1980, Hampton's population grew from 464 to 545 - a growth of 20.5 percent. Part of this growth has come from seasonal residents who have built several summer residences by beautiful Hills Pond. These people, like Hampton's long-time residents, have discovered that the town is quite a charming place to live.