Hamilton

History

In the late 1830s, the land that present-day Hamilton was built on was sold by the owner Niconar Munson to Dr. Samuel Tuttle, who was the first to plat the town. The original name of the town was "Enterprise". Dr. Tuttle went to New York shortly thereafter, where he met Fisher Howe, president of a syndicate of capitalists. Dr. Tuttle sold all but one-sixteenth of the plat to him for $15,000. In the spring of 1838, Howe sent Sidney Gambia, an agent, to Enterprise to sell goods and develop the settlement. However, Enterprise was heavily ladened with illness that year, to such an extent that it became known for it. To improve the settlement's reputation, the name was changed to Hamilton. Eventually the town was sold to Sidney Gambia for $1 (and for other terms), and the name was officially recorded as the Town of Hamilton in 1844. A post office was established under the name Enterprise in 1837, and was renamed to Hamilton in 1844. The post office remains in operation. Hamilton was incorporated as a town in 1914.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Hamilton has a total area of , of which (or 75.87%) is land and (or 24.13%) is water. The town is served by Indiana Highway 1, Indiana Highway 427, and Bellefontaine Road, which connects to Old US 27 in Pleasant Lake. The town is mainly a resort town that sees an influx of vacationers known colloquially as "lakers" during the summer months. The town is served by the Hamilton Police Department and the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department. The main feature of the town is its namesake lake which the town was built around. Author Edward Eager vacationed here as a child in the 1920s, and featured the lake and local places like the hotel at Cold Harbor in one of his children's books, “Magic by the Lake”. A few years ago, the Flegal Brothers Gravel Pit, located on the Northwest end of the lake, was shut down and sold. After getting the go-ahead from state and federal officials, the closed pits were allowed to flood and then the portion of land separating the old gravel pit from the lake was removed and the newly created additions to the lake were named Crystal Bay and Crystal Cove and were sold off to a developer for the construction of new homes. Neighborhoods in the town include Russels Point, Oakwood, Penn Park, Forest Park, and Island Park.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Angola High School
  High · Angola · 785 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• Angola Middle School
  Middle · Angola · 557 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Ryan Park Elementary School
  Elementary · Angola · 398 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Carlin Park Elementary School
  Elementary · Angola · 375 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• Hendry Park Elementary School
  Elementary · Angola · 365 students · 14:1 ratio
• Pleasant Lake Elementary School
  Elementary · Pleasant Lake · 127 students · 11.5:1 ratio