WHAT THE 1940 CENSUS TELLS US ABOUT CHATHAM TOWNSHIP
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Contributed by Patricia Wells, Chatham Township Historical Society
ost people think about the Federal Census for only as long as it takes them to fill it out every ten years. People doing genealogical searches have more interest because clues to their relatives can often be found there. But historians love these documents because of the plethora of data the census provides about individuals and whole populations. Individual census data is not released until 72 years after a census is taken, so the 1940 census was released in 2012. This census gives us a good picture of Chatham Township in that year. The town had a population of 2,026 people, a 45% increase since the1930 census. In 1910, 53% Harry's Store, run by Harry Harootunian, of homes were on farms. This decreased to 35% provided mail service to families living in 1920 and 19% in 1930. Farm data were poorly near the corner of Fairmount Avenue and Meyersville Road. He knew everyone, so recorded on the Township’s 1940 census, but he just handed you your mail. (Courtesy only 7% of adults over 21 were working in dairy of Chatham Township Historical Society). and agriculture. About half of them worked for the greenhouses found throughout the township. More adults worked in industry and insurance, commuting out of town to their jobs. Here is a sampling of the annual salaries of the period: housekeeper on a private estate $260 ($480 in 2020 dollars), greenhouse worker $1,200 ($22,000), claims approver for an insurance company $2,500 ($46,000), and telephone engineer for a telephone laboratory $5,000 ($92,000). Several areas of town had seen new development. Recently built houses on Edgewood Road and Fairfax Terrace were valued at about $12,000 ($220,200). New homes along Longwood were worth about $7,000 ($129,000). Long Hill Country Club Estates was beginning its building boom with homes valued at $4,000-5,000 ($73,000-$92,000). There were a dozen mansions/estates in town ranging in value from $20,000 to $100,000 ($367,000- $1,800,000). These included Allen McAlpin’s home Boisaubin on Treadwell Avenue, Elliott Averett’s Dixiedale on River Road, and Aglar Cook’s Broadfield Farm (later the Kirby Estate) on Shunpike. Many families rented their homes. The lowest rent was $8 ($147) and the highest $100 ($1835). Most people were paying $15-60 ($275-$1100). In 1940, there were 1,376 adults over 21 in the Township of whom 548 (40%) had eight years or less of education. A handful had never attended school. Only 269 (20%) had completed high school and 170 (12%) had college degrees. Eighteen percent of the adult population were immigrants; most were naturalized citizens or in the process of attaining citizenship. The largest number were from Germany, followed by England, Russia, Ireland and Scotland. The 2010 census recorded 10,452 people living in Chatham Township, nearly 5 times the number in 1940. The changes to the town during that time have been significant. The 1940 census allows us to see how much things have changed.
Chatham Township Town Hall in the 1940s. The Police Departent was located in the small addition on the back. The building was located near Nash Field on Southern Blvd. (Photo by Bob Stoll).
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