Westport, New York

Westport, New York
Town

Essex County Fairgrounds in Westport, NY. Lake Champlain and Vermont in the background.
Motto: "A gateway to the Adirondack Mountains."

Location in Essex County and the state of New York.
Coordinates: 44°11′N 73°26′W / 44.183°N 73.433°W / 44.183; -73.433
Country United States
State New York
County Essex
Government
 • Type Town Council
 • Town Supervisor Daniel W. Connell (D)
 • Town Council
Area
 • Total 66.9 sq mi (173.2 km2)
 • Land 58.4 sq mi (151.3 km2)
 • Water 8.5 sq mi (21.9 km2)
Elevation 226 ft (69 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 1,312
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 12993
Area code(s) 518
FIPS code 36-80775[1]
GNIS feature ID 0979625[2]
Website westportny.net

Westport is a town in Essex County, New York, United States overlooking Lake Champlain. The population was 1,312 at the 2010 census.

The Town of Westport is on the eastern border of the county and is 35 miles (56 km) south of Plattsburgh[3] and 93 miles (150 km) south of Montreal.[4] Westport is inside the Adirondack Park.

Westport is the birthplace of the Adirondack chair.[5]

The Essex County Fair is held in the town.[6] The Essex County Fairgrounds was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[7]

History

Early history

In 1642, Jesuit missionary Isaac Jogues was tortured by Iroquois at Coles Bay. He survived and was eventually saved by merchants from New Amsterdam.

The town was founded by William Gilliland in 1764 who surveyed an area in the southern part of the town and was granted 2,300 acres (9.3 km2); he also established the neighboring towns of Elizabethtown, named for his wife, and Willsboro. Gilliland originally called his patent "Bessboro" after his little daughter.[8] The original settlement, which may have supplied wood to Benedict Arnold's troops, was completely destroyed during the American Revolutionary War in connection with British General John Burgoyne's march from Canada to Saratoga. The first permanent settlement was in 1785.[9]

Incorporation

The Town of Westport was established in 1815 from part of the Town of Elizabethtown. The community of Westport set itself off from the town in 1907 by incorporation. The Village of Westport abandoned this status as an incorporated village as of Dec 31, 1992.

Westport the resort

By the mid-nineteenth century, Westport was a fashionable resort town. Its social scene was regularly reported on in The New York Times and by the Boston press. Like many other East Coast resorts, Its popularity gradually declined, starting in the 1930s, as first automobiles and then airplanes made possible a wider selection of vacation sites. Since the 1950s, however, Westport's lakeshore property has steadily increased in value. Although once most of the "summer people" stayed for weeks, now distinctions are not as clear: there are "year-round summer people" whose livelihood stems from outside Westport, weekenders whose principal residence is fairly close by (for example, Albany, which is two hours distant by car), and commuters to workplaces as distant as Plattsburgh, New York, and Middlebury, Vermont.

Westport is home to Camp Dudley YMCA, the oldest summer camp in continuous operation in the United States, founded in 1885 by Sumner F. Dudley, moved to Westport in 1891. Meadowmount, the summer school for string players founded by Ivan Galamian, is about eight miles (13 km) from the center of town. Westport is known as the ice fishing capital of Essex County.

Westport is also home to the only professional theatre in the Adirondacks proper. The Depot Theatre was founded in 1979, and operates out of the historic Amtrak railway station. The 136-seat, air-conditioned theatre hosts plays and musicals on its main stage during the summer months, as well as an annual Gala. Outside of the Main Stage season, the Depot Theatre holds play readings, fundraisers, and receptions in the Depot Theatre Gallery located in the lobby.

The Camp Dudley Road Historic District, Champlain II Shipwreck, Essex County Fairgrounds, First Congregational and Presbyterian Society Church of Westport, Lake View Grange No. 970, and VERGENNES (canal boat) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[10][11]

Geography

The Victorian Lady bed and breakfast, one of many historic houses in Westport

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 66.9 square miles (173 km2), of which, 58.4 square miles (151 km2) of it is land and 8.5 square miles (22 km2) of it (12.65%) is water.

The east town line is formed by Lake Champlain and the border of Vermont. The town is inside the Adirondack Park.

New York State Route 9N, New York State Route 22, and County Route 44 are north-south highways in Westport. NY-9N and NY-22 become conjoined in Westport village. Interstate 87, the Northway, passes across the northwest part of Westport.

Birding

Several sites on the Lake Champlain Birding Trail are located in Westport:[12][13]

and

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18201,095—
18301,51338.2%
18401,93227.7%
18502,35221.7%
18601,981−15.8%
18701,577−20.4%
18801,73710.1%
18901,8647.3%
19001,727−7.3%
19101,8678.1%
19201,492−20.1%
19301,5342.8%
19401,6578.0%
19501,597−3.6%
19601,565−2.0%
19701,453−7.2%
19801,439−1.0%
19901,4460.5%
20001,362−5.8%
20101,312−3.7%
Est. 20141,306[14]−0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[15]
The Westport Library, built 1887

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,362 people, 593 households, and 381 families residing in the town. (Note that since the census excludes summer residents, the figures in this section are for year-round residents only.) The population density was 23.3 people per square mile (9.0/km²). There were 887 housing units at an average density of 15.2 per square mile (5.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.65% White, 0.15% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.

There were 593 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,000, and the median income for a family was $49,917. Males had a median income of $31,042 versus $26,550 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,063. About 5.2% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Westport is served by the Westport Central School, a K-12 school that is the only public school in the Westport Central School District. Westport also has a branch of the Cornell University Cooperative Extension and is the location of the Meadowmount School of Music, a well-known summer music program. Additionally, the Depot Theatre runs a summer apprentice program for children ranging from elementary school to high school age.

Public transport

Westport, NY train station, home to the Depot Theatre

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Westport, operating its Adirondack daily in both directions between Montreal and New York City. A bus connection is available from Westport to Lake Placid, New York. The Amtrak station also houses The Depot Theatre.

Notable accidents/incidents

On August 28, 2006, at approximately 6:45 p.m. local time, a Greyhound bus traveling from New York City to Montreal overturned on the Adirondack Northway in Westport, New York, after suffering a blown tire, killing five and injuring 48.[16]

Access to medical care

Westport, New York, is in a rural area in the Adirondack Park, and so most of its access to medical care is via the ferry operated by Lake Champlain Transportation Company. The nearest emergency room is Elizabethtown Community Hospital, a 25-bed rural hospital with eight doctors on its active medical staff,[17] which is a nine-mile drive. About 34 miles by car, accessible via ferry, is the emergency room of Fletcher Allen Hospital, a large, full-service hospital affiliated with the University of Vermont. During times when the ferry from Essex is not running, the nearest full-service emergency room is at CVPH Medical Center, in Plattsburgh, New York, an approximately 45-mile drive. Slightly closer, though a longer drive over rural roads, is Porter Hospital in Middlebury, Vermont, accessible via the bridge at Crown Point, New York.

Elizabethtown Community Hospital operates a small satellite clinic in Westport, New York.

Notable people

The Westport Inn Annex, 1877, now The Inn on the Library Lawn.
The Floral Hall at the historic Essex County Fairgrounds

Some notable Westport, NY residents, past and present, include:

Communities and locations in Westport

Inhabited locations

Geographical locations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ Wolfram Alpha
  4. ↑ Wolfram Alpha listing for Westport, NY
  5. ↑ Adirondacks: The thrones of summer, by Tom Keyser, Albany Times Union, September 1, 2007.
  6. ↑ Essex County Fair
  7. ↑ Letter notifying the Westport Planning Board, reproduced on the website of the Town of Westport.
  8. ↑ Royce, Caroline Halstead (1902). Bessboro: a history of Westport, Essex Co., N.Y.. Open Library. p. 3.
  9. ↑ A Walking Tour Guide to Westport, New York, on Lake Champlain by Jessica Roemischer, Westport, NY: The Westport Chamber of Commerce and the Westport Historical Society, [1998]. Discussed in the section on section on Historical Background. (Pages not numbered.)
  10. ↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  11. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 8/23/13 through 8/30/13. National Park Service. 2013-09-06.
  12. ↑ Lake Champlain Birding Trail
  13. ↑ High Peaks Audubon Society Trip Reports
  14. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ Greyhound bus bound for Montreal crashes, Globe & Mail, August 29, 2006.
  17. ↑ Medical Staff & Specialty Physicians, Elizabethtown Community Hospital.
  18. ↑ Harvested metal, wire recall farm heritage by Kim Dedam Smith, Press Republican, September 20, 2015
  19. ↑ "CUTTING, John Tyler, (1844–1911)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  20. ↑ David G. Hartwell, Literary-Minded Editor of Science Fiction, Dies at 74 at New York Times
  21. ↑ "HIGBY, William, (1813–1887)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  22. ↑ Storied woodswoman wants to return to her cabin in Adirondacks, The Canadian Press, Dec 30, 2007.
  23. ↑ "Nathan Myrick". Find A Grave. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  24. ↑ "OSBORNE, John Eugene, (1858–1943)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Case Patten Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  26. ↑ "STONE, Joseph Champlin, (1829–1902)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 30, 2012.

Further reading

External links

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Coordinates: 44°11′N 73°26′W / 44.183°N 73.433°W / 44.183; -73.433

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