Ogdensburg, New York
Encyclopedia
Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 11,128 at the 2010 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden.

The City of Ogdensburg is at the northern border of New York, on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...

. It is the only city located in Saint Lawrence County.

The Port of Ogdensburg is the only U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 port on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Ogdensburg International Airport
Ogdensburg International Airport
Ogdensburg International Airport is a public airport located two miles southeast of the central business district of Ogdensburg, a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority. and is situated just outside the city limits on NYS Route...

 is located south of the city. The Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge, northeast of the city, links the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

History

This was ancient territory of indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

 of varying cultures. By 1000 CE, Iroquoian-speaking peoples were settling along the St. Lawrence River and practicing agriculture, as well as hunting and fishing. Since the 1950s, historians, linguists, and archeologists have found evidence of a distinct people, the St. Lawrence Iroquoians
St. Lawrence Iroquoians
The St. Lawrence Iroquoians were a prehistoric First Nations/Native American indigenous people who lived from the 14th century until about 1580 CE along the shores of the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and New York State, United States. They spoke Laurentian...

, who inhabited the areas along the St. Lawrence River from before 1300 until the late 16th century. They spoke Laurentian
Laurentian language
Laurentian, or St. Lawrence Iroquoian, was an Iroquoian language spoken until the late 16th century along the shores of the Saint Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario, Canada. It is believed to have disappeared with the extinction of the St...

 and were a group distinct from the later historical five and Six Nations of the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

 Haudenosaunee. By the late 16th century, this people disappeared from the St. Lawrence Valley, probably due to warfare by the Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...

 over the fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...

.

By the time of later French contact, for instance in the early 17th century with Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....

, the Five Nations
Five Nations
Five Nations can refer to:* The original five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, a union of Native Americans* The Five Nations Championship in rugby union, now the Rugby Union Six Nations Championship...

 of the Haudenosaunee: Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...

, Onondaga, Oneida
Oneida tribe
The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...

, Cayuga, and Seneca
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...

, were allied in the Iroquois Confederacy, based in present-day New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. Onondaga settlements extended up along the south shore of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

. Both the Huron and Mohawk used the St. Lawrence Valley for hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

 grounds and as a path for war parties.

The earliest European settlement in the area was a French mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...

, built by Abbé Picquet
François Picquet
François Picquet was a Sulpician priest who came to Montreal from France in 1734. He spent the next few years studying Indian languages and customs and serving the local parish....

 in 1749. Built near the mouth of the Fleuve Oswegache
Oswegatchie River
The Oswegatchie River is a river in northern New York that flows north from the Adirondack Mountains to the Saint Lawrence River at the city of Ogdensburg. The river mouth was the site of a Jesuit mission, Fort de La Présentation, founded in 1749. Also a fur trading post, the village had 3,000...

(French spelling), he named it Fort de La Présentation
Fort de La Présentation
In 1749, the French Sulpician priest, Abbé Picquet, built a mission fort, which he named Fort de La Présentation . It was also sometimes known as Fort La Galette. It was built at the confluence of the Oswegatchie River and the St Lawrence River in Canada...

 (Fort of the Presentation
Presentation of Mary
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary , or The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple , is a liturgical feast celebrated by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Orthodox Churches....

). The mission attracted natives
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 for the fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...

, many of whom settled in the village and converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

. Mostly Onondaga, the converted Iroquois at the mission became known as Oswegatchie.

By 1755, there were 3,000 Iroquois living at the mission settlement. By comparison, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 had only 4,000 residents at the time. Oswegatchie was one of the Seven Nations of Canada
Seven Nations of Canada
The Seven Nations of Canada were a historic confederation of Canadian First Nations living in and around the Saint Lawrence River valley beginning in the eighteenth century. They were allied to New France and often included substantial numbers of Roman Catholic converts. During the Seven Years War...

. The residents were hostile to the encroachments of British colonists on their territory. During the 1750s and the Seven Years War, warriors from this fort were allied with French officers in attacking British colonists in the Champlain, Mohawk and Ohio valleys.

The city is near the site of the 1760 Battle of the Thousand Islands
Battle of the Thousand Islands
The Battle of the Thousand Islands was fought 16–24 August 1760, in the upper St. Lawrence River, amongst the Thousand Islands, along the present day Canada–United States border, by British and French forces during the closing phases of the Seven Years' War, as it is called in Canada and Europe, or...

 between British and French forces during the Seven Years War (also known in the US as the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

.) After the British victory, France ceded its land in Canada to England. The English renamed the installation Fort Oswegatchie, after the native name for the river (as it sounded in French). As with the other mission settlements, the British did not disturb the relationship of the Oswegatchie and their Catholic priests. This became part of Lower Canada or Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 province. The village remained under British rule until 1796 following the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

. With the northern border redefined by Jay's Treaty, the settlement became part of United States territory.

The first settlers under a United States flag arrived that year. United States settlers essentially drove the Oswegatchie, former British allies, out of the area; many went to Akwesasne
Akwesasne
The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation territory that straddles the intersection of international and provincial borders on both banks of the Saint Lawrence River. Most of the land is in what is otherwise the United States...

 or other Mohawk reserves in Canada.

New American residents named the village Ogdensburgh after Samuel Ogden
Samuel Ogden
Col. Samuel Ogden was a businessman, developer and land speculator who fought on the side of the patriots during the American Revolutionary War.-Biography:...

, an early landowner. The community developed around this early settlement and was designated the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 from 1802 to 1828. During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, the city was captured by British forces (see: Battle of Ogdensburg
Battle of Ogdensburg
The Battle of Ogdensburg was a battle of the War of 1812. The British gained a victory over the Americans and captured the village of Ogdensburg, New York...

) to end the partial blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...

 on the St. Lawrence River and harassment conducted from the community. Local merchants used the absence of United States troops to conduct extensive trade with Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The community was incorporated as a village in 1817. Unlike Plattsburgh, it removed the "h" in the spelling of its name. The locale became the City of Ogdensburg in 1868.

Ogdensburg was an important trading city and station in the development of railroads in northern New York and southeastern Canada; the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad (1849), Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad
Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad
The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad, commonly known as The Hojack Line, operated along the south shore of Lake Ontario, from Niagara Falls, New York to Oswego, New York. Different segments of the line were abandoned at different times...

 (1853) and Portland and Ogdensburg Railway
Portland and Ogdensburg Railway
The Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad was a railroad planned to connect Portland, Maine to Ogdensburg, New York. The plan failed, and in 1880 the Vermont section was reorganized and leased by the Boston & Lowell Railroad. In 1886, the Maine and New Hampshire section was reorganized as the Portland &...

 (never completed), all involved lines through the area.

In 1940 the town was the site of the signing of the Ogdensburg Agreement
Ogdensburg Agreement
The Ogdensburg Agreement is an agreement signed on August 17, 1940, between Prime Minister Mackenzie King of Canada and United States President Franklin Roosevelt in Heuvelton near Ogdensburg, New York.-History and Rationale:...

 between Canadian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 Mackenzie King and United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

. This renewed the ties between the two countries after the 1939 outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in Europe. The celebrated German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 POW Franz von Werra
Franz von Werra
Franz Xaver Baron von Werra was a German World War II fighter pilot and flying ace who was shot down over England and captured...

 escaped from Canada to Ogdensburg in a rowboat.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 12,364 people, 4,181 households, and 2,583 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 2,440.0 people per square mile (941.6/km²). There were 4,531 housing units at an average density of 894.2 per square mile (345.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.05% White, 9.92% African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.81% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.22% of the population.

There were 4,181 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 35.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 127.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 134.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,954, and the median income for a family was $36,236. Males had a median income of $32,358 versus $21,485 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $12,650. About 14.2% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.3% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.

Resources

Ogdensburg is home to the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, a mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...

 service provider offering both inpatient and outpatient services. The SLPC is part of the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) and serves the general public.

Two private educational institutions, now closed, were formerly located in Ogdensburg. After Mater Dei College closed, its campus was occupied from 2001 to 2009 by Academy at Ivy Ridge
Academy at Ivy Ridge
Academy at Ivy Ridge was an independent privately owned and operated for-profit therapeutic boarding school in Ogdensburg, New York.-Ownership and affiliation:...

. The privately operated boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

 enrolled teenagers with behavioral issues.

The city is the site of the Frederic Remington Art Museum
Frederic Remington Art Museum
The Frederic Remington Art Museum is an art museum in Ogdensburg, New York that focuses on the work of Frederic Remington.-History:The building currently housing the museum was built in 1810 by David Parish. Although he only lived in the home until 1816, other members of his family occupied it up...

. The downtown museum is housed in the former family mansion of local industrialist David Parish
David Parish
David Parish was a German-born land speculator and financier who played a major role in financing the United States military effort in the War of 1812 and in chartering the Second Bank of the United States....

 on Washington Street. While the house was always called the Parish Mansion, Eva Remington lived there as a widow after the death of her husband Frederic Remington. He was notable for his paintings of the American West. The collection of Remington art and memorabilia is based on items from the estates of Eva Remington and her sister Emma.

The Fort La Presentation Association has been organized to reconstruct and operate the mission fort as a living history
Living history
Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is...

 museum. They intend to use it as a basis for education and heritage tourism
Heritage tourism
Cultural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring...

, as well as an appreciation for the diverse history and peoples of the area.

Ogdensburg is the site of two correctional facilities
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

: Riverview
Riverview Correctional Facility
Riverview Correctional Facility is a medium-security state prison, located in Ogdensburg in northern New York, USA.-See also:* List of New York state prisons...

 and Ogdensburg
Ogdensburg Correctional Facility
Ogdensburg Correctional Facility is a medium-security state prison for male prisoners, located in the northern part of St. Lawrence County, New York, USA. The prison is located in the northwest corner of the Town of Lisbon near the St. Lawrence River...

. Run by the New York State Department of Correctional Services
New York State Department of Correctional Services
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or NYSDOCCS is the agency of New York State responsible for the care, confinement, and rehabilitation of approximately 63,000 inmates at 71 correctional facilities funded by the State of New York. The department employs...

, the facilities provide jobs for local residents. One is located on the grounds of the former St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center. The other was built directly across state highway 37
New York State Route 37
New York State Route 37 is a state highway in the North Country of New York in the United States, extending for on a west–east axis. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with U.S. Route 11 in Watertown, Jefferson County...

.

Events

  • The Ogdensburg Boys & Girls Club Expo is held on the 3rd weekend in March, and is one of the main fundraisers for that organization.

  • The last full week in July is the occasion of the annual Ogdensburg International Seaway Festival. Among the events of the week are the Remington Canoe Race, a local Battle of the High School Bands competition, craft shows, a classic car show, and many other events. The festival ends with a fireworks show on Friday night and a parade on Saturday morning.

Radio

  • WVLF-FM Mix 96.1
    WVLF
    WVLF is a radio station broadcasting a mix of adult contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Norwood, New York, USA, the station is currently owned by Stephens Media Group....

     www.mymix961.com
  • WRCD-FM 101.5 The Fox
    WRCD
    WRCD is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Canton, New York, USA, the station is currently owned by Stephens Media Group....

    www.1015thefox.com

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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