Rossie is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

St. Lawrence County, New York St. Lawrence County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,505. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Christian saint La ...

, United States. The population was 877 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the sister of an early land owner. The Town of Rossie is located on the southwestern border of the county and is west of Gouverneur.

History

The first settler arrived ''circa'' 1807. The town was formed in 1813 from a section of the Town of Russell. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, residents constructed a block house in the southern part of Rossie. The

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

industry was important to the early town economy, and the Rossie Furnace of 1815 was the first to be built in northern New York. Lead mining was also important. The Rossie Shot Tower is still standing.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (2.53%) is water. The southwestern town line is the border of Jefferson County. The

Oswegatchie River The Oswegatchie River ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a river in northern New York that flows from the Adirondack Mountains north to the Saint Lawrence River. The Oswegatchie River begins at Partlow Lake in Hamilton County, New York. The river co ...

, looping back, flows in two directions in the south of Rossie. U.S. Route 11 crosses the town. Yellow Lake and Grass Lake are partly in the town. A very small southern bay of Black Lake is at the north end of Rossie.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 787 people, 298 households, and 214 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 20.7 people per square mile (8.0/km²). There were 482 housing units at an average density of 12.7 per square mile (4.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.59%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.89%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.25%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.25% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.76% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.38% of the population. There were 298 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,566, and the median income for a family was $35,893. Males had a median income of $29,167 versus $19,028 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $14,205. About 16.1% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Rossie

*Keenes – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

on the western town line in the south part of the town. *Nelson Corner – A location in the northern part of the town, west of Rossie village. *Pikes Corner – A hamlet in the southern part of the town on County Road 9. *Rossie – The hamlet of Rossie is on County Road 3 at the junction of County Road 8 in the northern part of the town. *Sommerville – A hamlet in the southern part of the town on US-11. *Spragueville – a hamlet formerly called "Spragues Corners," located on County Road 9 at the county line in the southern part of the town. *Wegatchie – A hamlet in the southern part of the town on County Road 12.

References

External links

Early Rossie history
{{authority control Towns in St. Lawrence County, New York