Westport 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 ...
in
Essex County, New York
Essex County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,381. Its county seat is the hamlet of Elizabethtown. Its name is from the English county of Essex. Essex is one of only 2 counties that are ...
, United States overlooking
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
. The population was 1,312 at the 2010 census.
The town is on the eastern border of the county and is south of
Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...
and south of
Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
, Canada. Westport is inside the
Adirondack Park
The Adirondack Park is a part of Forest Preserve (New York), New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York (state), New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasur ...
.
Westport is the birthplace of the
Adirondack chair
The Adirondack chair is an outdoor lounge chair with wide armrests, a tall slatted back, and a seat that is higher in the front than the back. Its name references the Adirondack Mountains.
The chair was invented by Thomas Lee between 1900 and 190 ...
.
The Essex County Fair is held in the town. The
Essex County Fairgrounds was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2005.
History
Early history
In 1642,
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
missionary
Isaac Jogues
Isaac Jogues, S.J. (10 January 1607 – 18 October 1646) was a French missionary and martyr who traveled and worked among the Iroquois, Huron, and other Native populations in North America. He was the first European to name Lake George, call ...
was tortured by
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
at Coles Bay. He survived and was eventually saved by merchants from
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...
.
The town was founded by William Gilliland in 1764 who surveyed an area in the southern part of the town and was granted ; he also established the neighboring towns of
Elizabethtown, named for his wife, and
Willsboro. Gilliland originally called his patent "Bessboro" after his little daughter. The original settlement, which may have supplied wood to
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
's troops, was completely destroyed during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
in connection with British General
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several batt ...
's march from
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
to
Saratoga. The first permanent settlement was in 1785.
Incorporation
The town of Westport was established in 1815 from part of the town of
Elizabethtown. The community of Westport in the center of town incorporated as a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
in 1907. The community abandoned its status as an incorporated village on December 31, 1992.
Westport the resort
By the mid-nineteenth century, Westport was a fashionable
resort town
A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...
. Its social scene was regularly reported on in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and by the
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
press. Like many other
East Coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
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, or
Middlebury, Vermont
Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History.
History
One of ...
.
Westport is home to
Camp Dudley, YMCA
Founded in 1885 by Sumner F. Dudley, Camp Dudley is the oldest continually running boys camp in the United States. It is located in Westport, New York, on the shores of Lake Champlain. In 1993, it was included within the Camp Dudley Road Histo ...
, the oldest
summer camp
A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...
in continuous operation in the United States, founded in 1885 by
Sumner F. Dudley
Sumner may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica
* Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica
Australia
* Sumner, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane
New Zealand
* Sumner, New Zealand, seaside su ...
, who moved to Westport in 1891.
Meadowmount
The Meadowmount School of Music, founded in 1944 by Ivan Galamian, is a 7-week summer school in the town of Lewis (mailing address Westport) in Upstate New York for accomplished young violinists, cellists, violists, and pianists training for pro ...
, the summer school for string players founded by
Ivan Galamian
Ivan Alexander Galamian ( hy, Իվան Ղալամեան; April 14, 1981) was an Armenian-American violin teacher of the twentieth century who was the violin teacher of many seminal violin players including Itzhak Perlman.
Biography
Galamian w ...
, is northwest of the center of town, in the town of
Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
. Westport is known as the ice fishing capital of Essex County.
Westport is home to one of the only two professional theatres in the Adirondacks proper, the second being
Pendragon Theatre
Pendragon or ( wlm, pen dreic, ''pen dragon''; composed of Welsh language, Welsh , 'head, chief, top' and / ''European dragon, dragon'', 'dragon; warrior'; borrowed from the Latin word , plural , 'dragon , br, Penn Aerouant) literally m ...
in
Saranac Lake. 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.
The
Camp Dudley Road Historic District
Camp Dudley Road Historic District is a national historic district located at Westport, in Essex County, New York. The district contains 131 contributing buildings, one contributing site, and one contributing structure. It consists of an agricu ...
, ''
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
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
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 the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 12.93%, is water.
The eastern town line is formed by
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
and the border of
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. The town is inside the
Adirondack Park
The Adirondack Park is a part of Forest Preserve (New York), New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York (state), New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasur ...
.
New York State Route 9N
New York State Route 9N (NY 9N) is a north–south state highway in northeastern New York in the United States. It extends from an intersection with U.S. Route 9 (US 9), NY 29, and NY 50 in the city of Saratoga Sp ...
,
New York State Route 22
New York State Route 22 (NY 22) is a north–south state highway that parallels the eastern border of the U.S. state of New York, from the outskirts of New York City to the hamlet of Mooers in Clinton County near the Canadian border ...
, 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 northwestern part of Westport, with access from Exit 31 (NY-9N).
Birding
Several sites on the Lake Champlain Birding Trail are located in Westport:
*
Coon Mountain Preserve (administered by
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
)
*
Webb Royce Swamp
* Westport Boat Launch
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 incl ...
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
Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 23.3 people per square mile (9.0/km
2). There were 887 housing units at an average density of 15.2 per square mile (5.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.7%
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 on ...
, 0.2%
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 ...
, 0.3%
Native American, 0.7%
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 ...
, 0.2% 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 1.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...
or
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 1.0% 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
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
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
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 $22,063. About 5.2% of families and 7.7% 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 8.0% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Westport is served by the Bouquet Valley Central School. The Westport Central School merged with the Elizabethtown-Lewis Central School in 2019; high school students from Westport, Elizabethtown, and Lewis were relocated to the former Elizabethtown-Lewis School building, while elementary students moved into the former Westport campus. The new school district mascot is a Griffin (a combination of the previous two mascots of Lion and Eagle). Westport also has a branch of the
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
Cooperative Extension and is the mailing address of the
Meadowmount School of Music (see above). Additionally, the Depot Theatre (above) runs a summer apprentice program for children ranging from elementary school to high school age.
Public transport
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Westport, operating its ''
Adirondack'' daily in both directions between
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. A bus connection is available from Westport to
Lake Placid. The Amtrak station also houses the Depot Theatre.
On August 28, 2006, at approximately 6:45 p.m. local time, a
Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...
bus traveling from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
overturned on the
Adirondack Northway
Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. It is most of the main highway between New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New York ...
in Westport after suffering a blown tire, killing five and injuring 48.
Access to medical care
Westport 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 Lake Champlain Transportation Company (LCTC or LCT) is a vehicle ferry operator that runs three routes across Lake Champlain between the US states of New York and Vermont. From 1976 to 2003, the company was owned by Burlington, Vermont, bus ...
. The nearest
emergency department
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...
is
Elizabethtown Community Hospital, a 25-bed rural hospital to the west, with eight doctors on its active medical staff. About by car to the northeast in
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
, accessible via ferry, is the emergency department of
University of Vermont Medical Center
The University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) is a five-campus academic medical facility under the corporate umbrella of the University of Vermont Health Network that is anchored by a 562-bed hospital. UVMMC is located in Burlington, Vermo ...
, a large, full-service hospital affiliated with the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...
. During times when the ferry from Essex is not running, the nearest full-service emergency department is at
CVPH Medical Center
Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) is a hospital located in Plattsburgh, New York.
Champlain Valley Physicians' Hospital was created in 1972 by the merger of the private Physician's Hospital with Champlain Valley Hospital, a charitabl ...
, in
Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...
, north of Westport. Slightly closer, though a slower drive over rural roads, is
Porter Hospital
Porter Medical Center, also known as Porter Hospital, is a 45-bed critical access hospital located in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded by banker William Henry Porter to serve as a dual community hospital and infirmary to nearby Middlebury College, th ...
in
Middlebury, Vermont
Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History.
History
One of ...
, accessible via the bridge at
Crown Point.
Elizabethtown Community Hospital operates a small satellite clinic in Westport.
Notable people
Some notable Westport residents, past and present, include:
*
Asa Aikens, Justice of the
Vermont Supreme Court
The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court.
The Court ...
*
Edward Cornell (b. 1944), artist, painter, and theater director
*
John T. Cutting (1844–1911),
congressman
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
from
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
*
Walter Damrosch
Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Geo ...
(1862–1950), conductor of the
New York Symphony Orchestra and music director of
NBC Radio
The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...
*
Dorothy DeLay
Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati.
Life
Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medicine Lodg ...
(1917–2002),
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
teacher, primarily at
Juilliard
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
,
Meadowmount
The Meadowmount School of Music, founded in 1944 by Ivan Galamian, is a 7-week summer school in the town of Lewis (mailing address Westport) in Upstate New York for accomplished young violinists, cellists, violists, and pianists training for pro ...
, and the
Aspen Music Festival and School
The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado.
It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...
*
Ben Goldwasser
Benjamin Nicholas Hunter Goldwasser (born December 17, 1982) is an American songwriter and musician in the psychedelic rock band MGMT, for which he primarily plays keyboards and sings. In 2009, his song " Electric Feel" (co-written with bandma ...
(b. 1982), keyboardist for
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
act
MGMT
MGMT () is an American indie rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. Alongside VanWyngarden and Goldwasser, MGMT's live lineup currently consists of ...
*
David G. Hartwell (1941–2016), science fiction editor for
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...
*
William Higby
William Higby (August 18, 1813 – November 27, 1887) was an American politician, a Republican, a lawyer, a District Attorney, a judge, a newspaper editor, and a United States representative from California.
Biography
Higby was born in Willsb ...
(1813–1887), congressman from
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
*
Henry Lee Higginson
Henry Lee Higginson (November 18, 1834 – November 14, 1919) was an American businessman best known as the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a patron of Harvard University.
Biography
Higginson was born in New York City on November 18 ...
(1834–1919), founder of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...
*
John Kneller (1916-2009), English-American professor and fifth President of
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus.
Being New York City's first publ ...
* Anne LaBastille (1935–2011), author and naturalist
* Alice Lee (civic leader) (1853–1943), businesswoman, owner of the Westport Inn at the end of the 1800s.
* Jeannette Augustus Marks (1875–1964), American professor at Mount Holyoke College
* Nathan Myrick (1822–1903), founder of La Crosse, Wisconsin
* John Eugene Osborne (1858–1943), governor of Wyoming and United States Assistant Secretary of State
* Case Patten (1874–1935), professional baseball player
* William Wallace Barbour Sheldon (1836–1914), architectural engineer and pioneer of California
* Robert E. Sherwood (1896–1955), playwright, editor, and screenwriter
* Sally J. Smith (artist), Sally J. Smith, artist and former watercolorist
* Joseph Champlin Stone (1829–1902), congressman from Iowa
* Alexander Treadwell, Alexander "Sandy" Treadwell (b. 1946), American politician
* Mary Emma Woolley (1863–1947), president of Mount Holyoke College from 1900 to 1937
Communities and locations in Westport
Inhabited locations
* Wadhams (formerly "Wadhams Mills" and "The Falls") – a hamlet (New York), hamlet just north of Westport on NY Route 22 at the junction of County Roads 8 and 10. Wadhams has its own free public library, volunteer fire department, and a hydroelectric dam on the Boquet River. All of these can be seen while standing on the bridge next to the Wadhams Free Library. Wadhams is best known locally for its farmers' market and Dogwood Bread Co. (formerly called Merrick's). The farmers' market takes place in front of the bakery. Wadhams is also known for its annual Strawberry Festival.
* Westport (CDP), New York, Westport – The hamlet of Westport, formerly a village between 1907 and 1992. The community is located on the shore of Lake Champlain on NY-9N at the junction of NY-22.
Geographical locations
* Barber Point – A projection into Lake Champlain south of Bluff Point.
* Black River – A stream forming part of the western town line.
* Bluff Point – A projection into Lake Champlain, south of Westport village.
* Cole's Bay – A small bay of Lake Champlain, south of Northwest Bay.
* Furnace Point – A projection into North West Bay, north of Westport village.
* Hoisington Brook – A stream entering Lake Champlain at Westport village.
* Moore Point – A projection into Lake Champlain, south of Barber Point.
* Nichols Pond – A small lake near the western town line.
* North West Bay – A bay of Lake Champlain by Westport village.
* Split Rock Mountain – An elevation at the boundary between Westport and the town of Essex, New York, Essex, known for its rattlesnake population.
* Stacy Brook – A stream entering Lake Champlain at Cole's Bay.
See also
*
Camp Dudley, YMCA
Founded in 1885 by Sumner F. Dudley, Camp Dudley is the oldest continually running boys camp in the United States. It is located in Westport, New York, on the shores of Lake Champlain. In 1993, it was included within the Camp Dudley Road Histo ...
*
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
*
Meadowmount School of Music
References
Further reading
* ''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, 1982, 1989, 1998.
* ''A View of Westport, NY on Lake Champlain'', 1902–1972 by Raymond C. Clark, Westport, NY 1972.
* ''Bessboro: A History of Westport, Essex County, New York'' by Caroline Halstead Royce, Westport, NY 1904
Available on Internet Archive
* ''Bessboro Beginnings'' by Carlin Walker, Westport, NY 198
* ''Personal names: A supplement to the index in Bessboro, a history of Westport, Essex Co., N.Y.'' by Caroline Halstead Royce
* ''Glenn's History of the Adirondack's'', a multi-volume series by Morris F. Glenn
External links
Town of Westport official website* [http://www.nc3r.org/wptlib/OldWestport.html Photos and Postcards from Early Westport, NY], Westport Library.
Westport Chamber of Commerce
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Towns in Essex County, New York