Au Sable, or Ausable ( ), is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Clinton County, New York Clinton County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,843. Its county seat is the city of Plattsburgh. The county lies just south of the border with the Cana ...

, United States. The population was 3,146 at the 2010 census. The name is from the Ausable River that flows through the town and means "of sand". The town is in the southeastern corner of the county, south of

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh is a city in and the county 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 separately in ...

History

The land was first settled , mostly by people of English descent. The town was formed from part of the town of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in 1839. The AuSable Chasm Bridge was built in 1932–1933. ''See also:''

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 10.81%, is water. The town is bordered by

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

to the east. The southern town line is the border of Essex County.

Ausable Chasm Ausable Chasm is a sandstone Canyon, gorge and tourist attraction located near the hamlet of Keeseville, New York (state), New York, United States, due west of Port Kent, New York, Port Kent. The gorge is about long and is about deep. Ausable ...

, a popular tourist location on the Ausable River, is along the southeastern border of the town. Interstate 87, the

Adirondack Northway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. I-87 is the main highway that connects New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New Yor ...

, is an important north–south highway in Au Sable, with access to the town from Exit 34 (Route 9N). U.S. Route 9 runs closer to Lake Champlain than the Northway.

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 S ...

runs east–west along the south town line, joining US 9 in

Keeseville Keeseville is a hamlet (New York), hamlet (and census-designated place) in Clinton County, New York, Clinton and Essex County, New York, Essex counties, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 1,815 at the 2010 census. The ...

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 (state), New York, from the outskirts of New York City to the hamlet of Mooers (CDP), New York, Mooers i ...

is a north–south highway mostly lying west of the Northway.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,015 people, 1,180 households, and 831 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,347 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.78%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.80%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.23% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.33% of the population. There were 1,180 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.95. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,118, and the median income for a family was $39,906. Males had a median income of $30,213 versus $22,933 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $15,789. About 7.7% of families and 12.0% 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 ...

, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Au Sable

*Au Sable Beach – A location on the shore of

at the mouth of the Au Sable River. *

– A deep

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

carved by the Au Sable River. It is a privately owned tourist attraction. The name is also used by a hamlet in the town next to the gorge. * Au Sable River – A river that flows along the town border to Lake Champlain. *Birmingham Falls – A historic location near Keeseville. *Clintonville – A hamlet near the southern town line on NY 9N. The community was incorporated as a village in 1825, but later abandoned that status. *Harkness – A

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

near the northern town line. *Keese Corners – A location near the northern town line. *

– The former village of Keeseville on US-9 at the southern town line. It extends south into the town of Chesterfield in Essex County. *New Sweden – A historic location in the town. *Rogers – A hamlet in the southwestern corner of the town on NY 9N. *Thomasville – A location in the southwestern part of the town. *Union – A historic location at the northern town line.

References

External links

Town of Ausable
{{authority control Towns in Clinton County, New York Towns in New York (state) Populated places established in 1795 1795 establishments in New York (state)