Cape Vincent is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Jefferson County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 726 at the 2010 census. The village is in the west-central part of the town of Cape Vincent and is northwest of Watertown.

History

The area was formerly controlled by the

Onondaga people The Onondaga people (Onontaerrhonon, Onondaga language, Onondaga: , "People of the Hills") are one of the five original nations of the Iroquois, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy in the Northeastern Woodlands. Their historical homelands are in ...

. French missionaries and explorers passed through the area in the middle of the 17th century. The town of Cape Vincent was originally part of the town of Lyme. In 1849 the town of Cape Vincent separated from Lyme. The village of Cape Vincent was incorporated in 1853. At the time of its incorporation the village had a population of 1,218. By the end of the 19th century, the area was becoming a vacation land due to the nearby

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands (, ) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream fr ...

. The Levi Anthony Building, Aubertine Building, John Borland House, Broadway Historic District, James Buckley House, E. K. Burnham House, Duvillard Mill, First Presbyterian Society of Cape Vincent, Fort Haldimand Site, Jean Philippe Galband du Fort House, Glen Building, Vincent LeRay House, Lewis House, Roxy Hotel, Cornelius Sacket House, General Sacket House, St. John's Episcopal Church, St. Vincent of Paul Catholic Church, and Otis Starkey House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 ...

, Cape Vincent has a total area of , of which , or 3.31%, are water. The village is on the south bank of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

. A seasonal ferry connects the village to Point Alexandria on Wolfe Island in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, from Cape Vincent across the southern channel of the St. Lawrence. New York State Route 12E passes through the village center, leading northeast (downstream) along the St. Lawrence to Clayton and southeast to Watertown, the Jefferson

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

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 760 people, 348 households, and 209 families residing in the village. There is one local bank (Citizens' Bank of Cape Vincent), a small museum, a post office (ZIP 13618), an independent telephone exchange and a few small stores. The population density was . There were 502 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.68%

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 ...

, 0.13%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.13% Asian, and 1.05% 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 0.53% of the population. There were 348 households, out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% 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, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.77. In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 24.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males. The median income for a household in the village was $31,833, and the median income for a family was $38,571. Males had a median income of $31,538 versus $23,125 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 village was $17,492. About 12.7% of families and 16.4% 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 27.3% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

New York State Route 12E passes through the village. The privately owned Horne's Ferry, the only international

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

in the region, runs from May to October to Cape Vincent from "Horne's Point" (Point Alexandria) on Wolfe Island,

, Canada, in the

. The capacity is about twelve cars. The family-owned ferry has been running since 1802 when they were first licensed to operate between Wolfe Island and Cape Vincent (as well as Wolfe Island and

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

). The cost was US$15 for one car and driver. Another ferry on the opposite side of Wolfe Island runs year-round free of charge and completed the crossing between Marysville and Kingston. The total time for both ferry crossings was a little over an hour. Beginning in April 1852, the Cape Vincent branch of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad (RW&O) conveyed both passengers and freight between the waterfront and Watertown (and on to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) via Chaumont and Brownville. The Watertown-Cape Vincent branch was a vital link from the southern part of the state to the ferry terminal to Canada. However, its importance was reduced with the company's acquisition of the Utica & Black River Railroad (with its depot in Clayton) in 1886. By 1891 the railroad became a subsidiary of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

. In 1895, a storm blew down the Cape Vincent station building, killing two inside. From the early part of the 20th century onward, traffic decreased until the New York Central ended its passenger service to the village in March 1936, after which, Clayton, to the east, became the main launch point for rail to ferry connections. Freight operations closed in the early 1950s. The second and final station building, having served its original purpose for over 40 years, still stands on the waterfront; it now functions as the offices of Anchor Marina.

Education

The school district is the Thousand Islands Central School District.
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Notable person

* Delos B. Sackett, a career

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

officer who was a general in the Union Army during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

References

Bibliography

* ''History of Cape Vincent'', Cape Vincent Historical Museum (2002).

External links

Village of Cape Vincent official website

Village of Cape Vincent Information

Town of Cape Vincent official website

Cape Vincent Visitors Guide
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Jefferson County, New York