Chaumont ( ) 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, United States. Its population was 624 at the 2010 census. The village is named for Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, son of Benjamin Franklin's landlord and friend at Passy in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The village of Chaumont is in the town of Lyme and is northwest of Watertown.

History

In 1750, Ray had bought the Chaumont castle (named from the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

for "bald hill", and built in two periods around 1500) in the Loire Valley of France. (, the village near it is called Chaumont-sur-Loire to distinguish it from the many other Chaumont (disambiguation), Chaumonts in France.) His son, known as James Leray or James Leray Chaumont, travelled to the United States and later settled there. The first European-descended settlement of the village began in 1802, replacing an unsatisfactory site chosen the previous year.History Of Lyme, NY
(transcription with apparent OCR errors) , in ''Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Jefferson County, New York'', Edgar C. Emerson, ed., The Boston History Company, 1898 The economy of the early village was based on fishing and ship building. In July 1853, the community contained about fifty dwellings, along with other structures. Chaumont was incorporated as a village in 1874, and its historic core was 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 ...

in 1990 as the Chaumont Historic District. The village has twice been proposed to be dissolved into the surrounding town of Lyme. The first dissolution referendum was defeated by a margin of 129–72 in March 1999; a second attempt was rejected by a 145–102 margin on November 6, 2012. In addition to the Chaumont Historic District, the Cedar Grove Cemetery, Chaumont Grange Hall and Dairymen's League Building, Chaumont House, Chaumont Railroad Station, George Brothers Building, George House, and Menzo Wheeler House are listed on the

Geography

Chaumont is in the west-central part of Jefferson County, in the northeastern portion of the town of Lyme. 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 village has a total area of , of which are land and , or 8.78%, are water. The village is on the south side of the Chaumont River, where it empties into Chaumont Bay, an arm of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

. Much of the village is on a peninsula, which ends at Independence Point. New York State Route 12E passes through the village as Main Street. The highway leads southeast to Watertown, the

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 ...

, and northwest to Cape Vincent on the St. Lawrence River. County Route 179 (Evans Street) enters the village from the northeast and leads to Depauville.

Climate

In 2008 the average precipitation for Chaumont was below the United States average in the months of January through July, and above the United States average in the months of August through December, reaching an average of in September. Snowfall is well above the United States average in the months of October through April, reaching in January.

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 July 2009, there were 638 people, up 7.8% since 2000. 46.8%(298) of residents were male and 53.2%(340) were female. The median resident age at this time was 38.8 years. The 2000 census recorded 592 people, 233 households, and 143 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 273 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.79%

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 ...

, 1.69%

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 ...

, 0.68% Native American, and 0.84% 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 1.01% of the population. There were 233 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% 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, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.22. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.5 males. The estimated median household income was $50,471 in 2008. In 2000 the income was estimated to be $37,750 and the median income for a family was $49,107. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $26,000 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 $16,608. About 1.6% of families and 8.4% 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 4.2% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The school district is the Lyme Central School District.
Text list
/ref>

References

External links

Chaumontny.org
Lyme Parks and Recreation
Lyme Community Foundation

Chaumont–Three Mile Bay Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Jefferson County, New York Populated places on Lake Ontario in the United States