Lowville (village), New York

Lowville is a village in Lewis County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 3,470. The village is in the Black River Valley, between the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains and the Tug Hill Plateau, in an area often referred to as the North Country. It is located in the center of Lewis County, in the southeastern part of the similarly named town of Lowville.

Lowville is the county seat of Lewis County. The name of both the village and town is derived from Nicholas Low, an early landowner of Dutch descent, who had emigrated with his wife and three small children from a rural village outside of Amsterdam in 1778.

History

Silas Stow, an early settler, established himself in Lowville in 1797. The village of Lowville was incorporated in 1847 and charter was adopted in 1854. It was rechartered in 1858 and designated the county seat in 1864, succeeding the community of Martinsburg.

Within the village, the Franklin B. Hough House is a National Historic Landmark, and it, along with the Bateman Hotel, Lewis County Fairgrounds, Lewis County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Lowville Presbyterian Church, and Stoddard–O'Connor House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Lowville is located in central Lewis County at (43.786662, -75.487645), in the southeast part of the town of Lowville. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. It is just west of the Black River, and Mill Creek flows eastward through the village to the river.

The village is at the junction of state routes 12, 26 and 812. Route 12 leads northwest to Watertown and south-southeast to Utica, while Route 26 leads north-northwest to Fort Drum and south to Rome. Route 812 leads north-northeast to Harrisville.

Whetstone Gulf, a canyon cut into the eastern side of the Tug Hill Plateau, is south of the village. The canyon is part of Whetstone Gulf State Park.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,476 people, 1,403 households, and 882 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,830.8 people per square mile (706.4/km²). There were 1,588 housing units at an average density of 836.4 per square mile (322.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.66% White, 0.75% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.75% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.01% of the population.

There were 1,403 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $32,841, and the median income for a family was $42,399. Males had a median income of $31,831 versus $21,422 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,172. About 13.9% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Governmental offices and services for the village, the town, and the county are all located in Lowville, as is the Lewis County Courthouse, which houses the state supreme court, as well as the county, family, and surrogate's courts.

Lowville's mayor is Joe Beagle. Village judges are Jennifer Scordo and Rikki Stanton. Village clerk is Pamela Roes.

Economy

Lowville is the economic hub of Lewis County. Lowville is home to many chain stores such as Walmart, Tractor Supply, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Advance Auto Parts, Tops Markets, Stewarts shops, Kinney Drugs, Fastrac, 7-11, McDonald's, Arby's, Subway etc. It is also home to many local shops and restaurants such as Lloyd's of Lowville, Jebs, Gary's Restaurant, Café Z, Cozy Country Corner, Marguerites Emporium, and Town Hall Movie Theater.

Lowville is a manufacturing hub, with one of the largest Kraft factories the company has producing all the company's Cream cheese and Cheese sticks. Next door to Kraft is the QubicaAMF bowling pin factory, the largest bowling pin factory in the world. There are also several paper mills around the area.

Infrastructure

Health care

Lowville is home to Lewis County General Hospital which is the second largest hospital in the Lewis-Jefferson-St. Lawrence area.

Transportation

Lowville is served by New York State Route 26, New York State Route 812, and New York State Route 12.

Attractions

Lowville has many activities and things to do.

Events

Cream Cheese Festival: every September 15,000 or more people come to attended the Cream Cheese Festival which features food, music, vendors and a huge cheesecake.

Lewis County Fair: Every third week in July, from Tuesday to Saturday, is the Lewis County Fair. It features a firefighters and marching band parade, fireworks show, full midway, tractor pulls, truck pulls, a demolition derby, and a country music concert, with previous acts including Boxcar Willie, Charlie Daniels, Eric Church, Travis Tritt, Canaan Smith, Jake Owen, Easton Corbin, Jon Pardi, and Craig Morgan.

Bluegrass Festival: Every year the Maple Ridge Center hosts the BlueGrass Festival.

Night life

Lowville despite being a small town has some night life. Downtown bars include Tony Harpers Pizza and Clam Shack, Stash's Pub, Bakers, the Bateman Draft House and Jebs.

Other

The region around Lowville is known for its vast snowmobiling and four-wheeling opportunities, with thousands of people each year coming to do either.

Emergency services

Lowville is served by the Lowville Police Department under Police Chief Randy Roggie. The village is also home to the Lewis County Sheriffs Department and Corrections Center, as well as a New York State Police barracks.

Lowville is served by the Lowville Volunteer Fire Department under Chief Joe Austin. The department responds to 250 calls a year operating three engines, one ladder truck, one rescue truck, one mini pumper, two tankers and a utility pickup.

Lewis County Search and Rescue is a career/volunteer ambulance service with over 2,000 ambulance calls a year serving half of Lewis County.

Education

Lowville Academy and Central School is located in the village, where it provides a K-12 education to approximately 1,500 students. The school was founded on March 21, 1808, by charter of the New York State Board of Regents and is one of the longest continually-operating schools in New York. The school won football Class C titles in 2016 and 2019 and made it to the 2019 basketball state title game before falling 75–74 in overtime.

Lowville is home to a satellite campus of Jefferson Community College. The campus offers college credit and non-college credit courses.

Notable people

*Ela Collins, US congressman
* Renie Cox, skier in the 1960 Winter Olympics
*Charles Dayan, US congressman
* Charles Melville Dewey, painter
*Franklin B. Hough, forester
* Jessie Fremont O'Donnell (1860–1897), writer
*Peter Ostrum, childhood actor (played Charlie Bucket in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''), now a veterinarian who resides in Lowville
* Donald Planty, United States Ambassador to Guatemala
* Silas Stow, land agent

References

External links

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Villages in New York (state)
County seats in New York (state)
Populated places established in 1797
Villages in Lewis County, New York
1797 establishments in New York (state)