Potsdam 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 ...

located in the Town of Potsdam in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 8,312 at the 2020 census. The Village of Potsdam is in the eastern part of the town and is northeast of

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

, the county seat. The village is the locale of the

State University of New York at Potsdam The State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam or simply Potsdam) is a public college in Potsdam (village), New York, Potsdam, New York, United States. Founded in 1816, it is the northernmost member of the State University of New Yo ...

and

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York. Clarkson has additional graduate programs and research facilities in the New York Capital District. It was established in 1896 and enrolled over 4 ...

History

The village was formerly a community of the St. Regis Indians. The early European settlers arrived at that location around 1803. The village was incorporated in 1831. In 1841, the village charter was amended to increase the size of the village. Potsdam was the seventh town erected by an Act of the Legislature passed February 21, 1806, formerly attached to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. It was one of the original ten townships, No. 3, and is said to have been named thus by the commissioners on the discovery by the surveyors of a bed of reddish sandstone resembling the

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, Germany. The Market Street Historic District, Bayside Cemetery and Gatehouse Complex, Clarkson Office Building, Clarkson-Knowles Cottage, Nathaniel Parmeter House, Trinity Episcopal Church, and

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

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 ...

Notable people

Job Bicknell Ellis Job Bicknell Ellis (January 21, 1829 – December 30, 1905) was a pioneering North American mycologist known for his study of ascomycetes, especially the grouping of fungi called the Pyrenomycetes (known today as the Sordariomycetes). Born and ...

, a

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

, was born in Potsdam and briefly taught there * Frank B. Kellogg, co-author of the

Kellogg–Briand Pact The Kellogg–Briand Pact or Pact of Paris – officially the General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy – is a 1928 international agreement on peace in which signatory states promised not to use war t ...

, was born in Potsdam *

Marguerite LeHand Marguerite Alice "Missy" LeHand (September 13, 1896 – July 31, 1944) was a private secretary to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) for 21 years. According to LeHand's biographer Kathryn Smith in ''The Gatekeeper'', she eventually ...

, secretary to President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, was born in Potsdam * Clarence F. Stephens, a

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

, taught in Potsdam and developed model teaching methods for college mathematics

Geography

Potsdam is located at (44.669961, -74.9829436). 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 4.8 square miles (12.6 km²), of which 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²) is land and 0.5 square mile (1.2 km²) (9.48%) is water. The village is on the banks of the

Raquette River The Raquette River, sometimes spelled Racquette, originates at Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. long, it is the third longest river entirely in the state of New York. The river is a popular destinatio ...

U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

passes through the village from east to west, and

New York State Route 56 New York State Route 56 (NY 56) is a north–south state highway in eastern St. Lawrence County, New York, in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with New York State Route 3, NY 3 in the t ...

passes through from north to south.

New York State Route 11B New York State Route 11B (NY 11B) is a state highway in northern New York in the United States. It provides a parallel, more southerly east–west route to U.S. Route 11 between US 11 in Potsdam and US 11, NY 30, ...

enters from the east, and

New York State Route 345 New York State Route 345 (NY 345) is a state highway located entirely within St. Lawrence County in the North Country of New York in the United States. It is a north–south route connecting the towns of Waddington and Potsdam by wa ...

enters from the northwest.

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 2010, there were 9,428 people, 2,265 households, and 1,040 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 2,705 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.60%

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 ...

, 2.50%

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 ...

, 0.36% Native American, 3.88% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.53% from other races, and 1.11% 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 1.75% of the population. There were 2,543 households, out of which 21.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.5% 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, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 59.1% were non-families. 40.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.90. In the village, the population was spread out, with 11.3% under the age of 18, 56.2% from 18 to 24, 14.1% from 25 to 44, 9.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older.

The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.8 males. The median income for a household in the village was $21,273, and the median income for a family was $37,933. Males had a median income of $31,610 versus $24,324 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 $10,824. About 18.2% of families and 34.0% 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 20.8% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

Gallery

Image:First Presbyterian Church of Potsdam.JPG, First Presbyterian Church of Potsdam Image:St. Mary's Catholic Church of Potsdam.JPG, St. Mary's Catholic Church Image:Satterlee.jpg, SUNY Potsdam's Satterlee Hall Image:Cu newsnell.jpg, Clarkson U., Bertrand H. Snell Hall

Education

The village is in the Potsdam Central School District.
Text list
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Radio

* 1340 WMSA * WTSC-FM 91.1 The Source * WVLF-FM Mix 96.1 * WRCD-FM 101.5 The Fox

References

External links

*
Discover Potsdam

{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in St. Lawrence County, New York