Westport 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 ...

Essex County, New York Essex County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 37,381. Its county seat is the hamlet of Elizabethtown (CDP), New York, Eliza ...

, United States overlooking

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 ...

. The population was 1,320 at the 2020 census. The town is on the eastern border of the county and is south of Plattsburgh and south of

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. Westport is inside the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a park in northeastern New York (state), New York protecting the Adirondack Mountains. The park was established in 1892 for "the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure", and for watershed protection. At , ...

. Westport is the birthplace of the Adirondack chair. The Essex County Fair is held in the town. The Essex County Fairgrounds was added to 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 2005.

History

Early history

In 1642,

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionary

Isaac Jogues Isaac Jogues (10 January 1607 – 18 October 1646) was a French missionary and martyr who traveled and worked among the Iroquois, Wyandot people, Huron, and other Native populations in North America. He was the first European to name Lake Geo ...

was tortured by

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

at Coles Bay. He survived and was eventually saved by merchants from

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

. The town was founded by William Gilliland in 1764 who surveyed an area in the southern part of the town and was granted ; he also established the neighboring towns of Elizabethtown, named for his wife, and Willsboro. Gilliland originally called his patent "Bessboro" after his little daughter. The original settlement, which may have supplied wood to

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

's troops, was completely destroyed during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

in connection with British General

John Burgoyne General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...

's march from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to Saratoga. The first permanent settlement was in 1785.

Incorporation

The town of Westport was established in 1815 from part of the town of Elizabethtown. The community of Westport in the center of town incorporated as 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 1907. The community abandoned its status as an incorporated village on December 31, 1992.

Westport the resort

By the mid-nineteenth century, Westport was a fashionable

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

. Its social scene was regularly reported on in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and by the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

press. Like many other East Coast resorts, its popularity gradually declined, starting in the 1930s, as first automobiles and then airplanes made possible a wider selection of vacation sites. Since the 1950s, however, Westport's lakeshore property has steadily increased in value. Although once most of the "summer people" stayed for weeks, now distinctions are not as clear: there are "year-round summer people" whose livelihood stems from outside Westport, weekenders whose principal residence is fairly close by (for example, Albany, which is two hours distant by car), and commuters to workplaces as distant as Plattsburgh, New York, or

Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History and the adjacent ...

. Westport is home to Camp Dudley, the oldest

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

in continuous operation in the United States, founded in 1885 by Sumner F. Dudley, who moved to Westport in 1891. Meadowmount, the summer school for string players founded by

Ivan Galamian Ivan Alexander Galamian (; April 14, 1981) was an Armenian-American violin teacher of the twentieth century who was the violin teacher of many seminal violin players including Itzhak Perlman and Kyung Wha Chung. Biography Galamian was born in ...

, is northwest of the center of town, in the town of Lewis. In 2024, Taylor Haskins opened The Mill, 11,000 square feet of exhibition and performance space supporting the work of world class contemporary artists and musicians. Westport is known as the ice fishing capital of Essex County. Westport is home to one of the only two professional theatres in the Adirondacks proper, the second being Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake. The Depot Theatre was founded in 1979 and operates out of the historic Amtrak railway station. The 136-seat, air-conditioned theatre hosts plays and musicals on its main stage during the summer months, as well as an annual gala. The Camp Dudley Road Historic District, '' Champlain II'' Shipwreck, Essex County Fairgrounds, First Congregational and Presbyterian Society Church of Westport, Lake View Grange No. 970, and ''Vergennes'' canal boat are listed on the

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 12.93%, is water. The eastern town line is formed by

and the border of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. The town is inside the

. New York State Route 9N,

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 ...

, and County Route 44 are north-south highways in Westport. NY-9N and NY-22 become conjoined in Westport village. Interstate 87, the Northway, passes across the northwestern part of Westport, with access from Exit 31 (NY-9N).

Birding

Several sites on the Lake Champlain Birding Trail are located in Westport: * Coon Mountain Preserve (administered by

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

) * Webb Royce Swamp * Westport Boat Launch

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 1,362 people, 593 households, and 381 families residing in the town. (Note that since the census excludes summer residents, the figures in this section are for year-round residents only.) The population density was . There were 887 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.7%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.0% 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 1.0% of the population. There were 593 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% 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, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.83. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $40,000, and the median income for a family was $49,917. Males had a median income of $31,042 versus $26,550 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 $22,063. About 5.2% of families and 7.7% 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 8.0% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Westport is served by the Bouquet Valley Central School. The Westport Central School merged with the Elizabethtown-Lewis Central School in 2019; high school students from Westport, Elizabethtown, and Lewis were relocated to the former Elizabethtown-Lewis School building, while elementary students moved into the former Westport campus. The new school district mascot is a Griffin (a combination of the previous two mascots of Lion and Eagle). Westport also has a branch of the

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Cooperative Extension and is the mailing address of the

Meadowmount School of Music The Meadowmount School of Music, founded in 1944 by Ivan Galamian, is a 7-week summer school in the town of Lewis, Essex County, New York, Lewis (mailing address Westport, New York, Westport) in Upstate New York for young violinists, cellists, vio ...

(see above). Additionally, the Depot Theatre (above) runs a summer apprentice program for children ranging from elementary school to high school age.

Public transport

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Westport, operating its '' Adirondack'' daily in both directions between

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. A bus connection is available from Westport to Lake Placid. The Amtrak station also houses the Depot Theatre. On August 28, 2006, at approximately 6:45 p.m. local time, a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

bus traveling from

overturned on the Adirondack Northway in Westport after suffering a blown tire, killing five and injuring 48.

Access to medical care

Westport is in a rural area in the Adirondack Park, and so most of its access to medical care is via the ferry operated by Lake Champlain Transportation Company. The nearest

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...

is Elizabethtown Community Hospital, a 25-bed rural hospital to the west, with eight doctors on its active medical staff. About by car to the northeast in Burlington, accessible via ferry, is the emergency department of

University of Vermont Medical Center The University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) is a five-campus academic medical facility under the corporate umbrella of the University of Vermont Health Network that is anchored by a 562-bed hospital in Burlington, Vermont. UVMMC is based ...

, a large, full-service hospital affiliated with the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

. During times when the ferry from Essex is not running, the nearest full-service emergency department is at CVPH Medical Center, in Plattsburgh, north of Westport. Slightly closer, though a slower drive over rural roads, is Porter Hospital in

, accessible via the bridge at Crown Point. Elizabethtown Community Hospital operates a small satellite clinic in Westport.

Notable people

Some notable Westport residents, past and present, include: * Asa Aikens, Justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

* Edward Cornell (b. 1944), artist, painter, and theater director * John T. Cutting (1844–1911),

congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a Prussian-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Aa ...

(1862–1950), conductor of the

New York Symphony Orchestra The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, w ...

and music director of

NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin teacher, instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medic ...

(1917–2002),

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

teacher, primarily at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

, Meadowmount, and the

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a European classical music, classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music stu ...

* Ben Goldwasser (b. 1982), keyboardist for

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

act

MGMT MGMT () is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, Ben Goldwasser. Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent ...

* David G. Hartwell (1941–2016), science fiction editor for

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

* William Higby (1813–1887), congressman from

* Henry Lee Higginson (1834–1919), founder of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

* John Kneller (1916-2009), English-American professor and fifth President of

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

* Anne LaBastille (1935–2011), author and naturalist * Alice Lee (civic leader) (1853–1943), businesswoman, owner of the Westport Inn at the end of the 1800s. * Jeannette Augustus Marks (1875–1964), American professor at Mount Holyoke College * Nathan Myrick (1822–1903), founder of

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...

John Eugene Osborne John Eugene Osborne (June 19, 1858 – April 24, 1943) was an American physician, farmer, banker, and politician who served as the 3rd governor of Wyoming and United States representative as a member of the Democratic Party. Early life John ...

(1858–1943), governor of Wyoming and

United States Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the Under Secretary of State, under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the Under Sec ...

* Case Patten (1874–1935), professional baseball player * Cynthia Schira (b. 1934), textile artist * William Wallace Barbour Sheldon (1836–1914), architectural engineer and pioneer of California * Robert E. Sherwood (1896–1955), playwright, editor, and screenwriter * Sally J. Smith, artist and former watercolorist * Joseph Champlin Stone (1829–1902), congressman from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

* Alexander "Sandy" Treadwell (b. 1946), American politician * Ross Sterling Turner (1847–1915), painter and educator * Mary Emma Woolley (1863–1947), president of

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

from 1900 to 1937

Communities and locations in Westport

Inhabited locations

* Wadhams (formerly "Wadhams Mills" and "The Falls") – 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 ...

just north of Westport on NY Route 22 at the junction of County Roads 8 and 10. Wadhams has its own free public library, volunteer fire department, and a hydroelectric dam on the Boquet River. All of these can be seen while standing on the bridge next to the Wadhams Free Library. Wadhams is best known locally for its farmers' market and Dogwood Bread Co. (formerly called Merrick's). The farmers' market takes place in front of the bakery. Wadhams is also known for its annual Strawberry Festival. * Westport – The hamlet of Westport, formerly a village between 1907 and 1992. The community is located on the shore of Lake Champlain on NY-9N at the junction of NY-22.

Geographical locations

* Barber Point – A projection into Lake Champlain south of Bluff Point. * Black River – A stream forming part of the western town line. * Bluff Point – A projection into Lake Champlain, south of Westport village. * Cole's Bay – A small bay of Lake Champlain, south of Northwest Bay. * Furnace Point – A projection into North West Bay, north of Westport village. * Hoisington Brook – A stream entering Lake Champlain at Westport village. * Moore Point – A projection into Lake Champlain, south of Barber Point. * Nichols Pond – A small lake near the western town line. * North West Bay – A bay of Lake Champlain by Westport village. * Split Rock Mountain – An elevation at the boundary between Westport and the town of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, known for its

rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...

population. * Stacy Brook – A stream entering Lake Champlain at Cole's Bay.

References

External links

Town of Westport official website

* ttp://www.nc3r.org/wptlib/OldWestport.html Photos and Postcards from Early Westport, NY, Westport Library.
Westport Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Towns in Essex County, New York Towns in New York (state)