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by the Cape
Historical Society
 Cape
Vincent residents take
great pride in the historic background of this area and in the heritage of
their ancestors.
Earliest
history of this area dates back to the years of the first Indian settlements
in New York State. Traces have been found of an
Iroquois prehistoric village, and it has been shown also that the Onondaga
Indians claimed this portion of New
York State
as their hunting grounds.
The first
record of the white man's visit to this immediate vicinity was in 1615, five
years prior to the memorable landing of the Pilgrims. Samuel de Champlain and
his compatriots on their expedition to the Iroquois country reached Lake Ontario
near Kingston, Ontario, Canada,
thus bringing the expedition within the water limit of our town.
Early in 1655,
French Missionary priests, Father Chaumonoit and
Father Dablon were here as missionaries among the
Onondaga Indians. History shows that both England
and France
were endeavoring to monopolize the Indian trade and to extend their influence
with the native tribes. The French established a fort at Niagara and the
English established a fort at Oswego.
Both the French and English built trading posts, established missions and
built homes in this area.
Among the
large land holders in the North Country was James LeRay
Chaumont, who came to America in the late 1700's His holdings covered a large
part of this area and included much of what is now the town of Cape Vincent.
In March
1815, and act was passed by the Legislature stating that the Islands of
Carleton and Linda in the St. Lawrence River, and Grenadier, Fox and
neighboring islands in Lake Ontario were a part of Cape Vincent. The village
of Cape Vincent was incorporated in June 1853
with a population of 1,218. The village water system was installed in 1895,
and electric lights in 1903. The Town of Cape Vincent separated from the Town
of Lyme
in 1849.
As early as
1880, the "Thousand Islands" were being written about in a book
published in Canada.
Shortly after, Cape
Vincent was becoming a
popular vacation resort for down-state residents. At this time, it was
recorded that: "In Cape Vincent may be found the best small mouth bass
fishing among the Thousand Islands--here the surroundings are picturesque,
the climate is mild and healthful.
Cape Vincent
developed rapidly during the era of the early 1800's when the state road was
extended from Brownville to this village. In 1848 sufficient stock was
subscribed to warrant building a railroad from Rome
to Cape Vincent, at a cost of $7,500 per mile.
Then a large train shed, hotel, freight houses and wharf were built. In 1853,
a canal was cut through Wolfe Island to shorten the route from here to Kingston, closed for a
while but now to be reopened. The railroad was the main means of
transportation to and from this village for many years.
During the
War of 1812, declaration of war made it necessary to have armed forces at Cape Vincent,
and there was no army post on the frontier in as much danger as Cape Vincent,
since the enemy had a large force in Kingston,
Ontario, Canada.
At this time many inhabitants left for back settlements, but when the danger
was over, many returned and the number of settlers steadily increased.
In 1900 Cape Vincent
was a "bustling town." There were seven grocery stores, three meat
markets, a bakery, two drug stores, five hotels, a paint
and wallpaper store, a book store, two clothing stores, two general stores, a
hardware store, and a jewelry store. There were also five physicians, three
dentists, two lawyers, two undertakers, and several dress makers. Businesses
included boat builders, hay dealers, photographers, monument salesmen,
blacksmiths, milliners, tailors, draymen, and several livery stables.
Early
industries were lumbering, ice harvesting, hay and seed raising.
The J.A. Scobell Company and the Cleveland Seed
Company were two such businesses.
As you travel
through Cape Vincent
today your first impression is probably of the serenity of the village, or
the friendliness of its inhabitants, or the beauty of the St.
Lawrence River. Those of us who make our home here in the Cape
Vincent area are very proud of all of these factors, but we would like to
point out a few of our landmarks and other outstanding "bits of
interest" for this vicinity.
At the end
of Tibbets
Point Road leading west, where the great Lake Ontario
meets the St. Lawrence River stands the Tibbets Point Lighthouse. This lighthouse was erected in
1826 by an appropriation of $3,000. Today it still guides ships traveling the
St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes.
The light is automated and under the control of the U. S. Coast Guard. The
main dwelling is now used for a Youth Hostel. The land used was a grant
received by Captain John Tibbet of Troy.
Proceeding
down the Tibbets
Road is a beautiful sight, especially at sunset
time. lake Ontario was known in the Indian language as "Beautiful Lake" from the days of Cartier.
As you enter
the village coming down from Tibbets Point, you
will pass the famous "Stone House" which housed Canadian Rebels
during the Patriot War in 1838. This house has not been changed in any way.
Up on Kanady Street
stands the stone Catholic Church, St. Vincent of Paul's, which was built in
1851. The attached stone covered church hall was added in 1965.
On Real Street,
toward the river, is the new modern Cape Vincent Community Library which
opened in June 1968. On the land where the new library is located was built
the original Cup and Saucer house constructed in 1818 as a refuge for
Napoleon. Although the original structure was destroyed by fire in 1867, the
foundation of the original building is a part of the new library building.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Purcell of New
York City and Deerlick Farm,
near this village, equipped and furnished this attractive and modern library
for the people of this area.
The first of
three Cape Vincent Newspapers, the Gazette, was published in 1852. The Cape
Vincent Eagle was published from 1872-1951, when the final edition was
printed. The building that housed the newspaper is presently owned by James
Brown and is next to the fire hall.
On Broadway
stands a new and attractive fire hall built in 1967 by subscriptions of
interested citizens. This building replaced an old wooden structure which
served the needs of the volunteer fire department for eighty-three years. The
Fire Department celebrated their centennial on June 23, 1984, with an open
house and dance.
Across from
the Fire Hall is the John C. Londraville American
Legion Post No. 832 which was formed in 1919. Down one block toward the river
is the Memorial Plaque in memory of Cape Vincent World War I and World War II
veterans. The Cape Vincent Improvement League takes care of the shrubs and
flowers there.
The United Church on Broadway, formerly the
Presbyterian Church, was erected in 1823. The chimes that are heard three times
daily from the United
Church were donated by
a summer resident in memory of his wife. Many recordings in memory of people
of all faiths are now being played.
Cape Vincent's
other church, St. John's
Episcopal Church built in 1841, stands on Market Street.
The Post
Office on Broadway opened its new building on April 2, 1962. The old office,
now housing the Cape
Shop clothing store was
used for sixty years. Since 1817 there have been twenty-four postmasters.
The New York
State Fish research Center, formerly a Bureau of Fisheries building, was
erected in 1856. Built to be used as a grist mill, it was purchased in 1895
by the Federal government for a Fisheries Bureau. As a Federal Fish Hatchery
it is noted that in 1906, 38,780,000 eggs from various kinds of fish were
hatched and distributed to different points. This building was operated as
such until recently when it was turned into a New York State
Fish Research
Center. This building
is open to the public today for your inspection, displaying many kinds of
fish.
The work on
the breakwater was started in 1900 and completed in 1906. This makes a safe
harbor for both large ships and small boats. In 1983 the breakwater was
repaired and resurfaced.
The newest
asset in Cape Vincent is the Seaway Pilots office
and dock on lower Broadway. From here the Lake
and River pilots are transported to their assigned ships as they travel from
the lake into the river or from the river into the lake. This operates
twenty-four hours a day from April until November during the lake and river
navigation season.
Throughout
the area are many old homes built of limestone which was available in the
region. These attractive homes were build of a
low-sprawling design, many in the Wilson's
Bay area, and have been kept in their original form.
On James Street in
the village is the home of Jack & Virginia Stiefel
which was built in 1872, by General Delos Sacket
who entertained Civil War Generals and is considered one of the most historic
homes in the village.
History
shows that one of the first schools of learning in this area was erected on Carleton Island in 1823. From then on many one
room school houses were built throughout the area, when in 1906 the records
show that there were seventeen school districts in the the
town of Cape Vincent. The present school building, on Esselstyne Street,
now an elementary building, was constructed in 1942 when all the districts
centralized. This brought an end to the one room school house.
In
1967, voters in Cape
Vincent and Clayton (15
miles to the north) voted to consolidate their two districts in order to
provide facilities to increase educational opportunities to all local youth.
In September of 1972, the new "Thousand Islands
Junior-Senior High
School" opened on its site at Sand
Bay, half way between Cape Vincent
and Clayton.
In
1968, local residents inaugurated a FRENCH FESTIVAL DAY. This day has become
an annual affair and is held in July on the Saturday nearest Bastille Day.
French Festival Day has grown each year since 1968, bringing thousands of
visitors to Cape
Vincent for the
celebration which consists of many French booths, exhibits, costumes, French
pastries, parade, band concerts and climaxed with a
gigantic fireworks display in the evening. The LeRay
family owned and settled much of the land in this area, with most of the
early deeds of the 1700's bearing the signature of Vincent LeRay. Familiar names then, as now, are Gosier, Docteur, Dezengremel, Mussot, Chavoustie, Favrey (Favret), Merchant and Majo.
The
main program on French Festival Day features many New York State
dignitaries and specially invited guests. The program is held on Broadway.
The
museum on Market Street
was the first framed house built in the early 1800's by the Borland family.
In 1931 the Fish family donated it to the village for a Community building.
In 1969 it was opened as the first Museum for the village.
Although
it appears that Cape
Vincent is "just a
quiet place to live" those of us who make our homes here find that our
small town is the "center of activities." We are located only 25
miles from the city of Watertown with a modern
hospital, large shopping areas, Jefferson
Vocational-Technical School, Jefferson
Community College, and
most of all the facilities of a large city.
Locally,
there are many organizations with active membership. These include Church
Societies, Parent-Teacher Organization, Masonic Lodge, Knights of Columbus,
Eastern Star, Study clubs, Firemen, Firemen Auxiliary, Ambulance and
Emergency Squad, American Legion, and American Legion Auxiliary, Chamber of
Commerce, Lions Club, Senior Citizens, Improvement League, Republican Club,
and numerous others. For those who belong to a number of these organizations,
the winter months particularly are filled with various activities. Ice
fishing, snowmobiling, skating, ice boating, cross
country skiing are popular with Cape
Vincent residents
during the winter months also.
Town of Cape Vincent Historian Peter Margrey
e-mail: mailto:pmargrey@tds.net
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