Jefferson County Timeline

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=//1600-1699//= 1615 - Samuel de Champlain MAY have landed in Henderson 1654 - French begin fortifying the region. Blockhouses built at Six Town Point and Bucks Island 1684 - Antoine Lefebvre, Sieur de la Barre expedition against Iroquois ends in failure at Hungry Bay

=//1700-1799//= 1756 - French army crosses Jefferson County to attack Fort Bull 1778 - British build Fort Carleton. Later Fort Haldimand on Buck's Island, renaming it Carleton Island 1778 - St. Leger stages raids on Mohawk Valley from Fort Haldimand 1788 - Most land ceded to New York State by Oneida Indians 1791 - Most of what is now Jefferson County purchased by Alexander Macomb 1794 - Castorland Company, group of French refugees arrive in Jefferson County 1795 - Land surveyor Benjamin Wright followed the Black River into Jefferson County 1797 - Ellisburg first settled 1798 - Carthage first settled 1799 - Brownville first settled

=//1800-1899//= 1800 - Adams first settled 1800 - Town of Champion created 1800 - Felts Mills first settled 1800 - Watertown first settled 1800 - Town of Watertown created 1801 - Burrville first settled 1801 - Cape Vincent first settled 1801 - Clayton first settled 1801 - Mannsville first settled 1801 - Rodman first settled 1801 - Sackets Harbor first settled 1802 - Town of Adams created 1802 - Town of Brownville created 1802 - Chaumont first settled 1802 - Evans Mills first settled 1802 - Town of Rutland created 1803 - Dexter first settled 1803 - Town of Ellisburg created 1804 - Town of Lorraine created 1804 - Philadelphia first settled 1804 - Town of Rodman created 1805 - Jefferson County created from Oneida County 1805 - Watertown named county seat 1805 - Deferiet first settled 1805 - Public Square in Watertown created 1806 - Black River first settled 1806 - Town of Henderson created 1806 - Town of Hounsfield created 1806 - Town of LeRay created 1808 - Paper mill opens in Watertown under the name Pioneer Mill, later Knowlton & Rice 1809 - First newspaper in Jefferson County //The American Eagle// published in Watertown 1810 - Town of Antwerp created 1812 - Town of Alexandria created 1812 - War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States began 1812 - Sackets Harbor attacked by British during War of 1812 1813 - British attacked Sackets Harbor again, but were driven out by American forces 1813 - Town of Wilna created 1815 - War of 1812 ends 1814 - Sackets Harbor incorporated as a village 1815 - Natural Bridge first settled 1816 - Construction of Madison Barracks begins in Sackets Harbor 1816 - Jefferson County National Bank, first bank in the county, opens in Adams 1816 - Adams Center first settled 1816 - Depauville first settled 1816 - Lafargeville first settled 1816 - Watertown incorporated as a village 1816 - First Jefferson County Fair held in Watertown 1817 - Theresa first settled 1818 - Town of Lyme created 1819 - Town of Pamelia created 1821 - Town of Orleans created 1821 - Town of Philadelphia created 1828 - Brownville incorporated as a village 1833 - Town of Clayton created 1836 - Alexandria Bay first settled 1841 - Carthage incorporated as a village 1841 - Town of Theresa created 1847 - Town of Worth created 1849 - Town of Cape Vincent created 1849 - Major fire destroys much of Watertown 1850 - Lafargeville incorporated as a village 1850 - Paddock Arcade built in Watertown 1851 - The Rome, Watertown Ogdensburg Railroad makes first run through Jefferson County 1851 - Woodruff House built in Watertown 1853 - Antwerp incorporated as a village 1853 - Bagley & Sewall machine manufacturers opens in Watertown 1853 - Cape Vincent incorporated as a village 1854 - Tibbetts Point Lighthouse erected in Cape Vincent 1855 - Dexter incorporated as a village 1861 - The American Civil War begins 1862 - Major flooding in Great Bend 1986 - The American Civil War ends 1865 - Much of Adams destroyed by fire 1868 - Davis Sewing Machine Company opens in Watertown 1868 - Depauville Steamboat Company opens in Depauville 1869 - Major flooding in Watertown and other areas along the Black River 1869 - Village of Juhelville annexed by Watertown 1869 - Watertown incorporated as a city 1870 - YMCA opens in Watertown 1870 - Stony Point Lighthouse built in Henderson Harbor 1870 - //New York Weekley Reformer// is renamed //Watertown Daily Times// 1871 - Theresa incorporated as a village 1872 - Clayton incorporated as a village 1874 - Chaumont incorporated as a village 1874 - Evans Mills incorporated as a village 1874 - Philadelphia incorporated as a village 1876 - Eames Vacuum Brake Company opens in Watertown 1878 - FW Woolworth conceives 5&10 concept at Smith & Moore Store in Watertown 1879 - Mannsville incorporated as a village 1879 - Telephone service begins in Watertown 1884 - Much of Carthage is destroyed by fire 1886 - The Jefferson County Historical Society is formed 1889 - West Carthage incorporated as a village 1889 - House of the Good Samaritan Hospital opens on Holcomb Street in Watertown 1891 - Black River incorporated as a village 1893 - Glen Park incorporated as a village 1895 - Ellisburg incorporated as a village 1896 - Watertown Red & Black football team organized 1899 - Construction on Boldt Castle is begun

=//1900-1999//= 1903 - Thompson Park created 1903 - Flower Memorial Library is built in Watertown 1907 - NY National Guard establishes Camp Hughes (later Pine Camp) 1907 - The first movie theater in Jefferson County, The Wonderland, opens in Watertown 1908 - U.S. Army establishes Pine Camp (later Ft. Drum) 1914 - World War I begins 1919 - Suffragettes march on Public Square in Watertown 1919 - World War I ends 1928 - Watertown Municipal (later International) airport opens 1929 - The Stock Market crashes on October 29th 1929, setting off the Great Depression 1938 - Thousand Islands Bridge opens 1941 - The US enters World World II, and the Great Depression ends 1941 - Pine Camp expands, acquiring land in the Towns of Leray and Wilna 1941 - WWNY (later WTNY) Radio begins broadcasting 1945 - World War II ends 1949 - Madison Barracks decommissioned by the U.S. Army 1951 - Pine Camp renamed Camp Drum 1953 - Little Trees car fresheners invented in Watertown 1954 - WCNY-TV (later WWNY) begins broadcasting 1959 - St. Lawrence Seaway opens 1961 - Jefferson Community College opens in Watertown 1961 - Interstate 81 opens 1965 - Carthage Area Hospital opens 1968 - Demolition for Watertown's Urban Renewal program begins 1974 - Jefferson County Industrial Park opens in Watertown 1974 - Camp Drum renamed Fort Drum 1976 - Hotel Woodruff in Watertown demolished 1977 - Blizzard of '77 strikes much of Northeast United States 1984 - 10th Mountain Division moved to Ft. Drum 1986 - Salmon Run Mall built in Watertown 1991 - Ice Storm of '91 strikes Jefferson County 1995 - Microburst strikes causing widespread damage 1998 - Ice Storm of '98 strikes much of Northeast U.S. and Canada

=//2000-//= 2002 - Major fire destroys much of downtown Carthage 2003 - Northeast Blackout of 2003 occurs 2004 - Fire destroys several buildings on Court Street in Watertown 2006 - Multi-million dollar renovation of Public Square begins in Watertown 2008 - Knowlton Technologies (originally Knowlton & Rice) celebrates 200th anniversary