Jefferson County Timeline



=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