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