Theresa (Town)
Town of Theresa
The Town of Theresa was formed in 1841 from part of the Town of Alexandria. Named after Theresa La Ray, the daughter of an original landowner. The town of Theresa contains a village also named Theresa. The town and village are in the northern part of the county, north-northeast of Watertown.
Early Settlement
(The following excerpt taken from Our County And Its People: A Descriptive Work on Jefferson County, New York; Edited by Edgar C. Emerson, The Boston History Company,1898.)
Theresa was set off from Alexandria in 1811, and was named in allusion to a daughter of Mr. LeRay. Settlement in the town was begun about 1810, under the direct management of LeRay, who caused land to be cleared and a saw mill built on Indian River, near the high falls (now Theresa). Among the early settlers may be recalled the names of James Shurtleff, Anson and Jeremiah Cheeseman, Sylvester Rodman, M. B. Ashley, Azariah Walton, Col. Bull, Abram Morrow, Joseph Miller, Archibald Fisher, James Lake, Ebenezer and N. W. Lull and J. D. Davidson.
Communities and locations in the town
- Bartletts Corners – A hamlet by the southeastern town line, south of Red Lake.
- Coopers Corners – A hamlet on combined routes NY-26 and NY-37, and County Road 193, west of Theresa village.
- Douglas Crossing – A hamlet on NY-37, located south of Theresa village.
- Rivergate – A hamlet on County Road 46 and the Indian River, south of Theresa village.
- Theresa – A village on the Indian River and NY-26.
Geographical features and other locations
- Butterfield Lake – A lake at the northwestern town line, partly in the town.
- Chapel Corners – A location on County Road 21, by Lake of the Woods.
- Crystal Lake – A lake near NY-26 by the northwestern town line.
- Hyde Lake – A lake on the western side of Theresa.
- Indian River – A stream flowing through the town.
- Indian River Wildlife Management Area – A conservation area in the town.
- Lake of the Woods – A lake in the northern part of town, south of Grass Lake.
- Millsite Lake – A lake by the northwestern town line, south of Butterfield Lake.
- Moon Lake – A lake south of Bartletts Corners and Red Lake.
- Muskellunge Lake – A lake near the northeastern corner of Theresa, east of Bartletts Corners.
- Red Lake – A lake by Bartletts Corners and the northeastern town line.
- Grass Lake – A lake partly in the town and partly in St. Lawrence County.
- Shurtleff Corners – A location on the southeastern town line on NY-26.
- Sixberry Lake – A lake south of Millsite Lake.
- Stills Corner – A location by the western corner of Theresa.
- Stroughs Crossing – A location on NY-411 in the western part of the town.
Theresa (village)