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 the Rev. and
Mrs. David Windle which was built in 1872, by General
Delos Sackett 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.
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