Alexandria Bay is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Jefferson County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States, within the town of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. It is located in the

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands (, ) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream fr ...

region of northern New York. The population of the village was 1,078 at the 2010 United States census. It lies near the Thousand Islands Border Crossing of Canada and the United States.

History

Settlement began around 1817. By 1836, the community had about 25 dwellings. The George C. Boldt Yacht House, Church of Saint Lawrence,

Cornwall Brothers' Store Cornwall Brothers' Store is a historic commercial building located at Alexandria Bay in Jefferson County, New York. It was built in 1866 and is a massive 2- to -story, three-by-seven-bay, structure built of coursed rubble stone. It was original ...

, Holland Library, Ingleside, and Longue Vue Island are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In its heyday as a late 19th century and early 20th century resort, its main access was via steamer from Clayton, NY. Its nearest rail connection was

Redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad's Rochester line bound for Ogdensburg.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , of which are land and , or 49.77%, are water. The village is located on the south bank of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

near the U.S. and Canada international border. Keewaydin State Park is southwest of the village.

New York State Route 12 New York State Route 12 (NY 12) is a state highway extending for through central and northern New York (state), New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 11 in New York, U.S. Route 11 (U ...

and

New York State Route 26 New York State Route 26 (NY 26) is a north–south state highway that runs for through Central New York in the United States. Its southern terminus is located at the New York–Pennsylvania border, Pennsylvania state line south ...

intersect at the only stoplight in the village. NY-12 leads northeast (downriver) to Ogdensburg and southwest to Clayton. NY-26 has its northern terminus at Alexandria Bay and leads southeast to

Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Classical Greek, Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

intersects NY-12 southwest of Alexandria Bay, leading south to Watertown and to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, and north to the Thousand Islands Bridge into Canada.

Buildings

The village has a number of properties on the

Historic Sites

The following are the historic sites in Alexandria Bay of such significance as to be listed on the

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,088 people, 482 households, and 270 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 624 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.08%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.37% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 0.09%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.09% Native American, and 0.74% from two or more races. There were 482 households, out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.81. In the village, the population was spread out, with 20.3% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 23.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $29,338, and the median income for a family was $36,979. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $21,429 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $16,875. About 11.0% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 18.7% of those age 65 or over. According to the 2008-2012

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, the total population of Alexandria Bay was 1,999 and 95.5% white. 12.6% of the population over 25 does not have a high school or equivalent degree. Median household income, in 2012 inflation adjusted dollars, was $37,303.

Local attractions

Alexandria bay saint lawrence uncle sam 05

While Alexandria Bay has a relatively low population during the winter months and has no colleges, the late spring, summer, and early fall seasons bring an influx of vacationers and avid boaters that cause the population of the village to exceed 15,000. Several motels and hotels are available in the immediate village area. Boat tours are available of the bay and river area daily. Boldt Castle is a 120-room mansion on Heart Island, located near Alexandria Bay. The castle was designed by the firm of W. D. Hewitt and G.W. Hewitt, Architects of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, who also designed Druim Moir Castle in Philadelphia. Boldt Castle was built at the turn of the century by multi-millionaire

George C. Boldt George Charles Boldt Sr. (April 25, 1851 – December 5, 1916) was a Prussian-born American hotelier. A self-made millionaire, he influenced the development of the urban hotel as a civic social center and luxury destination. Life and care ...

for his wife, Louise, as a testimony of his love for her. Mr. Boldt invested over $2.5 million to build this replica of a

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

castle. Boldt planned on presenting it to his wife on Valentine's Day. Work was underway on the eleven buildings that would comprise the castle complex when in January 1904 Louise Boldt died, ending the dreams of a lifetime. George Boldt ordered that all work be stopped and for 73 years the Castle and the other structures on the island were left to the forces of nature. The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property in 1977; since that time, several million dollars have been spent rehabilitating and restoring the castle and surrounding structures. Ferries allow access to the castle on an hourly schedule daily. In 1979, the movie Fear No Evil was filmed at several sites in and around Boldt Castle, marking the only time the castle has made an appearance in cinema. Every August, 10 days are devoted to "Bill Johnston's Pirate Days", a town-wide festival that features professional performers acting out

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

battles and a "siege" of the town by the "Pirate of the Thousand Islands", Bill Johnston, whom the festival is named after. It is encouraged that attendees dress in pirate attire, as do the actors who line the streets. The festival is also educational, with many groups providing galleries, displays, and informative presentations of the weapons and ships used during the

Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy was the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Histories of piracy often subdivide the Golden Age of Piracy into th ...

Economy

The total value of exports of Alexandria Bay, New York was $6.73 billion in 2020.

Airport

Maxson Airfield (FAA LID: 89NY) is a privately owned, private-use general aviation airport located south of the central business district of Alexandria Bay. It once had commercial service provided by Mohawk Airlines. At that time, the airport bore the

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

airport code AXB. The Maxson Airport was originally owned by Howard C. Maxson. He ran it as a grass-field airport until his death in 1984. Howard Maxson would provide airplane tours over the 1000 Islands during the summer as well as flight instruction.

Education

The school district is

Alexandria Central School District Alexandria ( ; ) is the second largest city in Egypt and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile River delta. Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria grew rapidly and became a major ce ...

.
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References

External links

*
Village of Alexandria Bay official websiteAlexBay.org - Alexandria Bay Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Jefferson County, New York New York (state) populated places on the Saint Lawrence River