Chapter 2: Existing Conditions 9 COUNTY PROFILE century despite an th October 6, 2009 Lewis County Lewis Amish hay wagon in Martinsburg century Lewis County continued to have a th LAN Bowen of West Rd. As a result of the climate, dairying became an became T.B. as such a mills, on industrial dairying large of development the to led opportunities products climate, the Basselin (1883-1909) at Castorland Lumber and the Beaver River Co of dairy (1890). improved, As technology pulp also produced and paper on were result Falls,Diana, Port Lyons in Croghan, in mills operated an industrial scale County a As Lewis County climate made Thin soils and a cold Greig. Leyden, and Lewis Rd. primarily a location best forgrazing the of for firstcattle. load The of butter West of and was shippedcheese to Deerfield (Oneida County) in 1833 by Levi market Bowen the up important endeavor production, and farmers embraced cheese building 49 factoriescounty ninth in the state. which by 1875 made the opening Refrigerated cars for dairy products were introduced on the railroad in 1899, in level. regional begun The was Gazette, the first printed newspaper north of the Mohawk Valley, on March Martinsburg 10, 1807. The first county courthouse was constructed in Martinsburg in 1812, relocated and wasto supervisors town of board Lowvillea where in 1864 by governed was county The today. stands it until it established a 10-district countylegislature in 1970. The legislature first appointed a county manager in 1988. dairy farming, with over 4,000 farms in has a long tradition Lewis County by up given farms concentrated primarily in the Black RiverI, Valley by 1875. In the following War World After decline. quarter century the area in farms increased slightly,to but the number of begun already had farms longtime operators were taken up by new immigrants; but ultimately only the best of county’s landthe could support agriculture. modern The number of farms declined dramatically in the 20 increase in average farm acreage. recent years In farmers haveAmish begun to settleLewis in County, separate long-established from the Mennonites. In the 20 Paper Corp, Kraft (cream cheese), Climax (boxes), AMF (bowling pins, (bowling AMF (boxes), significant industrial Climax sector; furniture was made in Lowville, knit goods in Port Leyden, and pins in Croghan. Paper was an important bowling cheese), product made in Diana until the mid-1950s and in Lyons Falls until 2001. (cream Kraft By 2003, however, fewer industries remained. Wood other forest and Corp, products continued to be harvested, manufacturersand including Burrows Paper P connected Lewis connected at Lyons Falls,County and traveled approximately 35 miles of south to the City Rome where it connected with the .The Black River Canal was the of the surviving longest Erie Canal System feeder canals, with segments remaining in use until circa 1920. OMPREHENSIVE Historic Black River Canal Lock Canal River Black Historic C Martinsburg, Lowville and Harrisburg. Early settlers of Lewis County Lewis of settlers Early 1805. History County 28, March on Harrisburg. Legislature Turin, State and York Leyden, New and was County part of Oneida day Lewis County was originally Present the of towns: act five an of by formed consisted 26. Lowville originally in honor of Morgan Lewis, thenwas named Rte The county governor of New county The NYS State. York as Martinsburg, known from New England,ventured westward Valley the Mohawk north from is and Germany to the Switzerland far away as France,and from as road unknown wilderness of northern New York. same that Transportation systems opened up the North Country to settlement and Today, as early as county in the growth, including roads that were built economic 1797. In 1803, with the authorization of the NYS Legislature, began on a road which would pass through Turin, Lowvilleconstruction Watertown. and Construction of Rome with Carthage the Black River Canal connecting Canal River Black The 1855. by completed and 1836, in undertaken was By daily. The earliest railroads began to appear in the county with in 1853, the Lowville in more Railroad reaching Utica and Black River Carthage in 1871. This hill through the of efficient mode of transportation led of the Blackto the decline River traveling top were the to Canal, that was happeninga transition throughout New York State. In trains burning and coal burning to wood from changed 1882, locomotives were passenger Lowville ten 1885, by connected and the mid-1900s, passenger and freight rail service was in steady1910 decline in first asphalt The in automobile and truck traffic. due to the increase arrived roads Martinsburg. developed an Lewis County of the canal, as a result Early on, and economy based upon forest products and agriculture, shipping its vast resources economically down the canal to Rome. Resource extraction OUNTY C Figure 1: Lewis County’s Regional Context Regional County’s Lewis 1: Figure ROFILE P OUNTY C Herkimer County to the east; Oneida County to the south; and Oswego and south; the to Lewis Countyis bounded by fiveother New York counties including: County Oneida east; Jeffersonthe to the northeast; Lawrence St.northwest; County County to the to County Herkimer 1). Figure County to the southwest. Within the region, the cities of Watertown (see Lowville in Seat (Jefferson (Oneida County), County), Rome (Oneida County), Utica County the from Syracuse (Onondagatrip County), and Ogdensburg (St. County) Lawrence are mile 90 a within all From a state-wide perspective, Lewis County is located 120 miles of New York northwest northwest of Albany, the state capital, 225 miles Buffalo. of northeast miles 216 and City, Eastern portions of five of the towns in the county are also within the to as the ‘North partLewis County, referred of what is commonly within Country’ of New York State, is located north York of the New State also are Thruway corridor and the Utica-Rome metropolitan area, east of Lake county primary organizing The the of Watertown. Ontario, and City of the southeast in other the by flanked feature of the Black River Valleythe county is which south-north runs towns is Valley the River Black of The through its center, and constitutes one of three primary geographic county. the five within of regions portions Plateau to the west and the Adirondack Foothills to the east. Eastern Blue-Line boundary. Location Lewis County NEW YORK COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN October 6, 2009

flooring), Fibermark (paperboard), Interface Solutions (binders, gaskets), County Municipalities Figure 2: Lewis County Municipalities Otis Technology (gun-cleaning products), Harrisville Dry Kiln (lumber), and Viking Cives (snowplows), continued operations through 2008. Suzorite The county contains 26 separate municipalities (17 towns and nine Mineral Products continues to mine talc in Diana, a town that lost a large villages, see Figure 2) spread across approximately 1,272 square miles of part of its usable land area to state reforestation efforts in the 1930s and to land dominated by woodlands and farmlands. The following is a list of the expansion of Fort Drum beginning in 1941 and continuing today. towns along with their respective villages. Tourism is Lewis County’s growth industry, with its lakes, forests, and public lands attracting vacationers and recreation oriented visitors for Towns (17) Villages (9) camping, hiking, skiing, snowmobiling and other activities enhanced by Croghan Croghan (part) Lewis County’s vast collection of natural resources. Denmark Copenhagen, Castorland Diana Harrisville County Government Structure Greig Harrisburg Lowville is the County Seat of Lewis County, home to the majority of Lewis county-level agencies and services. The county’s original governing body Leyden Port Leyden (part) was a Board of Supervisors with one elected Supervisor representing each Lowville Lowville Town and having one vote. In 1971, a reapportionment plan went into Lyonsdale Port Leyden (part), Lyons Falls (part) effect, providing for ten districts of approximately equivalent populations Martinsburg and the creation of the Board of Legislators. The present governing body Montague is the County Board of Legislators, with a representative from each of the New Bremen Croghan (part) ten districts. The Board elects a Chairman from its members who serves as Osceola the Chief Elected Official of the county government. There are nine Pinckney standing committees of the Board, addressing a variety of issues. Several Turin Turin county departments, agencies, and staff positions exist for the purposes of Watson managing government operations and providing services to citizens. West Turin Constableville, Lyons Falls (part)

Lewis County is part of the 47th District in the State Senate, the 122nd The county can be roughly divided in half by the Black River, with six District in the State Assembly, and the 23rd District in the US House of towns and two villages located to the east, and 11 towns and five villages

Chapter 2: Existing Conditions Existing 2: Chapter Representatives. located to the west. The remaining two villages (Lyons Falls and Port Leyden) straddle the Black River, each with portions located in multiple towns. The largest municipality by geographic area is Croghan (181 square miles), while the smallest in area is the Village of Castorland (0.27 square miles). Villages make up 28.9 percent of the population, while accounting for 0.6 percent of the geographic area. With a population Tug Hill Plateau density of 932 people per square mile, these urbanized areas are The Tug Hill Plateau is one of only a few distinct, large plateaus in the significantly more dense than the surrounding towns. Eastern US. It lies between Lake Ontario, the Black River and Oneida Lake, and is approximately 2,100 square miles. It encompasses towns Defining Sub-Regions of Lewis County and villages scattered in a vast acreage of forest and farm land. The core of the region encompasses more than 800 square miles of remote forest Lewis County’s location within the Adirondack Region and the land and the headwaters of several major rivers, with much of the area abundance of natural resources from which the community can benefit inaccessible by public road. The plateau’s location on the eastern end of COUNTY for economic and recreational purposes creates a high quality of life for Lake Ontario makes it the most substantial lake-effect snow location in PROFILE residents and visitors. The Tug Hill Plateau, Adirondack Foothills, and the country. These lands and waters are important to the state of New Black River Valley represent the three most influential environmental York as municipal water supply, as wildlife and plant habitat, and as key resource regions within Lewis County (see Figure 3). The Tug Hill Region resources supporting the forest industry, farming, recreation and tourism, and Adirondack Park in their entirety provide more than 10,000 square and traditional land uses such as hunting and fishing. miles of forests, mountains, rivers, and lakes throughout northern New 10 Lewis County Courthouse in Lowville York State. Chapter 2: Existing Conditions 11 COUNTY PROFILE NEW YORK October 6, 2009 Lewis County Lewis Figure 4: Regional Agencies withInfluence Lewisin County LAN historic, ecological and natural resources of the park. A further purpose A historic, ecological and of the park. natural resources long-range park for developing focus the responsibility is to of the APA policyinto consideration that takes the needs of the entire state. Commission, the APA is a regulatory body that the Tug Hill In contrast to strives to ensure that current and projected future pressures on the park’s resources are provided for matters recognizes plan within a land use that and New York of surrounding regional of localconcern along with those State. It is this intermingling of public and private lands that provides the Adirondack Park with its unique effort character.to cope with an In unregulated developmentframeworkprivate a APA created lands, on the to assist local governments within the park, including those within Lewis County, against the pressures of developmentand to help these municipalities exercise their discretionary powers to guide growth. P OMPREHENSIVE C The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) was created in 1971 by the State Legislature to develop long-range land use plans for both public and purpose of the primary Park. The the Adirondack private lands within insure conservation, protection, to APA is preservation, development and use of the unique scenic, aesthetic, wildlife, recreational, open space, Originally established in 1972 as a temporary body, the Tug Hill Tug the body, temporary a as 1972 in established Originally Commission (THC) was created to enable local governments, private Hill Region. Tug the future of the to shape organizations, and individuals The non-regulatory THC provides technical assistance the region’s to 62 local governments, economic development organizations, and other local of landeconomic use planning, groups in the areas community development, THC alsoprovides and natural resource management. The local and information for through workshops and issues training officials papersvariety of topics. on a All municipalities within Lewis County west of the Black River are included within the Tug Hill Commission’s jurisdiction, of which 26 county’s of the 18 for This accounts voluntary. participation is municipalities, including: the townsof Denmark, Harrisburg,Lewis, and Turin, Pinckney, Osceola, Montague, Martinsburg, Lowville, Leyden, and the villagesWest Turin; of Castorland, Constableville, Copenhagen, 4). Figure (see Turin and Leyden, Port Falls, Lyons Lowville, Adirondack Park Agency Lyons Falls via the Black River Canal. Today, the Black River is a is into River and Plateau Black Hill the Tug the of edge Today, the along Canal. County The Black River flows from Lewis its headwaters in the western Adirondacks, River through Black of the in the economy role plays an important River Lake Ontario. The the North Country region, and was historically to capitalize on water utilized via goods. In and transport to run mills power which could be harnessed Falls at the Erie Canal point for a connection was the Black River addition, Lyons recreational corridor used for fishing, canoeing, whitewater rafting, kayaking and wildlifeviewing along its 114-mile length. The 42-mile the to is to Carthage Falls from Lyons County Lewis flatwater through section Changes width. in miles The river drops only River Flats.” known locally as the “Black five and two between approximately 15-feet over the 42-mile distance. The river is in a broadis that valley open river’smoderate cross-section created to a slow deep at that flowsections kayaks and shallow-draftpace, suitable for small as canoes, boats such the resulted in has valley river of the flooding motorboats. Periodic to the dominance of contributes presence of quality soils, which high agricultural land uses in the valley. County in Lewis Influence with Agencies Regional Tug Hill Commission Black River Valley River Black OUNTY C Figure 3: Geographic Sub-Regions State of New York amid concerns for the water and timber resources of resources timber Foothills Adirondack and water the for foothills the of a portion of the western Lewiscontains County the by 1892 in concerns was created Park Adirondack The amid Mountains. Adirondack York New of State region. the mountainous publiclyToday,is the largest protected the park United area in the contiguous States, greater in size than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier, Parks combined. and Grand Canyon National The approximately encompasses boundary of the Park nearly million six acres, half people belongs to all of which and is of New York State the constitutionally protected to remain “forever wild” forest preserve. The remaining half of the park is private land settlements,which includes farms, timber lands, businesses, homes, and camps. The wild forest, water, wildlife aesthetic resources of the Park and along open with its recreational experience of national space character provide an outdoor and international significance. Lewis County NEW YORK COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN October 6, 2009

Portions of five municipalities (Diana, Croghan, Watson, Greig, and Regional Impacts of Fort Drum on the North Country DANC’s programmatic areas of Lyonsdale) are within the APA boundary, also known as the Blue Line. The North Country region has long been defined by the presence of Fort interest include: community The Town of New Bremen shares its eastern boundary with the Park (see Drum, with significant contributions to the region’s economy coming development, solid waste Figure 4). from the military base as a generator of direct employment. In addition, management, water and the services required by personnel and military families stationed in the wastewater, and United States Army Base at Fort Drum area benefit permanent residents through the provision of jobs and telecommunications. In 2004, economic opportunity. The presence of the base and the resulting the Open Access Telecom Since its reactivation demand for housing has also put upward pressure on the cost of rental Network went into service, in 1984, the 10th and owner-occupied properties, impacting the residents of surrounding providing connectivity in the tri- Mountain Division communities throughout the region. The activities at Fort Drum make it county region with major (Light Infantry) of the one of the largest generators of traffic and visitation on an annual basis to telecommunications carriers in US Army has called the region, and a primary driver of economic opportunity in Lewis, New York State. Fort Drum home. Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties. Recent expansion of Fort Drum Regional Liaison United States Army Due to growth generated by Fort Drum, two organizations have been Organization facilities at Fort created to manage regional impacts while fostering communication Citizens of the tri-county region Drum in support of between the public and the military. The Development Authority of the of Northern New York directly conflicts around the North Country and the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization are impacted by the location of the globe has lead to currently working together towards the effective and efficient 10th Mountain Division at Fort significant communication of the needs of each parent organization, while Drum formed the Fort Drum development within 10th Mountain Division Monument at Fort Drum identifying economic growth opportunities through improved leveraging Steering Council, a predecessor the surrounding of military spending. to the Fort Drum Regional communities. Liaison Organization. The DANC’s Open Access Telecom Network Development Authority of the North Country primary purpose of the Council Fort Drum has a long history as a military installation. It has been used as As a result of the decision to locate the 10th Mountain Division at Fort was to be a first point of contact between the military and civilian a military training site since 1908; however, the Army's presence in the Drum, a need arose for a regional entity with the capability to effectively communities. The Council was originally slated to disband in 1990 when North Country may be traced back to the early 1800's. Originally known and efficiently communicate with the United States Army to address the it was determined that its planning role was no longer necessary. as Pine Camp, the area saw its largest growth spurt with the outbreak of fort’s economic and social impacts on the region. In 1985, New York

Chapter 2: Existing Conditions Existing 2: Chapter World War II in 1942. At that time the area was selected for a major State formed the Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) The civilian and military communities in the Fort Drum Impact Area felt expansion and an additional 75,000 acres of land was purchased. and charged it with providing the region with the capability to effectively that a follow-on organization was necessary to keep the lines of plan and develop the infrastructure needs of the three-county region communication open between them. The Fort Drum Regional Liaison Pine Camp became Camp Drum in 1951. During and after the Korean (Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties) as a result of expansions of Organization (FDRLO) was formed, recognizing the need for various Conflict a number of units were stationed and trained here to take Fort Drum. organizations and agencies both on base and off to maintain regular advantage of the terrain and climate. The post was designated Fort Drum contact on specific issues and programs. The FDRLO became the point in 1974 and a permanent garrison was assigned. On September 11, As one of its first official tasks, in 1986 DANC undertook a of contact for those issues which transcend the specific missions of any 1984, the announcement was made that Fort Drum would be the new comprehensive economic evaluation of the region and developed a individual organization or agency in either the civilian or military home of the 10th Light Infantry Division. detailed, long-range economic development strategy. Currently, the communities. Development Authority administers several business loan programs to Today, approximately 17,296 acres (27 square miles) of the 107,265-acre promote job creation and retention among small businesses. The The FDRLO fills a range of roles including efforts to promote integration military installation are located in the extreme northern portions of Lewis Authority also provides funding for the development of quality, affordable and leveraging of Fort Drum activity with outside community and County (see Figure 4). The majority of these lands are undeveloped. housing in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties through its housing business development. Since its creation, FDRLO has sponsored COUNTY Although most of the growth and economic impact has occurred in programs. In addition, the Authority's staff advises several local numerous studies of how Fort Drum can aid the region’s economy, PROFILE Jefferson County, some of that impact extends into Lewis County, development corporations including those in Clayton, Carthage and ranging from the Fort Drum economic impact update to military housing especially along the Route 26 corridor south of Carthage. Lewis County. in the community and even joint use airport options. Most recently, FDRLO conducted a study focused on identifying and exploring ways to improve the quality of jobs in the North Country. The study addressed leveraging opportunities associated with national changes in how the 12 military procures contracts and services from private business.