Cape Vincent, NY

Cape Vincent is fast becoming a place where people like to live as well as spend their vacation. When in “The Cape” you can enjoy watching ships from all over the world as they pass through the clean blue waters of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Cape Vincent Village is also the only remaining regional community with an automobile and passenger Ferry to Canada crossing the St. Lawrence River.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Cape Vincent encompasses a total area of 89.9 square miles.  The northwest border is the St. Lawrence River and the western border is Lake Ontario.  Much of the town is a peninsula projecting into Lake Ontario, where the lake enters the river. The south part of the peninsula is in the neighboring Town of Lyme. The opposite shore of the river and some of the river islands are in Canada.

History

Early records of the exploration of the French in North America tell us that they were in the area of Cape Vincent as early as 1615.  This area was also occupied by the indians and used as their hunting grounds for many years.  In 1655 the French missionary priests Father Chaumonoit, Father Dablon and Father Simon LeMoyne came among the Onondaga Indians to establish missions and homes.  James LeRay de Chaumont acquired many thousands of acres of land in Northern New York in the late 1790’s and early1800’s. Cape

Vincent was named after his son, Vincent LeRay. Father and son worked together and used their influence back in their homeland to attract many French emigres and refugees of the Napoleonic regime to come and settle in Cape Vincent and surrounding areas.

Some of the refugees returned to France after a few years but a majority of the emigres stayed on and many of their descendants still live in the area. Reminders of our French history include many family names, homes, personal belongings, letters and other documents.

For more information about Cape Vincent’s history and its French background, we invite you to visit the Cape Vincent Community House and Museum on Market Street, the Cape Vincent Museum on North James Street and the Cape Vincent Community Library on Real Street.

The town of Cape Vincent was formally established in 1849 and the Village of Cape Vincent was first incorporated on June 14, 1853 with a population of 1,218 inhabitants.  By the end of the 19th century, the region was already be coming a famous tourist area due to the nearby Thousand Islands.

Annual French Festival

In celebration of its rich French heritage, Cape Vincent holds an Annual French Festival. The Festival runs for two days (Saturday & Sunday) with fun for the whole family. During the Festive, the streets are filed with vendors, street performers, a huge parade, live music, puppet shows, fireworks, French pastry sale, and amazing food vendors.

This year’s Festival will be held July 8-9th; 8am-10pm Saturday and 9am-3pm Sunday.