The town was first explored in the 17th century by French explorers and missionaries. At that time, it was home to the Onondaga people. Modern settlement began in 1801 at Millens Bay.
During the War of 1812, Cape Vincent served as an armed camp to oppose the British forces in adjacent Kingston, Ontario.
The town was formed in 1849 from the north part of the town of Lyme. In 1895, the hamlet of Cape Vincent incorporated as a village. By that time, the region was becoming a famous tourist area due to the Thousand Islands.
In 1935, the East Charity Shoals Light was erected at the entrance to the Seaway.
The Methodist denomination maintained the first religious services in the village of Cape Vincent. A class was formed about 1820, and the first conference appointment was that of Seth Green in 1827. The Church was legally organized October 14, 1851, under the ministry of Rev.
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A history of Jefferson County in the state of New York1854 · page 321Read the page →
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Your petitioner therefore humbly requests your honorable body to authorize him, by law, to make a turnpike road, from the village of Chaumont, in the town of Brownville, to the village of Cape Vincent, on the river St. Lawrence, and from the Black River, opposite the village of Watertown, to intersect the St. Lawrence Turnpike Road, at or near where the same crosses the Indian River, in the town of Le Ray; upon such conditions, and under such limitations and restrictions, as you, in your wisdom,
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A map of the Province of New York, compiled from actual surveys and made by Claude Joseph Sauthier in 1779, locates the "Great Camp" in the town of Cape Vincent. Probably the encampment made October 21. Champlain and Frontenac were workers in the cause of colonization ; but they were not sufficiently supported.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Cape Vincent, 1822 to 1953
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikidata (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
