Plattsburgh (city), New York

"Plattsburgh" redirects here. For the neighboring town of the same name, see Plattsburgh (town), New York. For other uses, see Plattsburgh (disambiguation).
Plattsburgh
City

MacDonough Monument in front of City Hall

Seal
Nickname(s): "The Lake City" "(La Ville sur le Lac)" "The Burgh"
Motto: Ipsa Sibi Præmium Virtus
(“Virtue is its own reward.”)

Map of Plattsburgh city
Plattsburgh

Location within state of New York

Coordinates: 44°41′43″N 73°27′30″W / 44.69528°N 73.45833°W / 44.69528; -73.45833Coordinates: 44°41′43″N 73°27′30″W / 44.69528°N 73.45833°W / 44.69528; -73.45833
Country  United States
State  New York
County Clinton
Settled 1785
Incorporated 1815 (village)
1902 (city)
Named for Zephaniah Platt
Government
 • Type Mayor-Council
 • Mayor James Calnon (I)
 • City Council
Area
 • Total 6.6 sq mi (17.0 km2)
 • Land 5.1 sq mi (13.1 km2)
 • Water 1.5 sq mi (4.0 km2)  23.4%
Elevation 138 ft (42 m)
Population (2010 Census)[1]
 • Total 19,989
 • Density 3,919.4/sq mi (1,525.9/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 12901, 12903
Area code(s) 518
FIPS code 36-58574
GNIS feature ID 0960698
Website CityofPlattsburgh-NY.gov

Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, in the United States. The population was 19,989 at the 2010 census.[1] The population of the unincorporated areas within the Town of Plattsburgh was 11,870 as of the 2010 census, making the population for the immediate Plattsburgh region 31,859.

The city of Plattsburgh is located entirely within the boundaries of the original "Town of Plattsburgh" and is in the North Country region of the state of New York.

Micropolitan Statistical Area

The City of Plattsburgh is the population center and county seat at the heart of the Plattsburgh Micropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) - population 82,128 as of the 2010 Census.[2] A statistical area representing the greater Plattsburgh region (as defined by the U.S. government), the Plattsburgh MSA includes all communities in the immediate Clinton County, New York area.

History

Under French rule

Beginning with Samuel de Champlain's expedition into the Lake Champlain valley in 1609,[3] the Plattsburgh region began to come under the French influence, later passing under English and finally American control. The early French contact and its closeness to Quebec made this a historically French area. Located in the extended fur trade network in the Montreal hinterland, the Plattsburgh area was the realm of the coureur des bois who served the larger trading hub in Montreal. Although Plattsburgh is a relatively new city, the surrounding area began to be settled during the mid-to-late 17th century. Permanent French settlement was hampered by the threat of conflict with the Iroquois, but French missionaries began living among the indigenous population as early as 1609.[4] Moreover, the area near Plattsburgh is notable for being the site of an indigenous village.[3]

Transition to British and then American rule

Plattsburgh and much of the lands comprising present day Clinton County were originally part of the French settlement of New France. They stayed a part of New France until the outcome of the French and Indian War, where the French lost their hold on this region to the British. This conflict (1754–1763) predated the American Revolution (1775–1783). As a condition of the 1763 Treaty of Paris, a vast region including present-day Plattsburgh was ceded from France to Britain. It was incorporated into British rule as part of the Indian Reserve. The Reserve was established by Britain as an attempt to protect British colonial positions in New England and the Middle Colonies using the newly acquired lands to buffer against armed conflict with either France or Spain. The founding of present-day Plattsburgh, however, was not an act of the British, rather it coincided with the American territorial acquisition after the American Revolutionary War; ended as per the agreement between the newly established United States of America and Great Britain via the 1783 Treaty of Paris.

Plattsburgh's founding under American rule

Plattsburgh was founded by Zephaniah Platt in 1785 after he was granted the land by George Clinton.[5] In granting land to Zephaniah Platt of Poughkeepsie, New York - who went on to establish the new city of Plattsburgh to buffer emerging American interests in the Saint Lawrence River valley and Lake Champlain valley after the American victory in the American Revolutionary War - the centralized American authority proclaimed the area including and surrounding the old French trading areas and Iroquois settlement to be refounded as the settlement of Plattsburgh in 1785. Regardless, local residents exercised their unique French culture and history over the years in ways that are still visible today. In Plattsburgh, for example, there is no "Main Street" - a common vestige of English colonies, whereas in a unique tradition major streets and thoroughfares were named after the daughters of prominent businessman and politicians (e.g., Cathérine, Marguerite - present day North Catherine and South Catherine Streets and Margaret Street and Plattsburgh's "Main Street", Cornélie - present day Cornelia Street). In a similar fashion, local residents named local streets after renowned Frenchmen including Samuel de Champlain, the original founder of the region, and General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm - the French general who gained fame defeating incredible numerical odds in multiple battles throughout both the Oswego and Hudson River Valley areas before going on to organize the last French defense of Québec at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The oldest monument within the city limits, in fact, is dedicated to Samuel de Champlain.

Notable historical events

The community set itself off from the Town of Plattsburgh by incorporating as a village in 1815. The city government was established in the former village in 1902.

With its significant location on a major water thoroughfare and close to the U.S.-Canadian border, Plattsburgh has been the site of a number of historic events including the Revolutionary War's Battle of Valcour Island and the War of 1812's Battle of Plattsburgh; the city has a War of 1812 museum.

Plattsburgh Normal School was founded in 1889. It burned in 1929, and was rebuilt in 1932. In 1948 it became State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

In 1915, the Preparedness Movement established the first and best-known of its training camps for prospective military volunteers at Plattsburgh. The "Plattsburgh camps" trained about 40,000 potential Army officers in the summers of 1915 and 1916.

During the Cold War, military functions took a prominent role in Plattsburgh, which was home to Plattsburgh Air Force Base (PAFB) and was the location of the Strategic Air Command's primary wing on the U.S. East Coast due to its geographic desirability. The base's location in the Champlain Valley (protected by the rain shadow of the Adirondack Mountains) ensured consistent, year-round weather that was safe for take-offs and landings. The 380th Bombardment, Aerospace, and Refueling Wings, all stationed at PAFB, included B-52 Bombers, air-refueling "tankers" and FB-111s. The base had a great deal of land surface and was one of only four military bases in the United States with a landing strip large enough for a Space Shuttle landing.

A B-47 with the inscription "Pride of the Adirondacks" on display in the Clyde A. Lewis Air Park
A B-47 bomber with the inscription "Pride of the Adirondacks", one of two aircraft on display in the Clyde A. Lewis Air Park.

On September 1, 1961, the 556 Strategic Missile Squadron was activated at Plattsburgh AFB. The Squadron consisted of 12 Atlas "F" Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles stored in underground silos at 12 sites surrounding the city of Plattsburgh. Ten of the silos were in New York, two across Lake Champlain in Vermont. The squadron played an active role in the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis, giving President Kennedy a powerful negotiating tool in dealing with Nikita Kruschev. The 556 SMS's life was relatively short lived since the Atlas was a liquid fuel system that was expensive and difficult to maintain. As the solid fuel Minuteman ICBM began to come on line, the liquid fueled missiles such as the Atlas and Titan were retired. The 556 SMS began inactivating in the spring of 1965, completing that task later that year.

Despite its numerous awards for performance excellence, PAFB was closed on September 29, 1995 in a round of national base closures in the early 1990s as the Air Force began to pare down its post-Cold War missions. The base property is now managed by the Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation (PARC) and is used by a number of industrial manufacturers and commercial airlines.

Because of the strategic weather advantage of the former PAFB site, as well as its relatively convenient access by air to the most remote parts of Upstate New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton used the former airbase landing strip on her trips to campaign in the North Country region during her first term as a US Senator from New York in early 2002.

Throughout much of the 1980s, when the Canadian dollar was strong relative to the U.S. dollar, Plattsburgh was a favorite tourist location for vacationers from Montreal and southern Quebec. Bilingual signs, in English and French, are found in parts of the city. The city beaches and camp grounds were regularly crowded and Plattsburgh attracted enough retail stores and outlets to build a second large indoor shopping mall, Champlain Centre North, in addition to several outdoor shopping centers. The additional retail space of the Champlain Centre North along with the new Consumer Square (Walmart, Staples, TJ Maxx...) made the Pyramid Mall irrelevant; it was largely demolished (with exception of Kmart and the restored old Price Chopper building) and converted into a power center with a 115,000 sq ft (10,700 m2) Lowes Home Center and a new Price Chopper as the anchor stores. However, with the closing of PAFB and the strengthening U.S. dollar in the 1990s, Canadian tourism declined, although it has rebounded with the falling dollar of 2007. Today, the city relies largely in part on new industries expanding on the former airbase as well as established manufacturing plants, such as Bombardier,[6] Nova Bus,[7] and Georgia-Pacific paper plant. The GP plant is housed in the former LOZIER Auto factory built in the early 20th century on the former (lakefront) Anderson Farm.

The City of Plattsburgh was the first city in the state to elect an openly gay mayor when they elected Daniel Stewart (R) in November 1999.

Notable people


Notable events

Spelling of Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh is sometimes mistakenly spelled as Plattsburg, leaving off the ‹h›. Adding to the confusion are many historic documents relating to the famous naval engagement between the United States and Britain in 1814 which refer to the Battle of Plattsburg.

Compounding the confusion, in 1950 the editor of the New York State Legislative Manual, seeking to simplify the organization of that year's manual, requested a listing of state post offices from the United States Postal Service. Upon review of the listing, the difference in spelling was noted. The City was contacted and an investigation begun by postal authorities.

U.S. Postal Service records show that the name of the post office was changed to Plattsburg in 1894. During the period 1892-1894, the federal Post Office Department was growing at a rapid pace. The Postmaster General issued an order establishing guidelines for post office names for new post offices.[16][17] The order was misunderstood by local postal officials who caused the name of the village post to be changed to Plattsburg. As a result of the 1951 investigation, the name of the city post office was changed back to Plattsburgh. At no time was the name of the city itself ever changed.

To this day, some signs (including US and Canadian highway signs and a sign at the Plattsburgh (Amtrak station), among others) erroneously point the way to "Plattsburg". There is also a bank with plattsburg bank inscribed at the top.

Geography

Saranac River flowing through Verdantique Park

Plattsburgh is located at 44°41′43″N 73°27′30″W / 44.69528°N 73.45833°W / 44.69528; -73.45833 (44.695365, -73.458593).[18] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17.0 km²), of which, 5.1 square miles (13.1 km²) of it is land and 1.5 square miles (4.0 km²) of it (23.40%) is water.

Plattsburgh is located on the western shore of Lake Champlain in the northeastern part of the state of New York, just south of Cumberland Head.

The Saranac River flows through the city into Lake Champlain.

The Northway, Interstate 87 is a north-south major highway west of the city. US 9 and NY 22 are additional highways traversing the city from north to south. NY 3, NY 190, and NY 374 approach the city from the west.

The New Plattsburgh International Airport, Montreal's NY Airport, has attracted bargain seekers from Canada seeking cheap fares to Florida, the sole major airline is Allegiant Air Lines of Las Vegas, these travelers rarely venture into the City, but instead seek out the Route 3 Corridor to occupy their time.

Demographics

Downtown Plattsburgh

As of the census[1] of 2010, there were 19,989 people, 7,600 households, and 3,473 families residing in the city.

The population density was 3,919.4 people per square mile (1,525.9/km²). There were 8,691 housing units at an average density of 1704.1/sq mi (663.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.88% White, 3.5% Black or African American, 0.38% Native American, 2.77% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 2.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.4% of the population.

There were 7,600 households out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.3% were non-families. 40.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the city the population was spread out with 16.5% under the age of 18, 27.7% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,846, and the median income for a family was $46,337. Males had a median income of $35,429 versus $26,824 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,127. About 13.6% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18603,032—
18705,13969.5%
18805,2452.1%
18907,01033.7%
19008,43420.3%
191011,13832.1%
192010,909−2.1%
193013,34922.4%
194016,35122.5%
195017,7388.5%
196020,17213.7%
197018,715−7.2%
198021,05712.5%
199021,2550.9%
200018,816−11.5%
201019,9896.2%
Est. 201419,740[19]−1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[20]

Government

Plattsburgh City Hall

The government is headed by a mayor elected by a citywide vote and a council of six members, one elected from each ward. James E. Calnon (Independent) is the current mayor of the city. He took office on January 1, 2014.

Media

Newspapers

Plattsburgh has three commercial newspapers:

Television

Plattsburgh has two television stations, WCFE-TV, channel 57, a PBS member station and WPTZ, channel 5, a NBC affiliate which also operates the local CW affiliate on DT2. Plattsburgh is part of a media market shared with Burlington, Vermont, which includes WCAX-TV (CBS, channel 3), WVNY-TV (ABC, channel 22) and WFFF-TV (Fox, channel 44). Residents are also in the range of Montreal, Quebec, and other Canadian television stations. Some of these Canadian stations, including CBFT-DT, CBMT-DT and CFCF-DT, are available on Charter Communications, the cable franchise serving Plattsburgh.

Transportation

Plattsburgh is about 60 minutes away by car from Montreal, Quebec. Many people commute across the United States-Canada border, and the city advertises itself as "Montreal's U.S. suburb". New York state is Quebec's largest trade partner, with about $6 billion in trade annually.[24] The proximity leads to Plattsburgh's prominence as a large trade center for a city its size.

Highway

Rail

Plattsburgh's Amtrak train station

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Plattsburgh, operating its Adirondack daily in both directions between Montreal and New York City.

Ferry

The closest major American city is Burlington, Vermont, via boat or ferry. Service is provided at Cumberland Head heading to Grand Isle by the Lake Champlain Transportation Company. There is also a seasonal ferry service offered by the same company in Port Kent, about 10 miles to the south. The latter ferry goes to Burlington, Vermont.

Air

Traveling by air is served by Plattsburgh International Airport using the runway of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base which was closed in 1995. The airport terminal was completed in February 2007 with the building being dedicated on April 27, 2007. Plattsburgh International offers passenger service to Boston via PenAir, an Alaska-based airline that recently established destinations in the Northeast, PenAir makes daily flights to Boston-Logan International Airport using twin engine, turboprop powered Saab 340 aircraft. Allegiant Air also utilizes Plattsburgh Int'l and offers direct flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando aboard mainline McDonnell-Douglas MD-88 regional jetliners, service to Las Vegas is seasonally offered by Allegiant using larger Boeing 757 airliners which are the largest commercial aircraft currently operating from the airport. The short lived ultra-low cost carrier Direct-Air used to offer flights from Plattsburgh to Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, FL in Boeing 737s but stopped flights when the airline ceased operations. Spirit Airlines has recently announced new service to begin in 2011 with flights to Myrtle Beach on Airbus A320 and A319 jetliners. Cargo flights are offered by FedEx Feeder which delivers goods to more major airports aboard Cessna Caravans to be shipped on long haul flights and UPS which does similar service using ATR-72 turboprop aircraft..

Bus

For bus service, the city is serviced by the Clinton County Public Transportation, or CCPT for short. The county-wide bus service offers passengers both city and county-wide bus routes, allowing passengers from surrounding communities to travel to and from Plattsburgh. These routes operate five days a week, with a city-wide shopping shuttle offered on Saturdays. There is no bus service offered on Sundays or major holidays.

For those going longer distances, Greyhound and Adirondack Trailways offers multiple daily trips towards Montreal and Albany.

Filming

The movie Frozen River was filmed on location in Plattsburgh and surrounding areas.

In September, 2011, the British/Irish band One Direction filmed part of their music video "Gotta Be You" on the SUNY Plattsburgh Campus.[25][26]

In the Mad Men season 5 episode, "Far Away Places", Don and Megan Draper purportedly visit Howard Johnson's Restaurant and Motor Lodge in Plattsburgh, but the exteriors were actually shot in Baldwin Park, California.

Economy

Bombardier Transportation opened their 219,000 square feet Plattsburgh plant in 1995 to build railcars in the United States market.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ "2010 Census Redistricting Data for Clinton County, NY", Retrieved 3/28/11 from http://www.factfinder.census.gov/
  3. 1 2 Perkins, G.H. (1879). Archaeology of the Champlain Valley. American Naturalist, V.13, No. 12.
  4. ↑ Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Available "http://www.lcmm.org/shipwrecks_history/history/history_contact.htm"
  5. ↑ "Zephaniah Platt". Zephaniah Platt. Retrieved on March 2, 2005.
  6. ↑ Bombardier website: Bombardier Transportation in the USA
  7. ↑ Nova Bus Plattsburgh Factory
  8. ↑ Bergeron, Bryan (2009-05-01). "Annable, ‘off to a good start’". Cardinal Points. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  9. ↑ "Dave Annable accepts the Off to a Good Start Award from SUNY Plattsburgh" (video). YouTube. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
  10. ↑ Campbell, Mary (Mar 23, 1987). "Tenor Rockwell Blake Is Bel Canto Specialist". Schenectady Gazette.
  11. ↑ Casey Ryan, Vock. "Hollywood actor, Plattsburgh native dies". Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  12. ↑ "Bryan O'Byrne". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  13. ↑ Crowe, Cameron (1976). Do You Feel Like We Do. In Frampton Comes Alive [CD liner notes]. Santa Monica: A&M Records.
  14. ↑ Jacobsen, Neil (1976-02-05). "Frampton Comes Alive" (PDF). Cardinal Points (Plattsburgh, New York). p. 5.
  15. ↑ Cardinal Points (PDF) (Plattsburgh, New York). 1975-11-13. p. 8 http://news2.nnyln.net/cardinal-points/suny-plattsburgh-cardinal-points-1975-january-1978-summer/suny-plattsburgh-cardinal-points-1975-january-1978-summer%20-%200392.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-25. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ Archived May 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ Archived January 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  19. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Clinton County Free Trader Today" mondotimes.com http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/32/1876/23530
  22. ↑ "Plattsburgh Press Republican" mondotimes.com http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/32/1876/4483
  23. ↑ "Plattsburgh Burgh" http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/32/1876/30112
  24. ↑ Harris, Sarah (2013-06-21). "Is Plattsburgh Montreal's U.S. suburb?". North Country Public Radio. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  25. ↑ Toulson, Ja’Pheth (September 28, 2011). "Building it up, breaking it down". Cardinal Points.
  26. ↑ "Building it up, breaking it down". Cardinal Points.
  27. ↑ http://www.bombardier.com/content/dam/Websites/bombardiercom/Sites/supporting-documents/Bombardier-Transportation-SiteFactSheet-Plattsburgh-US-en.pdf

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Plattsburgh.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Plattsburg.
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