Have you ever wondered how Dexter, NY got its name? In this post, find out the answer and discover a bit of this village’s unique history.
I’ll be the first to confess that I had never heard of Dexter, NY until a few years ago when I moved to the North Country. We heard from a neighbor that a little village called Dexter was a fun place to catch fish, and we were looking for a new fishing spot.
We drove out to Dexter to spend the weekend, driving through other towns with unique names like Antwerp, Limerick, and Potsdam, on the way. As a history buff and someone who just wants to know everything that there is to know about a place, I couldn’t help but wonder how this little village got the name of Dexter.
Where Is Dexter New York?
Dexter is in the northwestern portion of Jefferson County, NY, just northwest of Watertown. It is located about 30 minutes from Fort Drum and just over five hours from New York City.
You can get to Dexter by taking 12F west out of Watertown and then taking SR 180 north into the Village of Dexter.
How did Dexter get its name?
Dexter is named after a businessman and politician named Simon Newton Dexter. Mr. Dexter was a stockholder in the village, which was at the time organized as a business venture.
Dexter’s real estate value was reported to be $120,000 in 1850, which made him a very wealthy landowner for his time, even though he is also remembered for being the nephew of Samuel Dexter, who served as Secretary of the Treasury under John Adams. In addition, Dexter was reported to be in the textile manufacturing business.
What was Dexter called before?
Prior to the village receiving the name of “Dexter”, it was known as Fish Island and was the property of two brothers, Jacob and John Brown. The land was purchased by the Browns after the Iroquois Confederacy was required to cede its lands after the Revolutionary War.
Jacob Brown did end up staying in the area, which is why we find a town and village called Brownsville located very close to Dexter.
During research for this article, I was not able to find out if the area of Dexter had a name in an indigenous language. If a reader knows of one, please leave a comment so I can add it to the text of this article.
What is Dexter known for now?
Dexter is a popular place for fishing due to its location on the Black River near Lake Ontario. It is well-known for being a good place to fish for salmon during the fall salmon run.
Maybe this is why the area was originally called “Fish Island”!
There are many other interesting things to do in and near Dexter other than fishing. For example, there is camping available at the private Black River Bay Campgrounds and the local B.O.B. Rafting outfit is popular for local water recreation activities.
Conclusion
I hope that you enjoyed reading about how Dexter, New York got its name. It’s a pretty neat little village with a cool location, and a great ice cream shop (Lickety Split Ice Cream!) and lots of other unique attributes.
If you have any questions about something that you read in this post or if you would like to add your own story about Dexter, NY, please join in the discussion below.
Thanks for reading!