Jefferson County
Newcomer Information

Welcome! If you are making plans to move to Jefferson County, we want to assist you as much as possible. This page contains links to some of the most informative sites about our area, including those which will provide specific, practical information about housing, utilities, schools, and government.

You may not be familiar with our County. We are located in a rural, scenic part of the State, known as the "North Country" in northern New York, and are adjacent to Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the Province of Ontario. The atmosphere here is friendly and relaxed. We are proud to be home to Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, and tourism and agriculture are also large parts of our economy and lifestyle.

Watertown is our County seat. At 26,000 residents, it is a small but regionally important city with a strong 19th century architectural flavor. The County also has 20 villages that provide opportunities for small town living, with restaurants, retail shops, and quiet neighborhoods.

Yes, we have a mall, complete with a multi-plex theater and national anchor stores, next to the City of Watertown and right off Interstate 81. We also have old fashioned drive-in movie theaters, local music festivals, Class IV river rafting on the Black River, a beautiful, modern zoo, local and state parks, downhill and cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, golf, and water, water, everywhere.

With miles and miles of waterfront on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River (the Thousand Islands region), with inland lakes and the Black and Indian rivers, water sports and activities are fundamental to the County's personality. So, too is Canada's proximity, which gives the area a slightly "international" feel. The border is just minutes away, and Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa are each within a four hour drive.

Schools tend to vary in size and churches, of many denominations, are plentiful. Our community college is excellent, has extensive on-line course offerings, and offers four year degree programs through area institutions of higher learning. Opportunities for community involvement abound.

We are excited that you may soon be part of our community and hope to welcome you soon as a new neighbor.

Maps		Housing Information
Residential Utilities		Refuse and Recycling Services
Lodging		Employment Services
Education		Transportation
Health Care		Child Care
Places of Worship		Shopping and Restaurants
News Media		Climate
Recreation Opportunities		Community Websites

Maps

Regional Context Map
County Map
Fort Drum Area Map

Housing Information

Jefferson County has a variety of housing options available for new residents, from economical rental apartments in many of our established communities, to recently constructed single family homes in rural, waterfront, and village settings. Many new residents associated with Fort Drum first consult with the Fort Drum Housing Office to learn about on-base and off-base housing alternatives.

Fort Drum Housing Office

Jefferson\Lewis Board of Realtors - Multiple Listing Service

Watertown Daily Times Classifieds

Greater Watertown Chamber of Commerce Housing Information

Seasonal "Cottage" Rentals

Residential Utilities

The Greater Watertown Chamber of Commerce maintains a description of residential utility providers at. Direct links to several major providers are also listed below:

Gas and Electric Service - Niagara Mohawk, a National Grid Company.

Land Line and Wireless Telephone Services. For land line services, most of the County is served by Verizon Communications, while the Lyme\Chaumont area is served by Township Telephone and phone service in the South Jefferson Area is provided by Frontier-Citizen Communications . Other local land line phone service providers include Westelcom and Time Warner. Several wireless communications choices are available in the County as noted below.

Internet access. Several choices are available for broadband and dial-up Internet access in the County. A few examples are listed below:

1000 Islands Internet

Westelcom

Time Warner

USA Datanet

Refuse and Recycling Services

Guidelines for refuse disposal and recycling programs are usually provided by each individual community in the County. It is recommended that newcomers contact their municipal office for more information. In addition to municipal refuse pick-up and recycling, several private companies are available for waste hauling services. The Jefferson County phone directory lists these companies in the Yellow Pages under "Garbage Removal".

General recycling guidelines can be viewed at the Jefferson County Recycling and Waste Management website.

As the largest community in the County, the City of Watertown provides detailed information concerning its waste management services.

Lodging

A directory of lodging establishments throughout the region is listed on the Thousand Island International Council's website. These accommodations range from 4 Star resorts, to national chain hotels, to small country inns.

Employment Services

Jefferson County and the greater Watertown area is an economic hub for northern New York. Over 40,000 workers are employed in the County in a variety of economic sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, health care, technology, tourism, retail services, and government. Fort Drum and its direct and indirect economic activity in the community generates over $1 billion in economic output every year.

The Greater Watertown Chamber of Commerce maintains a listing of employment and job referral contacts.

The Watertown Daily Times lists employment opportunities in its classified section. 1000IslandsHelpWanted.com is a privately operated directory of area job openings.

The "Workplace" at Jefferson Community College is a one-stop career center that offers job search and career counseling resources and services.

Education

Our education link for newcomers lists websites for elementary and secondary schools in Jefferson County, as well as for institutions for higher learning in the region.
The Jefferson County Multiple Listing Service also offers a link to County and regional schools.

Transportation

Jefferson County offers a range of transportation options for residents and visitors. For air travel, the County is served by Cape Air Airways which provides daily commercial passenger flights at the Watertown International Airport located six miles west of the City of Watertown on NYS Rt 12F. Hancock International Airport located in Syracuse 70 miles south of Watertown provides air service through several major carriers, including JetBlue, Delta, United, TransMeridian, US Airways, and Independence Air. Interstate Route 81, a four lane limited access highway directly connects the County to Ontario, Canada and the US Interstate system. The Watertown Chamber of Commerce describes air, bus, and highway alternatives in the transportation portion of its website.

Several local limousine, taxi, and automobile rental businesses provide a full range of transportation services. Contact information is available in the Jefferson County Yellow Pages.

Health Care

Jefferson County is the regional center for health care services for northern New York State. Extensive in-patient and out-patient facilities and a large concentration of medical professionals not only provide direct care for Jefferson County residents, but for thousands of residents from adjacent counties. The Greater Watertown Chamber of Commerce provides a description of major facilities at its health care link.

Child Care

The Jefferson-Lewis Child Care Project can provide information on child care choices and providers in the County. They can be reached at (315) 782-4900.

Places of Worship

The Watertown area has nearly 50 churches representing a diverse range of denominations. Complete church listings are available in the Jefferson County Yellow Pages.

Shopping and Restaurants

The Salmon Run Mall located off Exit 45 of Interstate 81 is the region's largest concentration of retail stores. Over 600,000 square feet of enclosed space houses major national department stores, specialty shops, movie theaters, and a food court. The adjacent commercial area includes several other national retail outlets, grocery stores, and consumer services. Downtown Watertown and several village centers offer many other shopping and entertainment destinations.

The Thousand Islands International Council lists nearly 30 pages of restaurants located in the region, including dozens throughout Watertown and Jefferson County.

News Media

This link jumps to the Greater Watertown Chamber of Commerce summary of newspaper, television, and radio outlets in the County:

Climate

Jefferson County enjoys four seasons of weather that enable a wide range of outdoor recreational and sporting pursuits. Our summers are warm and comfortable, and offer a refreshing respite from the prolonged and oppressive heat and humidity typical in more urban areas of the Northeast. Our comfortable summer temperatures, coupled with our world-class natural resource and tourism destinations, attract tens of thousands of seasonal residents and vacationers. Winters in the North Country are typically cold and often snowy, which provides perfect conditions for a variety of winter sports activities. A few informative climate links are provided below:

The Weather Channel Climate Statistics.

The Weather Channel Local Forecast

Recreation Opportunities

Local residents and visitors to Jefferson County enjoy a tremendous variety of recreational activities (community attractions) during all seasons of the year. For example, the County and region are renowned internationally for boating and sport fishing opportunities on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Adventure sports such as whitewater rafting and kayaking are becoming increasingly popular along diverse stretches of the Black River. During the winter months, snowmobiling, ice-fishing, and cross country and downhill skiing are very popular activities. Information on these and other activities can be found on the Thousand Islands International Tourism Council website. The City of Watertown website also includes information on community attractions.

Community Websites

Additional "orientation" information about some of the larger communities in the County can be obtained from the following individual websites:

City of Watertown

Village of Alexandria Bay

Village of Cape Vincent

Village of Carthage

Village of Chaumont

Village of Clayton

Village of Sackets Harbor

This listing of community links for newcomers does not imply endorsement of any commercial services or products by Jefferson County government. The list is provided for orientation purposes only, and does not represent all sources of information for new residents and visitors. The County does not accept responsibility for the content or accuracy of these links.