Dexter

History

The village was formerly called Fish Island and was part of the lands belonging to Jacob and John Brown. The village was renamed Dexter after Simon Newton Dexter. Dexter became an incorporated village in 1855, with a population of about 528. The Dexter Universalist Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Geography

Dexter is located in west-central Jefferson County at , in the southern part of the town of Brownville. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which are land and , or 8.39%, are water. The village is adjacent to the Black River, near Black River Bay, an arm of Lake Ontario. The village is bordered to the south across the river by the town of Hounsfield. New York State Route 180, a north-south highway, passes through the village, leading north to Limerick and south to NY-3 near Sackets Harbor. Watertown, the Jefferson county seat, is to the east via Routes 180 and 12F. County Roads 53 and 59 also serve the community.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4,080
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,773
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,737
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  3,579
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,304
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,119
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,885
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,594

Largest nearby schools

• WATERTOWN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · WATERTOWN · 1,083 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• GENERAL BROWN JUNIOR-SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · DEXTER · 661 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• CASE MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · WATERTOWN · 626 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• HAROLD T WILEY SCHOOL
  Middle · WATERTOWN · 574 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• CALCIUM PRIMARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · CALCIUM · 545 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• NORTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · WATERTOWN · 455 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• SACKETS HARBOR CENTRAL SCHOOL
  Other · SACKETS HARBOR · 410 students · 10:1 ratio
• BROWNVILLE SCHOOL
  Elementary · BROWNVILLE · 409 students · 18.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2026-04-26
  6 km SE of Lowville, New York
• M 2.8 — 2026-03-21
  28 km WSW of Henderson, New York
• M 3.3 — 2024-06-29
  14 km W of Ellisburg, New York
• M 2.8 — 2023-12-11
  8 km NNW of Canton, New York
• M 3.6 — 2023-04-23
  New York
• M 2.6 — 2023-04-14
  1 km W of Adams Center, New York