A bit of local history of Essex, NY.
After breakfast, you will want to get a start on your day's agenda. A short walk down Main Street will delight visitors with the small but unique assortment of galleries, restaurants and shops of Essex.
Everyone's favorite is our little ice cream parlor. Our marinas provide excellent services if you come by boat. The lake region around Essex New York offers fantastic boating, fishing and swimming. Or you can travel 3 blocks to the Essex Ferry and take a scenic 20 minute ride to Charlotte, Vermont.
The region around Essex, NY has popular hiking trails recently developed by Champlain Area Trails or "CATS" - a local non-profit group. The local farming community provides a variety of organic products available at nearby farm stands and food hubs.
There are so many possible day trips and activities to choose from that you will want to come back again and again to continue your adventure.
Local History
Essex is known as the area's most historic and picturesque village. It was founded before the Revolutionary war - saw a few battles with the British and later with the French during the War of 1812. Present day Essex is an architectural treasure and boasts a rich maritime past. The deepest waters of the lake are just south of town near "Split Rock". The huge cloven rock formation which juts out into Whallons Bay was the historic boundary line between the nations of Algonquin and Iroquois Indians. This area is reported to be one of "Champs" favorite swimming spots. "Champ is Lake Champlain's legendary sea creature, in case you were wondering.
Octagonal Schoolhouse
The Octagonal Schoolhouse, built in 1827, is an historic stone octagon-shaped school building located in the hamlet of Boquet in the western part of the town of Essex, New York.
Photo by Bryan Nelson Elder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Old Burt Cemetery
Located about four miles west of Essex, Essex Co., NY on right side of Route 22 between Boquet and Whallonsburg, NY.
Split Rock Lighthouse
Costing $4,016, the lighthouse cast its beam for the first time in 1838. Split Rock, an immense rock, split from the neighboring cliff by about twelve feet, rises thirty feet above the water. The formation was used as a dividing line between the warring Native American Mohawk and Algonquin tribes.
Champ
In American folklore, Champ or Champy is the name of a lake monster said to live in Lake Champlain.