Fair Haven, New York | |
---|---|
Village | |
Location within the state of New York | |
Coordinates: 43°19′27″N 76°42′19″W / 43.32417°N 76.70528°WCoordinates: 43°19′27″N 76°42′19″W / 43.32417°N 76.70528°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
County | Cayuga |
Town | Sterling |
Area | |
• Total | 2.9 sq mi (7.6 km2) |
• Land | 1.7 sq mi (4.5 km2) |
• Water | 1.2 sq mi (3.0 km2) |
Elevation | 285 ft (87 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 745 |
• Estimate (2016) | 725 |
• Density | 250/sq mi (98/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 13064 |
Area code(s) | 315 |
FIPS code | 36-24988 |
GNIS feature ID | 0949802 |
Website | www |
Fair Haven is a village in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 745 at the 2010 census. Fair Haven is within the town of Sterling and is northwest of Syracuse. The village is on Little Sodus Bay, an arm of Lake Ontario.
The openings in the sand bars on Little Sodus Bay were widened and protected by jetties in the middle of the 19th century, thus improving the shipping capabilities of Fair Haven. The west pier was marked with outer and inner lighthouses. The Lehigh Valley Railroad served Fair Haven, and coal was brought up from Pennsylvania to a trestle in North Fair Haven to be shipped by sail freighter to Canada. Ice was harvested from the bay and shipped by rail to New York City. Summer tourists arrived by rail from Auburn and other inland towns to enjoy the parks on the waterfront. When its use as a port waned, the village became a resort area.
Fishing and recreational boating are popular now, and the bay is ringed with cottages and year-round residences. There has been an active yacht club on the west shore for over a century, and many sailboats are seen during the summer. As of 2010 the village is served by several restaurants on Main Street and one on the bay, the Pleasant Beach Hotel.
The history of Fair Haven has been well documented by photographer Edna Williams (1883-1967) and several writers, most recently Robert Kolsters who has two books, Looking Back at Fair Haven (ISBN ), loaded with historic pictures and other information. There is an active historical association in nearby Sterling that operates a museum in the Red Schoolhouse. Susan Peterson Gately (Passages on Inland Waters ISBN ) has a section devoted to the work of Edna Williams containing a biography by June MacArthur, curator for the Edna Williams photographic collection.