Theresa, New York
| Theresa | |
| Town | |
| Nickname: "Land of Lakes" | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | New York |
| County | Jefferson |
| Population | 2,905 (2010) |
| Density | 44.7/sq mi (17.2587665/km2) |
| Town Supervisor | Steven Marcinkowski
|
| Timezone | EST |
| - summer (DST) | EDT |
| ZIP code | 13691 |
| Area code | 315 |
Theresa is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 2,905 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the daughter of an original landowner, Theresa Le Ray.
The town of Theresa contains a village also named Theresa. The town and village are in the northeast part of the county, northeast of Watertown.
The history of Theresa begins with the Native Americans cultures who lived in the area as early as 841 B.C.. The first of the Native tribes to inhabit the town of Theresa was a group called the Meadowood Phase, who were early Woodland Indians according to the categorization of Dr.William A. Ritchie. This tribe is believed to be part of the early Adena culture and subsided on hunting and gathering. Evidence of the tribe existing in the area was found at Muskalonge and Red Lakes with finds of weapon points, nets, sinkers, and other various tools from needles to a beaver tooth wood scrapper. The Iroquois also used Theresa and the surrounding area as a hunting and fishing ground. Evidence supports that at one point the Iroquois had villages in the surrounding area and used the waterways of Theresa for trade and travel.
The first Europeans to stay in the town were not settlers, but were smugglers who used the water ways for their personal gain. The Indian River was a highway for trade and boat traffic, the only problem was the high falls. The falls made it necessary for the smugglers to carry their stolen merchandise from the upper to lower level, which required the use of two flat bottom boats.The boats the smugglers used were left behind and the early pioneers found and used the boats in the early settlement of the town.
The settling of Theresa begins January 4, 1800, when David Nelson bought 220,000 acres (890 km2) of land from the Antwerp Land Company. LeRay then subdivided the land for the purposes of settlement and development. By 1810-11 LeRay had early mills erected at the falls and brought cattle to graze, but settlement was stunted by the 1812 war. After the war, development continued and in 1814,LeRay had a bridge built across the river and a year later a dam and mill were built just under the bridge. In 1817, the Shurtliff and the Ball families were the first to purchase lots in the town. A year previous to this President Monroe had the Military Road built for frontier protection that connected Theresa and most of the surrounding towns, which helped lead to more settlers coming to the North Country. Following the building of the road the first taverns were built at West Corners and Chaufty's Corners. LeRay had a gristmill and a tavern built to stimulate the sale of land.
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