Black River, NY

Black River is a Jefferson County village on the border of Le Ray and Rutland, just east of Watertown. The 2020 census counted 1,232 residents. The Black River runs through the center, and the place began around an 1806 mill on the river's south side. It was once called Lockport, then spread across both banks and two small river islands. NY 3 runs through the southern side, with NY 342 meeting it just west of the village. The river still supplies the village's shape and its working backstory.

Jefferson County's early mills grew along this waterway, while the village's municipal building, library, and water-system work remain close to the same channel. Black River is also a place where the Le Ray and Rutland town lines meet inside the village, giving the center an unusual civic seam. Black River's local scoop is a little river village where an old mill crossing, two state routes, and two islands all fit inside the same compact center.