Champlain, NY

Champlain is a Clinton County town on the western shore of Lake Champlain, in New York's northeastern corner at the Canadian border. The town contains the villages of Champlain and Rouses Point; the 2010 census counted 5,754 people. Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River set the eastern edge, while Interstate 87 and NY-11 connect the area to Albany, Montreal, and the rest of the North Country. The lake and town take their names from Samuel de Champlain, who surveyed the area in 1609.

This is a border town with two villages and several ways across. Ports serve Quebec, a toll-free bridge reaches Vermont, and boating runs along the Lake Champlain coast. The Champlain Historical Society maintains records and photographs of the village and town, while Rouses Point carries the old railroad-and-border role: trains once connected it with Burlington, Boston, New York City, Ogdensburg, and Montreal. Champlain is a place where lake traffic, interstate travel, village government, and international geography all meet.