Youngstown, NY

Youngstown is a Niagara County village at the mouth of the Niagara River, where the river reaches Lake Ontario and Canada sits across the water at Niagara-on-the-Lake. The 2020 census counted 1,859 residents. John Young opened a store on the landing in 1809, and the village grew around Fort Niagara, river traffic, lake boats, fishing, fruit farms, and the road north from Niagara Falls. Youngstown incorporated in 1854, but the military and waterfront setting came first. Old Fort Niagara and Fort Niagara State Park sit just north of the village, giving the local map an unusually deep colonial and Great Lakes layer.

Route 18F follows the river, while Water Street leads toward the waterfront, boat launches, and the village business district. The place was burned during the War of 1812 and rebuilt, then settled into a mix of homes, shops, fruit country, and river views. Youngstown's local scoop is a border village where a 19th-century store, a major fort, and the lower Niagara River still share the same short stretch of road.