Editing Port Henry, New York (section)

==History==
[[File:Port Henry, Lake Champlain, by Stoddard, Seneca Ray, 1844-1917 , 1844-1917.jpg|thumbnail|left|Stereoscopic photograph of Port Henry in 1874]]
Port Henry is in a tract of land set aside by the [[The Crown|British Crown]] for veterans of the [[Seven Years' War]] (also known as the [[French and Indian War]]). Although a mill was built in 1765, no other European-American settlers arrived until 1785, after the [[American Revolutionary War]].{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

The [[Iroquoian]]-speaking [[Mohawk nation|Mohawk]] and [[Oswegatchie (tribe)|Oswegatchie]], members of the [[Seven Nations of Canada]], were still living in the town until after 1800.<ref>[http://www.wampumchronicles.com/sevennations.html Darren Bonaparte, "The Seven Nations of Canada: The Other Iroquois Confederacy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041213085554/http://www.wampumchronicles.com/sevennations.html |date=2004-12-13 }}, ''The Wampum Chronicles''; accessed January 10, 2009.</ref>

Most of the Iroquois from the territory of New York had been resettled in Canada, forced out of New York and the United States due to their alliance with the British during the war. In the early years, [[timber]] harvesting was a major industry and 20 mills were located in the area. The first dock was built on Lake Champlain by 1820 for shipping lumber to other ports.<ref name="Essex">[http://www.adkhistorycenter.org/esco/tow/moriah.html  "Moriah, NY"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070321091440/http://www.adkhistorycenter.org/esco/tow/moriah.html |date=2007-03-21 }}, Essex County Historical Society, Adirondack History Center Museum; accessed January 31, 2011.</ref>

[[File:Port Henry, N.Y. LOC 75694837.tif|thumb|[[Perspective map]] of Port Henry from 1889 with list of landmarks by [[L.R. Burleigh]]]]
Early settlers discovered [[iron]] ore a few miles inland. Its extraction and processing became an important industry in the township for about one hundred and fifty years. A [[blast furnace]] constructed in 1822 in Port Henry was one of the first in the United States, and [[Republic Steel]] established major operations in the county. The village residents used Lake Champlain and the [[Hudson River]] to transport its ore and products to major markets such as [[Albany, New York|Albany]] and [[New York City]]. Later a railroad connected the village to markets.<ref name="Essex"/>

The village of Port Henry was incorporated in 1869. By the end of the 19th century, residents harvested [[smelt (fish)|smelt]] from the lake for the restaurant trade, by [[ice fishing]]. The [[Port Henry station|Delaware & Hudson Railroad Depot]], [[Moriah Town Office Building]], [[Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church]], [[Port Henry Fire Department Building]], [[Sherman Free Library]], and [[Van Ornam & Murdock Block]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> The [[Essex County Republication]] was published in Port Henry in the 19th and early 20th centuries, after which it moved to Keeseville.

Effective March 31, 2017, the Village of Port Henry was dissolved by the result of a public referendum. The village ceased to exist as a municipality. Village operations were absorbed by the Town of Moriah. Port Henry continues to exist as a hamlet within the town.<ref name="PRESS">Denise Raymo and Suzanne Moore, [http://www.pressrepublican.com/news/port-henry-residents-give-dissolution-the-go-ahead/article_305cd9a0-6420-11e6-ac78-6732b1d37f64.html "Port Henry residents give dissolution the go-ahead"], pressrepublican.com, August 16, 2016; retrieved October 4, 2016.</ref>