| Potsdam | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Motto: | All Roads Lead to Potsdam |
| Pushpin Map: | New York |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of New York |
| Mapsize: | 250x200px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | New York |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | St. Lawrence |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Alex Jacobs-Wilke |
| Leader Title1: | Administrator |
| Leader Name1: | Isabelle Gates-Shult |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 267.9 |
| Area Land Km2: | 262.8 |
| Area Water Km2: | 5.2 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 103.4 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 101.5 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 2.0 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 14901 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 132 |
| Elevation Ft: | 433 |
| Coordinates: | 44.6708°N -74.9842°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 13676 |
| Area Code: | 315 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 36-59564 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0977239 |
Potsdam is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The town population was 14,901 at the 2020 census. When SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University are in session, the population increases by approximately 8,000 students. The town is named after the city of Potsdam in Germany.
The town of Potsdam also contains a village named Potsdam. Potsdam is centrally located within the county and northeast of Canton, the county seat.
David Clarkson and Garret van Horn were early investors in the town, and settlement began around 1803. The newcomers found Native Americans residing in the town and in the fur trade.
The town was established in 1806 from part of the Town of Madrid. Potsdam is one of the original ten towns of St. Lawrence County.
The community of Potsdam set itself apart from the town in 1831 by incorporating as a village. The community of Raquetteville incorporated as the Village of Potsdam Junction (now Norwood) in 1871.
St. Lawrence Academy, the predecessor of the State University of New York at Potsdam was founded in 1816. In 1896, Clarkson University was founded.
The Potsdam area is well known for its reddish-orange Potsdam sandstone. A large slab of it is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
The First Presbyterian Church of Dailey Ridge and French Family Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 103.4 square miles (267.9 km2), of which 101.5 square miles (262.8 km2) is land and 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2) (1.92%) is water.
The Raquette River flows northward through the town's center. The Grasse River flows through the northwestern part of Potsdam.
As of the census of 2020, there were 14,901 people and 4,988 households in the town. The population density was 158.2sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 86.4% non-Hispanic White, 4.3% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.9% of the population.
There were 4,988 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.6% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 13.4% under the age of 18, 36.8% from 18 to 24, 19.9% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. The town was 48.6% female and 51.4% male.
The median income for a household in the town was $37,977. The per capita income for the town was $23,747. About 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line.
The town of Potsdam consists of the Potsdam Central School District, which includes an elementary school (Lawrence Avenue), a middle school (A.A. Kingston), and a high school (Potsdam High School). The high school is the home of the Potsdam Sandstoners.
There are four universities in the area, including SUNY Potsdam (which is known for its Crane School of Music) and Clarkson University (a private research university known for engineering and business) in Potsdam, as well as both St. Lawrence University and SUNY Canton in nearby Canton. Due to the number of students in Potsdam during the academic year, Potsdam was ranked as #7 most ‘Collegiest College Town in America’ by the Washington Post.[3]
U.S. Route 11 and New York State Route 11B are east–west highways. New York State Route 56 is a north–south highway. New York State Route 345 is a northwest–southeast highway that intersects New York State Route 310 near the northwestern town line.
The New York Central Railroad's St. Lawrence Division runs through the town. Until 1964 the New York Central operated passenger trains from Massena, through the town, to Watertown, and to Syracuse to meet up with the NYC mainline.[4] [5]