North Country Arts and History

History and culture come together in Ogdensburg as surely as the Oswegatchie flows into the mighty St. Lawrence River. At that very spot, in fact, Fort de la Presentation was built in 1749 by French missionary priest Father Francois Picquet. The Fort de La Présentation, a mission fort, was named by the French Sulpician priest, Abbé Picquet and was also sometimes known as Fort La Galette. Markers and interpretive signs give a sense of the fort’s original location and mission. Nearby, the Ogdensburg History Museum interprets the city’s rich history, from the settlement of indigenous people and the Fort’s founding to the Urban Renewal of the 1970s. The Museum is devoted to collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting the history of the city and helping people make personal connections to it. Their vision is to deepen your understanding of Ogdensburg's past, present and future to strengthen the bands of the community. Steps from there is the Frederic Remington Art Museum, which turns 100 in 2023. Remington’s widow, Eva, who spent her final years in the historic mansion, bequeathed to the city’s people the largest collection of original artworks by the artist whose paintings, writings and sculptures helped create a heroic vision of the Wild West that endures today. Among the masterworks of Remington – who spent his boyhood in the city and kept close ties to the area – are North Country-inspired scenes that sometimes surprise, but never fail to delight, visitors.