Quick Gouverneur History

The town/village of Gouverneur was named for Gouverneur Mor­ris, a statesman, U.S. senator, signer of the Constitution, and minister to France. Nicknamed the "Marble City," Gouverneur is the only United States community with that name. The settlement was once known as Cambray. Among the area's first settlers were Pardon Babcock, Willard Smith, Eleazer Nichols and Isaac Austin. The village was incorpo­rated in 1805. The area is best known for farm­ing and mining. Gouverneur Marble, which was in operation from the 1800s to the 1940s. Gouverneur is noted for its Memorial Arch, which is built of Gouverneur marble. The town was also the boyhood home of Ed­ward John Noble, philanthropist and developer of Life Savers can­dy; home of Jay Corbin, inventor of the disk harrow farm implement still used by today's farmers, and home of Rhoda Fox Graves, first female state senator. 

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