 Waterford is a town in Oxford County, incorporated on March 2, 1797 from Waterford Plantation. Early settlers came here after Massachusetts made lands grants beginning in 1774 to families of soldiers involved in an expedition against the French. Farming and sawmills were the early mainstays of economy.
Waterford is a community of villages separated by mountains and lakes but joined by a rich tradition of farming, lumbering, tourism and manufacturing. While many of the early 19th century water-powered mills are but chapters in the local historical society's three publications, agriculture and forestry provide the backdrop that continues to attract new residents and form the cornerstone of the town's adopted Comprehensive Plan from which all future decisions will flow.
The town's many lakes prompted the creation of inns and summer camps. Waterford has four distinct villages which include the North, South and East sections as well as the picturesque "Flat" that runs alongside Keoka Lake and underneath Mt. Tir'em.
Artemus Ward, the pen name of Waterford-born (1834) Charles Farrar Brown (and Abraham Lincoln's famous humorist), wrote often of his home town and the Flat where his lakeside home still stands.
"The village from which I write to you is small. It does not contain over forty houses, all told; but they are milk white, with the greenest of blinds, and for the most part are shaded with beautiful elms and willows. To the right of is a mountain, to the left is a lake. The village nestles in between. Of course it does. I never read a novel in my life in which the villages didn't nestle. Villages invariabley nestle. It's kind of a way they have."
Waterford is governed by the annual March town meeting and a 3-member Board of Selectmen. A new fire station and town office complex opened in 1996, replacing the now 165-year-old Town House on the shores of Keoka Lake and three private association stations in the North, South and Flat formed after World War II. The population was 1,455 at the 2000 census and there are currently 1,100+ voters.
Heavily wooded, the 47-square-mile town retains its early rural character and farming traditions. Newcomers are attracted to the "Peaceful Village" for its quiet and pastoral beauty. Tourism remains a strong economic force in the community and nearly half of the tax base is derived from seasonal homes. Many residents commute to work in nearby towns and cities.
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