First permanently settled after Samuel de Champlain's voyages through the region and officially chartered in 1788, Clinton County offers a host of agricultural and industrial pursuits. With a rich military history, the county was pivotal in the American Revolution as the birthplace of the U.S. Navy. Life in the county has been greatly enhanced by strong family traditions, religious celebrations, and social justice movements like the Underground Railroad. Clinton County is home to the city of Plattsburgh, the towns of Altona, Au Sable, Beekmantown, Black Brook, Champlain, Chazy, Clinton, Dannemora, Ellenburg, Mooers, Peru, Plattsburgh, Saranac, and Schuyler Falls, and the villages of Champlain, Dannemora, Keeseville, and Rouses Point.