In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden.

The only formally designated city in the county, it is located between Massena, New York to the east and Brockville, Ontario to the west.

By 1000 CE, Iroquoian-speaking people were settling along the St. Lawrence River and practicing agriculture, as well as hunting and fishing.

[3] By the time of later French contact, the Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee: Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca, were allied in the Iroquois Confederacy, based in present-day New York.

The mission attracted Native Americans for the fur trade, many of whom settled in the village and converted to Catholicism.

As with the other mission settlements, the British did not disturb the relationship of the Oswegatchie, as they called the native people, and their Catholic priests.

With the northern border redefined by Jay's Treaty, the settlement became part of United States territory.

American settlers essentially drove the Oswegatchie, former British allies, out of the area; many went to Akwesasne or other Mohawk reserves in Canada.

During the War of 1812, the city was captured by British forces to end the partial blockade on the St. Lawrence River and harassment that had been conducted from the community.

In the absence of US troops, the local merchants restored an extensive trade with Canadian towns across the river.

[6] In 1940, the town was the site of the signing of the Ogdensburg Agreement between Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King and United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The celebrated German POW Franz von Werra escaped from Canada to Ogdensburg in a rowboat.

Teams played at Winter Park Ogdensburg has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb).

The Library Park Historic District, Judge John Fine House, Acker and Evans Law Office, New York State Armory, Ogdensburg Harbor Light, Oswegatchie Pumping Station, Ogdensburg Armory, Robert C. McEwen United States Custom House, United States Post Office, and Fort de La Présentation Site are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The SLPC is part of the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) and serves the general public.

The downtown museum is housed in the former family mansion of local industrialist David Parish on Washington Street.