Westport is a town in Essex County, New York, United States overlooking Lake Champlain.

[8] The original settlement, which may have supplied wood to Benedict Arnold's troops, was completely destroyed during the American Revolutionary War in connection with British General John Burgoyne's march from Canada to Saratoga.

Like many other East Coast resorts, its popularity gradually declined, starting in the 1930s, as first automobiles and then airplanes made possible a wider selection of vacation sites.

Although once most of the "summer people" stayed for weeks, now distinctions are not as clear: there are "year-round summer people" whose livelihood stems from outside Westport, weekenders whose principal residence is fairly close by (for example, Albany, which is two hours distant by car), and commuters to workplaces as distant as Plattsburgh, New York, or Middlebury, Vermont.

The 136-seat, air-conditioned theatre hosts plays and musicals on its main stage during the summer months, as well as an annual gala.

The Camp Dudley Road Historic District, Champlain II Shipwreck, Essex County Fairgrounds, First Congregational and Presbyterian Society Church of Westport, Lake View Grange No.

Several sites on the Lake Champlain Birding Trail are located in Westport:[13][14] As of the census[16] of 2000, there were 1,362 people, 593 households, and 381 families residing in the town.

Westport also has a branch of the Cornell University Cooperative Extension and is the mailing address of the Meadowmount School of Music (see above).

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Westport, operating its Adirondack daily in both directions between Montreal and New York City.

On August 28, 2006, at approximately 6:45 p.m. local time, a Greyhound bus traveling from New York City to Montreal overturned on the Adirondack Northway in Westport after suffering a blown tire, killing five and injuring 48.

[17] Westport is in a rural area in the Adirondack Park, and so most of its access to medical care is via the ferry operated by Lake Champlain Transportation Company.

During times when the ferry from Essex is not running, the nearest full-service emergency department is at CVPH Medical Center, in Plattsburgh, 41 miles (66 km) north of Westport.

Slightly closer, though a slower drive over rural roads, is Porter Hospital in Middlebury, Vermont, accessible via the bridge at Crown Point.