The Village of Sackets Harbor is within the western part of the Town of Hounsfield and is west of Watertown. The heart of the village, with a Main Street and well-preserved 19th c. buildings, has been recognized as a National Register Historic District.
Because of its unique protected harbor on Lake Ontario and military installations created there, the village had national importance through the 19th century. To support the War of 1812, the US Navy built a major shipyard and its headquarters for the Great Lakes at the village. The Army constructed earthenworks, forts, barracks and supporting infrastructure to defend the village and navy shipyard. Soon after the war, the Army strengthened its defenses on the northern frontier by constructing Madison Barracks.
Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site commemorates a battle and the contribution of the area to the stalemate of the War of 1812.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,386 people, 653 households, and 370 families residing in the village. The population density was 609.1 people per square mile (234.7/km²). There were 791 housing units at an average density of 347.6/sq mi (134.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.26% White, 0.43% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.36% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.73% of the population.
There were 653 households out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.72.
In the village the population was spread out with 18.8% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 37.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 113.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.3 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $42,629, and the median income for a family was $51,397. Males had a median income of $33,696 versus $26,917 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,269. About 5.8% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.