Au Sable Forks is located on the border of Clinton and Essex counties at , centered on the point where the West Branch and the East Branch of the Au Sable River join to form the main confluence which flows into Au Sable Chasm and thence, into Lake Champlain. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP portion of Au Sable Forks has a total area of, of which, or 0.89%, is water. New York State Route 9N passes through the center of the community, leading northeast to Keeseville and southwest to Jay. Plattsburgh is to the northeast via NY-9N and Interstate 87. The climate of Au Sable Forks is temperate, with it being very cold in winter and fairly hot in summer. Au Sable Forks is known for its repetitive history of floods, with those of 1996 and 2011 causing grievous damage – these were 15 and 18 feet above flood stage respectively. Since the 2011 flood caused by Hurricane Irene, ice jams, once common, have become less frequent because of the alteration in hydrogeology caused by the flood, which was the most massive one recorded. An April 20, 2002, a 5.0–5.3 Mw earthquake occurred north of the town. The shallow dip-slip shock had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII and caused damage to roads, bridges, buildings, and chimneys.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 670 people, 265 households, and 175 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 268.5 per square mile. There were 294 housing units at an average density of 117.8/sq mi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.51% White, 0.30% African American, 0.15% Native American, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.15% of the population. There were 265 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.16. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,578, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $30,859 versus $21,667 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $14,816. About 10.6% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.
Community information
Au Sable Forks is made up parts of two Townships, within two counties divided by the Au Sable River, and has two County Seats. Black Brook Town Offices are located within Clinton Co., with the County Seat in Plattsburgh, New York, while the Township of Jay Government/Community Center is located within Essex Co. with the County Seat located in Elizabethtown, New York. The community is served by the Au Sable Forks Volunteer Fire Department as well as a volunteer ambulance corps. Only one school, an elementary school, is located in Au Sable Forks, in Essex County. The Au Sable Valley High School in Clintonville, NY serves the secondary school students. The former homes of James and John Rogers of the J & J Rogers Company are located in the hamlet. The Rogers were prominent citizens and business owners who ran a paper mill, among many other businesses, that employed many people. In fact, the economy of this tiny Village nearly disappeared after this very large paper mill's closure in the early 1970s. Au Sable Forks made national headlines in 1987 with the disappearance and subsequent murder of 17-year-old Kari Lynn Nixon. Kari's story was featured on Unsolved Mysteries.
