OGDENSBURG — James E. Reagen received the Elizabeth Baxter Award on Monday evening, Nov. 9, presented by the Ogdensburg Historic Preservation Commission.

The award honors outstanding contributions to preserving Ogdensburg’s history and historic places. It is named for Elizabeth Baxter, former City Historian and author of The Lily, the Lion, and the Eagle.

Reagen has been writing about Northern New York for more than 40 years. He served as managing editor of the Ogdensburg Journal and Advance News for 28 years, and in 1976 he co-authored a series of articles that won the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism Award.

He is the author of local history books that trace Ogdensburg's history from its founding fort to Prohibition. Warriors of La Présentation, Fort Oswegatchie, Booze, Badboys & Bootleggers, and 1921: The Year of Violence. His latest book, Hookers, Heroes and Hoodlums: More Tales of the St. Lawrence Valley Grandpa Never Told You (2025), collects 33 true short stories from the St. Lawrence Valley — Ogdensburg's brothels and moral crusades, local heroes like U.S. Marshal Dake Crawley, and hoodlums behind murders, robberies and drug cases.

His preservation work in Ogdensburg goes well beyond his writing. Reagen is a founding member of the Fort La Présentation Association and a charter member of the Ogdensburg Historical Commission. He helped found the annual Battle of Ogdensburg reenactment, chaired the city’s War of 1812 Downtown Battlefield Commission, and is a founder and past vice president of the Ogdensburg History Museum.

With his wife, Donna Reagen, he also owns the Sherman Inn, the historic 1895 former Sherman School turned bed and breakfast. When they purchased it, their goal was to save a historic Ogdensburg landmark.

Reagen has also served as advisor to the Ogdensburg Free Academy Key Club for more than 30 years, and was honored with New York State’s Key of Honor for his service to young people. He has represented Ogdensburg on the St. Lawrence County Legislature since 2019 and is chairperson of the St. Lawrence County America 250 Commission.

Past recipients of the award include Betty Steele, David Martin, Ted Como and Forsyth’s Rifles.