Oswego County Bicentennial Commemoration Scheduled March 10

by Contributor | March 10, 2016 8:04 am

OSWEGO, NY – The Oswego County Legislature will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Oswego County at its meeting at 2 p.m. on Thursday in the Legislative Chambers of the County Office Building, 46 E. Bridge St., Oswego.

Oswego County was formed in March 1816 out of portions of Onondaga and Oneida counties.

Legislator Shawn Doyle, District 3, Richland, chairman of the Oswego County Bicentennial Committee, will share information on the founding fathers.

Local municipal historians will be recognized for their work, and representatives of state elected officials will present proclamations.

Oswego County’s rich and colorful heritage includes these milestones:

–    Oswego was the first freshwater port in the U.S.

–    Fort Ontario is the only U.S. fort that has played a role in every American conflict.

–    The first Plank Road in the United States was built from 1844-1846 and ran from Syracuse to Central Square.

–    Abolitionist activity was strong across Oswego County; there are 35 documented Underground Railroad sites.

–    Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, town of Oswego resident, is the only woman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

–    Oswego, the Oswego River and Oswego Falls (Fulton) are the backdrop of James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Pathfinder.”

–    In 1878 Ned Sherman, an African-American, was elected mayor of the village of Cleveland. He served a two-year term and is possibly the first African-American mayor in New York State.

–    Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter was the only World War II Holocaust refugee shelter in the US.

This event is one of several scheduled around Oswego County in 2016.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/oswego/oswego-county-bicentennial-commemoration-scheduled-march-10/

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