Historical Markers and War Memorials in Oswego, New York
Oswego is the county seat for Oswego County
Oswego is in Oswego County
Oswego County(80) ► ADJACENT TO OSWEGO COUNTY Cayuga County(234) ► Jefferson County(160) ► Lewis County(18) ► Madison County(87) ► Oneida County(196) ► Onondaga County(238) ►
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On East 4th Street north of Show Park Road, on the left when traveling north.
Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
Over 5,000 African Americans served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. About half of the Rhode Island regiment consisted of free blacks and escaped slaves. In February 1783, . . . — — Map (db m86080) HM
On East 1st Street (New York State Route 481) north of East Mohawk Street, on the right when traveling south.
The railroad overtook the river and canal as the major mode of transport to and from the interior. The river banks and waterfront were dominated by tracks, bridges, and coal trestles. Coal, grain, lumber, and people now moved through the city by . . . — — Map (db m86356) HM
Revolutionary War veteran
arrived here with his family
October 1797. Founded first
settlement in Oswego Town,
known as Union Village. — — Map (db m132661) HM
On East 1st Street (New York State Route 481) north of East Mohawk Street.
Near this site, on May 5-7, 1814, British naval forces entered Oswego Harbor and conducted an amphibious assault on Fort Ontario and the Village of Oswego. Lieutenant Colonel George Mitchell, commanding 290 men of the 3rd U.S. Artillery Regiment and . . . — — Map (db m86211) HM
Site of British Attacks on Fort Ontario, May 5-7, 1814 After enduring a heavy bombardment by a British fleet under the command of Sir James Yeo, and repelling an amphibious assault on May 5, 1814, 290 men of the 3rd U.S. Artillery and 200 . . . — — Map (db m75816) HM
On Rudolph Road, 0.2 miles west of Sheldon Avenue, on the left when traveling east.
Dr, Mary Walker Born in Oswego Town, Walker was an assistant surgeon in the Civil War. She was the first woman honored with a Medal of Honor. 1832-1919. — — Map (db m109202) HM WM
On East 1st Street (New York State Route 481) north of East Mohawk Street, on the right when traveling south.
The river access to the lake made Oswego a natural hub for commerce, as well as a place to transfer goods, travelers, and armies from river and land carriers to lake vessels. Many of the vessels were built here. Through the centuries the type of . . . — — Map (db m86370) HM
On Montcalm Street at West 6th Street, on the left when traveling south on Montcalm Street.
Fort George
Was here built as an outwork of Fort
Oswego in October 1755 by Lieutenant Colonel Mercer
of the first American regiment of English troops.
It was garrisoned by 150 New York Colonial Militia
under Colonel . . . — — Map (db m75348) HM
Fort Ontario
Built by English under Governor Shirley 1755
Captured & destroyed by French
under Marquis of Montcalm 1756
Rebuilt by English under Lord Amherst 1759
Destroyed by Americans 1778 - Rebuilt by English 1782 . . . — — Map (db m75343) HM
The British fort was the base for Loyalist- Native American raids throughout New York and the starting point of General St. Leger’s aborted 1777 invasion. Revolutionary War Heritage Trail — — Map (db m75815) HM
On West 1st Street at Lake Street, on the left when traveling north on West 1st Street.
This tablet
marks the site of Fort
Oswego sometimes called Fort
Burnet, Chouaguen, or Pepperrell.
Built in 1727 by Governor Burnet,
strengthened and enlarged in 1755
by General Shirley - garrisoned by 1700
royal and colonial troops, . . . — — Map (db m75339) HM
On West 1st Street at Lake Street, on the left when traveling north on West 1st Street.
This is the site of the former Fort Oswego, a "stone house of strength," built by the British in 1727 to protect their fur-trading interests on the Great Lakes. Strengthened by the addition of outer walls and blockhouses around 1742, Fort Oswego was . . . — — Map (db m75342) HM
This hearth is dedicated to the women and children of all races who lived and died on the colonial frontier. It was built by their grateful descendants in the bicentennial year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy Six. Where they . . . — — Map (db m75982) HM
From 1944 – 1946 Fort Ontario served as a haven for 982 survivors of the European holocaust. Erected October 25, 1981 by Syracuse Pioneer Women/NA’AMAT and the Jewish community of central New York — — Map (db m75980) HM
On W 1st St, 0.2 miles north of Lake St, on the left when traveling north.
The LT-5 is an ocean going harbor tug, built in 1943 at the Jakobsen Shipyard. Oyster Bay, New York, specifically to serve in the European Invasion. Serving under the United States Army Transportation Corps, she was one of the many support vessels . . . — — Map (db m118551) HM WM
On Lake Street at Montcalm Street, on the left when traveling east on Lake Street.
Food and Shelter
The mouth of the river and harbor provide waterfowl and waterbirds an environment sheltered from the winter gales of Lake Ontario. The breakwalls serve as resting places for the gulls where any approaching predator . . . — — Map (db m75427) HM
On West 1st St, 0.2 miles north of Lake St, on the left when traveling north.
The Oswego Harbor has attracted settlement since the first exploreres found the river to be a good access to interior resources. Since then activities have increased, but their focus has changed.
Recent Times<
Recreational activities are . . . — — Map (db m118550) HM
On Lake Street at West 4th Street, on the left when traveling east on Lake Street.
Over the years, Oswego has been the site of four lighthouses. The first lighthouse was built in 1821 on the grounds of Fort Ontario and discontinued in 1838. After the completion of the West Harbor Pier in 1836 (running west to east from Third . . . — — Map (db m75350) HM
On Lake Street at Montcalm Street, on the left when traveling east on Lake Street.
British Toehold on Lake Ontario
During the French and Indian War, the Oswego River was the only British controlled waterway into the Great Lakes. French commander-in-chief, the Marquis de Montcalm, recognizing its strategic . . . — — Map (db m75356) HM
On East 1st Street (New York State Route 481) north of East Mohawk Street, on the right when traveling south.
The thriving port city of Oswego was founded by and attracted many ambitious and heroic people. Leaders of industry and social causes lived here and left their mark on the city. You can still visit some of their works by touring the city streets . . . — — Map (db m86292) HM
On East 4th Street north of Show Park Road, on the left when traveling north.
Camp, Row, Camp
Campaigns in the North American wilderness required extensive planning and massive manpower to reach the objective safely and successfully. For Prideaux's army, the distance from Fort Stanwix to Fort Niagara . . . — — Map (db m75670) HM
To perpetuate the memory of the men and women who gave their lives, their services, their fortunes, to achieve and maintain American independence. by Fort Oswego Chapter NSDAR Dedicated August 17, 1976 — — Map (db m75893) HM
On East 3rd Street south of East Mohawk Street, on the left when traveling south.
Max Richardson lived in an era called the Victorian Period (when England's Queen Victoria ruled over the British Empire), when wealthy people were traveling to exotic places, collecting art and cultural artifacts, reading, and socializing. . . . — — Map (db m86574) HM
On East 1st Street (New York State Route 481) north of East Mohawk Street, on the right when traveling south.
Oswego offered close proximity to raw materials from the interior, a water route to markets of the world, and water power. These assets caused the river banks to become lined with factories, warehouses, and storage buildings. Materials were . . . — — Map (db m86315) HM
On Cemetery Road south of Bunker Hill Road, on the left when traveling south.
Rural Cemetery
Begun ca. 1820
Medal of Honor Recipients
Dr. Mary Walker, 1st Female
Recipient, and James H. Lee
Interred at this Site — — Map (db m86027) HM
On East 1st Street (New York State Route 481) north of East Mohawk Street, on the right when traveling south.
Oswego Riverside Attractions
West Side Attractions
1. West Pierhead Lighthouse
2. H. Lee White Marine Museum
3. Port of Oswego Authority West Terminal
4. U.S. Coast Guard Station
5. Wright's Landing Marina
6. . . . — — Map (db m86289) HM
On East 1st Street north of East Mohawk Street, on the right when traveling south.
Bountiful fur-bearing animals provided the foundation for a robust fur trading business between European explorers and the Native American inhabitants of the Oswego River corridor. The Native Americans camped and established seasonal trading . . . — — Map (db m86380) HM
On East 3rd Street at East Bridge Street, on the left when traveling north on East 3rd Street.
New York, Ontario, & Western Station circa 1900. The passenger and freight office for the New York, Ontario, & Western Railroad, which was located on the corner of East Bridge Street and 3rd Streets. The train seen here, New York Central & Hudson . . . — — Map (db m86601) HM
On East 1st Street (New York State Route 481) south of East Oneida Street, on the left when traveling south.
Text on the east side of marker:
The O & W Railroad Promenade and Bikeway was constructed in 2000-2001 and is named for the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad which served Oswego from 1880 to 1957. The O & W, as it came to be known, . . . — — Map (db m86610) HM
On East 3rd Street at East Bridge Street (New York State Route 104), on the left when traveling north on East 3rd Street.
The O&W Railroad
Launched 1866 as New York
& Oswego Midland, the New
York, Ontario & Western
ran to Weehawken, New Jersey,
from here until 1957. — — Map (db m86030) HM
On East 1st Street (New York State Route 481) north of East Mohawk Street, on the right when traveling south.
Dewitt Clinton dreamed of "a Great Canal" to solve the problem of access to the natural resources of the mid-west. Of the two routes considered - a canal across the state to Buffalo and a canal to Lake Ontario at Oswego - the Buffalo proposal won at . . . — — Map (db m86367) HM
Dedicated on July 1, 1906, Fort Ontario’s post cemetery contains the graves of 77 British and American soldiers, as well as some of their wives, mothers, and children. The original cemetery was established 300 yards southeast of the fort in 1759 . . . — — Map (db m75891) HM
Although the majority of those buried in the post cemetery were enlisted men who died of sudden or protracted illness, several stones mark the graves of career retired soldiers, such as Sergeant John S. Trowell, who died later in life. The . . . — — Map (db m75892) HM
On East 1st Street north of East Mohawk Street, on the right when traveling south.
Oswego was a strategic spot in many military campaigns. Control of the river, an important military route, changed many times. The loss of Oswego in August, 1756 was viewed as a triumph by the French and as a national misfortune by the English as . . . — — Map (db m86373) HM
On Lake Street at Montcalm Street, on the left when traveling east on Lake Street.
Grounded!
The David W. Mills, a cargo vessel that was part of a vast commercial shipping industry on the Great Lakes, played an important role in the industrial development of the north American interior. The Mills ran . . . — — Map (db m75416) HM
