Oswego Public Library

"For 160 years, the Oswego Public Library has sat on a hill overlooking the Oswego Canal, the Oswego River, and Lake Ontario. It was chartered in 1853, constructed in 1855/56, and opened its doors in the Spring of 1857. It is one of the finest Norman Revival or “Castellated” buildings still standing and, with its look of a medieval castle together with its hilltop location, it is an outstanding landmark for the city. The Oswego Public Library has the distinction of being the oldest public library still in its original building in the United States."

In 1853, Gerrit Smith,the richest man in the state at the time, funded the construction of the library. Smith was also a social reformer, 3x US Presidential candidate, and ardent abolitionist. He asked eight of the leading citizens of Oswego to become the Board of Trustees for the project, most of which served on the Board until their deaths. As a result of Smith's views, the library has always had a strong African-American presence from members of the Underground Railroad to the child of slaves.

Currently the library receives funding from tax dollars. In the beginning though the money came from the city and the school system. The Board of Trustees though were responsible from the maintenance of the building itself. In the 1920's the Oswego School District gave additional finanical support to the library by agreeing to buy the books and pay the staff. The Oswego School District funded the library in this way all the way up to 1999. In 1999, the public voted to establish the library as an independent library district. Additional work was done to the library in the 1930's and 1960's.

Please visit the library's website at https://www.oswegopubliclibrary.org

Sources

Oswego Public Library. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.oswegopubliclibrary.org/about