Oswego, New York (original) (raw)

Oswego is a city in western New York, the county set of Oswego County, located on the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Oswego River, about 35 miles north of Syracuse, New York. Population has been declining and was 17,954 in 2000. It is the home of a branch of the State University of New York.

The site was first visited by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. The British estblished a trading post in the area in 1722 and fortified it with a log palisade later called Fort Oswego. In 1755 they added Fort Ontario on the northeast side of the river.

Permanent settlement began in the early 19th century, and the town was incorporated in 1848.