10. Permanent Exhibit
Second Floor, South Wing
Transcript
For this part of your tour, you will be viewing a permanent exhibit that provides a timeline of Oswego County history. This exhibit is housed in Norman’s bedroom and a guest room. Norman’s fireplace mantel and its surround remain from this time period, although the multi-tiered over-mantel was lost.
We suggest that you read or listen to the background information that is provided next, before you tour these rooms, so you may take your time viewing the many artifacts and information. After you visit the Timeline Exhibit, your tour is concluded. Please join us in the Entrance Hall and visit our gift shop before you say goodbye!
The timeline begins with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, highlighting their enduring presence in the region. It then traces the arrival of European powers, as both the British and French vied for control of the lucrative fur trade with the Haudenosaunee.
Following the American Revolution, as settlers sought to expand their territories, the U.S. government allocated sections of the land as military tracts to compensate Revolutionary War soldiers. However, much of the land was sold to wealthy speculators, including George Scriba, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.
With the development of water routes and railroads, industries in Oswego County flourished. Agriculture, dairy farming, and logging became major economic drivers, with export to Canada, the Midwest, and New York City. By the mid-19th century, the county boasted a diverse industrial landscape, with foundries, mills, pottery and glass factories, furniture manufacturers, and even chocolate and cheese production. Oswego was home to some of the nation’s largest manufacturers, including Kingsford’s Oswego Starch, the leading starch producer in the United States, and Diamond Match, the country’s largest match manufacturer. The first Nestlé plant in the United States was established in Fulton in 1902, further cementing the county’s industrial significance.