Wordless Wednesday- Heritage Building at Oswego County Fair

Oswego County Fair and the Heritage Building

I was neglectful in not writing about the Oswego County Fair before it happened so that readers who live near there could visit last week. This is the best fair in the area for genealogists. Really! I know people don’t think about attending a fair when they think about working on their genealogy, but if you have ancestors from Oswego County you can easily do both at once.

The fair is the typical small county fair with animal exhibits, a mid-way, food concessions and people hawking all kinds of products. At different times you can listen to local bands, attend a demolition derby or look at an antique car display. But, wander over to the far corner of the fairgrounds. There’s a pole building called the Heritage Building. The superintendent of the building is Shawn Doyle. Some of you might recognize him as either an Oswego County legislator or as the President of Half-Shire Historical Society. It is the latter hat he is mainly wearing when he is in this building.

This is the place that is the best for any genealogical or historical minded visitor. Within this building are exhibits dedicated to the history of many of the towns in Oswego County. This year, I believe all towns had a display and Fort Ontario even offered one as well. Fort Ontario’s even had historical hats that you could try on and have your picture taken if you wished! These displays vary from year to year, but feature some historical aspect of each town and along with it some of the older families of the towns. Many displays feature pictures of what the town looked like 100 years or so ago. Sometimes people are there demonstrating old time techniques. I’ve seen people spinning and sewing quilts among others over the years. An old piano sits near one wall that anyone can walk up to and play if they wish.

Situated in one corner of the building was the librarian form Half-Shire Historical. As always, she had many notebooks and other materials related to the genealogy and history of the area available to consult as well as her computer system there. On Saturday, and I understand for much of the run of the fair, she was busy scanning old pictures into the system in between talking with and helping people that came by.

In the center of the building is the heart of it. A large circle of tables display information about the society and various other organizations and events that are coming up in the area. A small display of older artifacts is housed in a glass case. However, much of the table space is taken up with books. What kind of books? Well, books on the history of various areas of the county, of various groups of people, cemetery records, newspaper abstracts, genealogies… If there is a book that has been published by an individual, historical society, town historian or the like in recent years on some aspect of Oswego County, it is likely available here. When I say it is available, I mean you can look at it just like in a bookstore and just like that store, you can buy a copy for yourself. Half Shire sells these books that they have bought as well as many that are there on consignment from the various places that have published them.

If you have a question about the area, history or genealogy in general, there is usually someone hanging out somewhere in this building that has at least an idea of where to find the answer for you. All of them are volunteers that enjoy this type of thing. My husband and I hung out at the tables talking with friends and people we met there for most of the day on Saturday.

As I said in the beginning, I was neglectful in not writing about this earlier. The fair concluded for this year yesterday. However, it will be back again next summer, so keep an eye out for the dates and plan to attend. This building is a great addition to the Oswego County fair and I wish other local fairs would start something like this as well!

The Osceola Novelty Factory

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Half-shire society and mentioned that the area has a connection to circus performers worldwide. Osceola is a small town in the southwest corner of Lewis County and not far from Richland where Half-shire is located. It was first settled in 1838. Part of the Tug Hill plateau famous for the winter accumulations of snow. The population in the 2010 census was 229 people down from 265 in 2000 when it averaged out to a density of 3 people per square mile. All those statistics should indicate to you that this area has very few people and is fact more woods than anything else. So, how does this tiny town with almost no population have a connection to the circus?

At the turn of the twentieth century, many circus performers used wooden items in their acts for juggling and other performances. Before the mid 1900s, this was the material used for many items that we now make in plastic today.  Osceola Novelty Factory was in existence for just a short time, but it quickly became well known. It made items in the middle of the woods and marketed them all over the world to circus and other performers.

A sampling of the items at Half-shire Society

It was an ambitious idea when the factory opened in 1896. They lasted only a decade, closing their doors in 1906. However, the factory and its products live on in the memories of residents of the area, some of which remember stories of their grandparents and others working there. A few of the products are still around the area today and Half-shire Society has a few in their collections. While I was there, I was able to see these.

It was located on the south side of the Salmon River. Situated on the east side of the road, between the river and Cemetery Road. The list of products produced during its short run included dumb bells, bowling pins, tops, bowls and vases. All were made out of wood from the forests of Osceola and shipped out after completion. Today the area is known by most people as home of the Fiddler’s Hall of Fame and a great place for snowmobiling, but once it was the manufacturer of novelty items that were shipped around the world.

The photos of the factory and of its employees were taken from a book published years ago on the history of the area. This book and other books on the history of northern Oswego county and southern Lewis county are always available to researchers who visit the society. Those booklets that are still in print may also be available for purchase while you are there, as well as at their display at the Oswego County fair in the summer.