Oswego

Formed January 1, 1816 (48^th county)

Oswego County (117,533), Oswego (16,931)

The domed masonry Classical Revival courthouse was erected in 1858.  The courthouse is on Oneida Street at 2^nd Street.  New York State Highway 104 is one block to the north of the site.  Horatio Nelson White is the building architect.  The building was enlarged in 1962.  An Administration Building was added in 1996.  There is an augmenting 1860 courthouse in Pulaski.  Oswego County was founded on January 1, 1816 from Oneida and Onondaga counties as the 48^th county.  There was also a courthouse in Pulaski from 1819.  The county and county seat names are Native American for the “outpouring.” 

Oswego County government consists of an administrator, a sheriff, a comptroller, an attorney, an assessor, and a clerk (executive).  It has 25 Legislators (legislative.)  Two County Court Judges, Two Family Court Judges, and One Surrogate Court Judge serve Oswego County (judicial.)  The county is in the northern part of New York on Lake Ontario.  Albany, New York is southeast and Buffalo, New York is southwest of the county.  The county center is 15.7 miles East of Oswego nearer Mexico.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Madison, Onondaga, and Cayuga counties and Canada. 

The area of the county is 1312 square miles.  It is 13 out of 62 in the state.  It ranks 24 out of 62 in population in the state.  It has a density of 89.6 persons per square mile making it 36 out of 62 in the state.  Oswego County has 33.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 81 travels north to south in the county from Jefferson County to Onondaga County.  United States Highway 11 parallels Interstate Highway 81 from Jefferson to Onondaga counties.  The county is shaped like a heart pointing southeast.  The City of Oswego is located on the northwest coast of Lake Ontario.  Oswego is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 14.4% of the county population.  The county and county seat are pronounced OS-WEE-GOE.  This county is in the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area.