Oswego Week 1 / Mexico Point & Fort Ontario
Week 1 in Oswego, NY | Mexico Point & Selkirk Shores State Parks | Fort Ontario State Historic Site | March 2023
This was our first time returning to New York since the summer of 2017, after living there for almost a year and before moving to Hawaii. The state holds so many great memories; when I look back on our almost year there, I think of how we were more optimistic about being in the military, of how we thought we had control over our lives, and how we felt limitless — like we could go out and hike any peak or road trip to any town or mountain range in the Northeast. After moving to Hawaii, I used to think that we “peaked” during our time in New York and we’d never be that happy again. Now I don’t believe that at all, but for years I’ve been looking forward to the day we’d return to this state. And thanks to Curtis’ new job, we finally had the opportunity!
We arrived in Oswego on a Sunday evening and checked into our “home” for the month, the Home2 Suites by Hilton. The rooms here were bigger than the last hotel, had a small kitchenette and a curtain that could block off the bed area from the rest of the room (very helpful when Curtis was working night shift) but of course the breakfast couldn’t compare to the Fairfield. Charlotte made friends with everyone there right away, and ended up being chosen as the “pet of the week” right away — which meant her picture was in the lobby, and she was given some toys.
Because our month in Illinois had been unseasonably warm for the most part with hardly any snow, we had started to believe that winter was over and spring was on its way — but arriving here in New York reminded us that it was very much still winter. There was still a good amount of snow, and it continued to snow over the first few weeks of our time here. But since we’d lived in Upstate NY before, we knew to expect this and just decided to embrace it. If you dress appropriately and just expect snow and cold, it’s more enjoyable all around. The only true downside to winter in the Northeast is that so many state parks and historic sites completely close for the season – though closed has different meanings at different parks.
On Curtis’ first day, he finished around 3, so we went for a little adventure to some state parks East of us, both right on Lake Ontario — Mexico Point and Selkirk Shores. We were pretty limited on what we could do at each, but since we were in the “honeymoon phase” with the area, it was easier to enjoy these short walks along the coast and the views of the water and shoreline. Both parks gave us good views of the power plant where Curtis was working. We had actually visited Selkirk Shores back in April of 2017, and we were able to go back to the same spot on the coast.
During the rest of the week, Curtis had longer days that didn’t allow for outings while it was still light out. But on Friday, Curtis had a later start so we took the opportunity to go to Fort Ontario State Park for a walk. In this case, the fort is closed, but fortunately the grounds around the fort were still open to the public.
A Fort has existed near Oswego and the outlet of the Oswego river since the early 18th century, starting with Fort Oswego on the opposite bank of the river. The Oswego River is the second largest river (after the Niagara) in the Lake Ontario Watershed and conveniently offers a water route into the heart of New York. Lake Oneida, one of the three major sources for the river, is then only a short portage away from the Mohawk River, and thus the Hudson. The Iroquois and Mohawk tribes knew this and the French and British followed their lead. The British built forts all along this trade route with Fort Stanwix (located near the portage from Lake Oneida to the Mohawk) being one of the most well known.
Owing to its importance to securing trade, the Forts near Oswego saw quite a bit of combat for a frontier fort but most of the battles were of small importance. During the French and Indian War, the French raided the Ontario coast and destroyed forts on both sides of the river very early in the war. During the American Revolution, the colonists raided and destroyed a rebuilt Fort Ontario. And during the War of 1812, the British raided and destroyed the fort a third time. Somewhat ironically, after completion of the Erie and Oswego Canals, during the height of river commerce, there was no fort and it wasn’t until the Civil War, with fears of British intervention, that the fourth and final fort was built. This final fort saw no combat and served the Army as a field hospital, training ground, and, most famously, the only Jewish refugee camp in America during WWII.
The day we visited was windy and cold, and we had planned on only making a loop around the exterior of the fort. But as we approached the main gate to get a glimpse inside, a park maintenance employee who was coming into work for the day offered to let us step inside the gate and get a quick look inside the walls. Naturally, we didn’t say no.
After saying thank you, we faced the wind and trudged around the fort, getting some decent views of Oswego Bay and the lighthouse.
Curtis also had to work for most of Saturday, but he got back in time for us to go for a sunset walk at Breitbeck Park. Besides these outings, we also tried a few local restaurants — Riverwalk Bagels and pizza from GJP Oswego.
