Oswego, New York (pop. 16,921), is the easternmost port on the Great Lakes. It lies at the point where the Oswego River empties into Lake Ontario. The name Oswego comes from an Iroquois word meaning pouring out place. The city’s factories produce rolled aluminum, fabricated steel products, paper products, and processed foods. Oswego’s Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant generates electric power for several Northeastern states. The city is also home to the State University of New York at Oswego.
Oswego stands on the site of a British and Dutch fur-trading post founded about 1722. The British controlled Oswego until 1796 and again during the War of 1812 (1812-1815). Oswego became a village in 1828 and a city in 1848. With the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959, Oswego became a major world port. It is the county seat of Oswego County and has a mayor-council form of government.
