Tulsa Topics

I love old historic buildings and libraries. That's one of the reasons I'm having a really good time visiting family and friends in my wife's neck of the woods in Fulton, New York. Fulton is in Oswego County and close to Lake Ontario. My wife refers to this as "Upstate, New York" to make sure that people know she's not from New York City.

We're currently visiting my wife's family for the holidays and having a wonderful time. This year we drove from Tulsa to Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada and stayed two days taking in the Christmas sights of their wonderful park system. If you ever want to go to Niagara Falls, I would highly recommend that you stay on the Canadian side instead of the US side. The falls views and park system on the Canadian side are much better and usually the currency exchange rate is favorable.

After a couple of days exploring Niagara Falls, we headed to Fulton, NY. Fulton is a small city weighing in with a population just shy of 25 thousand. The city is located approximately halfway between Oswego, NY and Syracuse, NY on the Oswego River and has a lot of through traffic.

While my wife has been catching up with her mother and sister, I've been slipping off to the Fulton Public Library. The public library has free WiFi internet access for it's patrons (and a visitor from Tulsa). It's a great old building filled with books and history. Here's an excerpt from the library's "about" page:

In 1902, after many requests, a letter received from Andrew Carnegie said if the city would find a suitable site and pledge at least $1,500 a year, he would donate $15,000 for the building. Finally, a 120' by 50' site next to the river at 160 South First Street was agreed upon. Syracuse architects and D. E. Wadsworth, a local construction firm, built it.

An old stone building which had been housing for canal workers was demolished, with the stone being used for the library's foundation. Stone from this abandoned quarry was also used in the construction of Auburn Prison. Cornerstone laying took place in June 1905; Mrs. Emens directed moving and opening in February 1906. A gentleman named Marlon H. Brando also assisted with the library at this time. The building was made of native stone, Gouverneur marble, litholite, and brick, with a slate roof. The interior woodwork is quartered oak with oak and tile floors.

The Carnegie Building was designated an Oswego County Historical Landmark in 1985, and was added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1999.

Another interesting item I learned about Oswego County while reading the Fulton Daily News (which is readily available, online unlike the Tulsa Whirled) was that the county is actually lowering property taxes. Yes you read that correctly..... Lowering property taxes. That's an unheard of concept in Tulsa County which continues to raise property taxes as well as finding new wants to apply the "4 to Fix" sales tax on. You can read the Fulton Daily News article regarding Oswego County lowering property taxes by clicking here.