MARKET HOUSE
- Program
- Subject
- Location
- Lat/Long
- Grant Recipient
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NYS Historic
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Government, Site
- 2 Market St, Oswego, NY 13126, USA
- 43.457204, -76.510541
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City of Oswego
MARKET HOUSE
Inscription
MARKET HOUSEBUILT 1836 BY VILLAGE OF
OSWEGO. VILLAGE OFFICES, JAIL,
COURT, POST OFFICE AND PUBLIC
MARKET LOCATED HERE. SERVED AS
FIRST CITY HALL 1848 - 1871.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2023
In April 1835, the Board of the Village of Oswego voted to construct a Market House on Market Block 26, then known as the Market Ground. Built by Jacob Bonesteel, the design was inspired by architect Phillip Hooker’s Washington Market in Albany, constructed in 1828. (Root, Edward W. Philip Hooker: A Contribution to the Study of the Renaissance in America. 1929)
Built to serve as a public market with stalls and office spaces, the Market House also accommodated local government functions. These included the village offices, a post office, a jail and later, a court room for the Recorder’s Court as well as the Supreme Court, when it was in session in the city. According to local historians, the Market House hosted the 1852 National Liberty Party convention where abolitionist Gerrit Smith was nominated for president. But the 1860s, the Market House was a “hive of commerce.” (“A bright new chapter for the Old City Hall”, Oswegocountynewsnow.com, September 27, 2022. Accessed March 8, 2023)
In 1848, when the Village of Oswego and hamlet of East Oswego consolidated to form the City of Oswego, the Market House became the first Oswego City Hall. In anticipation of the construction of a new, larger City Hall, the Market House was sold to the Oswego & Syracuse Railroad in 1864. The city continued to rent space there until the new structure was finished. The Market House was the center of community activity from early 1837 when it was completed to 1871 when the city offices moved to the new City Hall on West Oneida Street. However, the Market House continued to be used for business, commerce and entertainment. As of 2023, the building was in private ownership and plans were ongoing to renovate and reopen “Old City Hall.” (“Oswego Common Council Seeking Public Input on Old City Hall Renovation Funding,” Oswegocountytoday.com, September 13, 2022. Accessed March 8, 2023).
