April 22, 2022


OSWEGO COUNTY – Lake Ontario Lecture Series Continues April 30 with “Lake Ontario and the War of 1812”

“Lake Ontario and the War of 1812,” will feature Dr. Tim Abel and Dr. Ben Ford. Their talks will focus on the outsize role Lake Ontario played in the conflict between the British and up-and-coming United States of America. Topics will include an overview of the War of 1812 in northern New York and the role of naval power during the conflict.

The lecture will start at 2 p.m. and run about two hours. Anyone interested can attend in-person at the Sackets Harbor Ballroom, 103 W. Main St., Sackets Harbor, or join virtually. The event is free to the public and light refreshments will be available.

Visit tinyurl.com/LakeOntarioWarof1812 to register for in-person or virtual attendance.

Abel, a local archaeologist who has spent more than a decade studying the War of 1812, is an adjunct professor of anthropology at SUNY Canton and a practicing consulting archaeologist whose field experience dates back to the early 1980s. He will discuss a broad outline of the War of 1812 and provide a snapshot of archaeological research by himself and others over the past 70 years.

Ford, chair of the Anthropology Department at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, is a historic and maritime archaeologist who conducts research in the Great Lakes and Pennsylvania. He is the author or editor of five books, including “The Shore is a Bridge: The Maritime Cultural Landscape of Lake Ontario.” Ford is slated to present on the importance of naval power on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812 and the resulting shipwrecks. 

Organized by the local sanctuary advisory council, the April 30 event is the third installment in a lecture series that previously included a Feb. 19 presentation by WPBS President Mark Prasuhn in Fair Haven titled “New York’s Seaway Lighthouses” and a March 26 event in Oswego titled “Weather and Lake Ontario” headlined by Judy Levan, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service (NWS) Buffalo office.

The local Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council is a 15-member panel established to assist the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) in guiding the proposed national marine sanctuary (NMS) through the designation process. NOAA oversees the nation’s NMS system. For more information on the advisory council, visit https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/advisory/.

The proposed Lake Ontario NMS would encompass more than 1,700 square miles in eastern Lake Ontario to protect and showcase dozens of shipwrecks and other historically significant underwater assets. NOAA announced its intent to designate the marine sanctuary in April 2019, and in mid-2021 released draft documents related to the proposed sanctuary. For more information on the proposed Lake Ontario NMS, visit https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/.

Anyone with further questions or comments related to the lecture can contact Oswego County Tourism and Public Information at 315-349-8322 or Lake Ontario NMS Advisory Council Vice Chair Katie Malinowski at realgreenacres@gmail.com.