The next “History on Tap” features the fascinating history of Oswego’s Montcalm Park. The illustrated program begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 2 in the Riverview Room at G. S. Steamers Restaurant, located in the Clarion Inn, 70 E. First St., Oswego. Admission is free.

Fort Ontario State Historic Site Manager Paul Lear and Research Assistant Marilyn Huntington will present information and images they have gathered to create interpretive panels which will be installed in the triangle park situated on the west side of the Port City.

The serene beauty of the park hides its complicated past. It is named for the former French Commander-in-Chief Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm whose forces overran the British-held Fort George, which was situated nearby.

A monument to the fort, dedicated in 1909, lies within the park, dedicated in 1913 – all thanks to the work of the Ontario chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

U.S. Representative Luther Wright Mott of Oswego was instrumental in having the DAR invite then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt to the 1913 dedication of Montcalm Park. In a small but significant way, the park’s development may have led to one of the most important decisions of Roosevelt’s presidency – choosing Fort Ontario as the site of the only Holocaust refugee camp or shelter in the U.S. during World War II.

In 2001, Montcalm Park was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

Learn more about this small – but mighty – park at the ‘History on Tap’ presentation at G.S. Steamers Restaurant at the Clarion Inn, 70 E. First St. (NYS Rte. 481), Oswego. 

For more information about the “History on Tap” programming, contact Fort Ontario State Historic Site Office Manager Caroline Lamie at 315-343-4711 or caroline.lamie@parks.ny.gov. Updates and program information will be posted on the Friends of Fort Ontario Facebook page.

LITTLE PARK WITH BIG HISTORY – The next ‘History on Tap’ session features the story about Montcalm Park in Oswego. Fort Ontario State Historic Site Manager Paul Lear and Research Assistant Marilyn Huntington present an illustrated program about the park (pictured) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 2 in the Riverview Room of G.S. Steamers Restaurant at the Clarion Inn, 70 E. First St., Oswego. Admission is free.