Fulton is a city in the western part of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 11,389 as of the 2020 census. The city is named after Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat.[2]
The city of Fulton is a community in two parts. The area on the west side of the Oswego River was formerly known as "Oswego Falls" recognizing the nearby rapids on the river. (The name "Oswego" is from the Iroquois word meaning "the outpouring.") It was one of the first regions settled in the original Town of Granby. Settlements took place in two west-side locations, the "Upper Landing" and the "Lower Landing." The community was incorporated as a village in 1835. In 1902, the Village of Fulton and the Village of Oswego Falls merged, and the resulting community was chartered as the City of Fulton. The two sides of the river have long been connected by two bridges-one known locally as the "upper bridge" (Broadway/NY State Route 3) and the other more commonly known as the "lower bridge" (Oneida St.) Both bridges have been rebuilt or refurbished a number of times during the history of the villages and city.
On August 6, 1931, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, pitching for the House of David semi-pro team, defeated the Byrne Sieberlings 5–3 in a game played in Fulton, NY. The contest was played before only 2,000 people. The Byrne Sieberlings, sponsored by the J. P. Byrne Tire Company, featured some of Central New York's greatest semi-pro ball players.[3]
The industrial nature of the small city led to a very stable workforce for many years. In fact, during the Great Depression of the early 1930s, the New York Sun newspaper (NYC) wrote a lengthy article describing Fulton, its residents and the strong local economy. It was headlined as, "Fulton, the City the Great Depression Missed."[4]
At a May 2009 Common Council meeting, it was disclosed that the City of Fulton was exploring the possibility of merging with the neighboring towns of Granby and Volney to create one larger city. This idea has been floated several times before and has yet to come to fruition.[5]
American Woolen Mills, a large textile firm located on the west bank of the Oswego River, provided uniforms and other cloth-related supplies for the US Army in both World Wars. Many early Italian and Polish immigrants lived in simple wood-framed company housing and shopped at the company store during this time period. The factory-owned housing was eventually sold to the employee-occupants. Joining the woolen mills was the adjacent "Silk Mill." The American Woolen Mills closed their Fulton operations in the early 1950s. The largest buildings were demolished in the summer of 1962. Another industry located on the west side of the river bank and using the force of the river water to power manufacturing equipment was the Foster Brothers' Knife Works, which produced cutlery. Besides Poles, the west side of the river was also settled with a sizable community of Italian immigrants as well as Czechoslovakians, Ukrainians, Syrians, and other, mostly Eastern European nationalities.
The area on the east side of the Oswego River was originally a part of the Township of Volney. Over time the east-side grew in industry, commerce, and residential development. In its prime, the east-side had a significant (several square blocks) downtown area (the primary retail business area was once known as "The Dizzy Block") with nearly one hundred stores and shops.
Several factories were located north and the south of the downtown area along the Oswego River to make use of the rapids and fast-flowing water for power. Some of the industries located here over the years included Hunter Arms, Hunter Bicycle, Hunter Fan, Sealright-Oswego Falls Corporation (later, Phillips 66 Corporation and more recently, Huhtamäki Consumer Packaging) making paper and plastic coated packaging, Dilts, (later, Black-Clawson), a paper and plastic machine manufacturer.
When Peter Cailer Kohler (later Nestlé, S.A.) began chocolate production in the United States, Fulton became home to the first U.S. chocolate manufacturing facility, notably producing milk chocolate invented by Peter. Many Swiss, skilled in the art of making chocolate, followed the company to Fulton and settled here. Many of their descendants still live in the area. In 1938, the Nestle Crunch bar was invented at the facility.[10] However, in 2003, after more than 100 years, citing the high cost of restoring and updating the aging plant, Nestle closed the factory, leaving four hundred local employees jobless. Factory employees hung the Nestlé company flag outside the factory upside down the day the closing was announced by company officials.
Subsequent to the closing of the Nestlé plant, investors from Ivory Coast purchased the chocolate factory and attempted to reopen it as "New York Chocolate and Confections Company". The company filed for bankruptcy and local Oswego County officials tried to find an appropriate buyer for the property so that it could continue to work toward a reopening. On June 30, 2010, the plant and its assets were sold again.[11] Subsequently, the facility was demolished to allow for redevelopment.[12] Facilities currently operating on the site include an Aldi supermarket[13] and a Technical Operations facility for Spectrum.[14]
The Miller Brewing Company operated a plant in the Town of Volney, (just outside Fulton city limits) from the mid-1970s until its closure in 1994. The former plant was partially retrofitted and was used for a short time as an ethanol production facility with only limited production. In 2008, the owners filed for bankruptcy and in May, 2009, the facility was sold at auction to Sunoco. A retrofit was completed and the facility returned to production of biofuels on June 21, 2010. At full production rate, the renovated plant was able to produce in excess of 85 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol per year, along with 400 million pounds of animal feed annually.
In September 2019, Attis Ethanol LLC. purchased the facility from Sunoco, which included a 10 year offtake agreement for the sale of ethanol. In March 21, 2019, the ethanol plant was shuttered and the facility was fully idled in August 2019. The facility continued to sit vacant and in October 2021, the smoke from burning corn in one of the facility's two silos began to overtake the nearby townships. The fire was extinguished in October 2022.[15]
Government
Fulton is governed by an elected mayor and common-council form of government. Administratively and politically, the city is divided into six wards. City hall is located on South First Street near Academy Street and faces a small park and military memorial which overlooks the Oswego River. Fulton supports both a small professional police force and a fire department with two fire stations. The police station and the east-side fire station are included in the city hall complex.
Geography and weather
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12km2), of which 3.8 square miles (9.8km2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3km2) (19.75%) is water.
Fulton is located near Lake Ontario and receives significant "lake-effect snow" fall in excess of a 100 inches (250cm) per year.[16]
As of the census[18] of 2000, there were 11,855 people, 4,923 households, and 2,973 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,102.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,198.0/km2). There were 5,501 housing units at an average density of 1,439.8 per square mile (555.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.80% White, 0.74% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.92% of the population.
There were 4,923 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,054, and the median income for a family was $38,655. Males had a median income of $35,665 versus $23,102 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,133. About 15.1% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.6% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.
Recreation
Fulton has a number of parks and areas of interest. Recreation Park, a city-owned facility on the banks of Lake Neatahwanta once hosted an amusement park, indoor skating/dancing rink as well as the county fair grounds. In its earlier years, the American Woolen Mills contributed greatly to the development and upkeep of Recreation Park. Today there are both football and softball fields, a waterfront area, pier, sheltered picnic tables, grills, and other outdoor leisure facilities. The Fulton War Memorial, a multipurpose group of buildings housing an exhibition hall/gymnasium and related ante-rooms as well as an adjacent covered arena used for ice skating and related sports in the winter and other events during warmer weather. The city-owned park adjoins the property owned by the Fulton City School District and occupied by G. Ray Bodley High School. The park facilities are sometimes used by the students for selected athletic and social events. On the northwest side of the park is a city-owned campground known as Bullhead Bay that hosts tents and recreational camper units throughout the late spring, summer and early fall. Included in the park and campground is a short hiking and conservation-nature trail. Concerts are held during the summer months featuring traditional and diverse styles of music and related entertainment. Also on the west side of the River and adjacent to the lower bridge (to the north) there is a park and athletic field complex known as Foster Park. On the east side of the River one finds Voorhees Park, a city block bordered by South Fourth Street, South Third Street, Buffalo Street and Academy Street. Long ago a small bandstand connected by diagonal sidewalks to opposing corners of the park was located near the center of the acreage. Such bandstands were common in small rural towns. A new bandstand was erected in the "old downtown" area of Fulton overlooking the Oswego River and one of two locks in the "New York State Barge Canal" portion of the waterway. This bandstand, known as "The Gazebo" plays host to a variety of musical concerts in the summer season. At "Sharp's Pond," Rowlee Beach is a small beach and swimming area near State Route #3 and Emery Street.
Education
Fulton was long-known as the home of the Falley Seminary, a preparatory school attended by both locals and out-of-area boarding students. This institution offered traditional classical education courses as well as some more practical coursework.
Over the years there have been a number of public schools built in neighborhoods of Fulton and surrounding towns. These include Fulton High School and its descendant institution, G. Ray Bodley High School, Fulton Junior High School, Fourth Street School (in the former Fulton High School building), Fairgreve School, James Lanigan Elementary School, Erie Street School, State Street School, Oak Street School, Phillips Street School, Pine Woods School, Walradt Street School, and Granby Elementary School. For many years there were also two Catholic schools: St. Mary's School (also known as Fulton Catholic School) on the east side and Holy Family School on the west side of town.
A branch of Cayuga Community College (CCC) is located in the retrofitted shell of a grocery store and other former retail spaces.
Radio station B104.7, which is currently the top ranked radio outlet in Central New York,[citation needed] is licensed to Fulton. A local newspaper known as "The Valley News" is published in Fulton twice each week. An electronic media publication, the "Oswego County Today" also maintains a publication office in Fulton.
Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring to the point at which the Oswego River feeds into Lake Ontario at the northern edge of the county in the city of Oswego.
Yorkville is a city within the Chicago Metropolitan Area and is the county seat of Kendall County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwest suburb/exurb of Chicago, Illinois. The population was 22,594 as of the 2020 census.
Fulton is the largest city in and the county seat of Callaway County, Missouri, United States. Located about 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Jefferson City and the Missouri River and 20 miles (32 km) east of Columbia, the city is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,600 at the 2020 census. The city is home to two universities, Westminster College and William Woods University; the Missouri School for the Deaf; the Fulton State Hospital; and the Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center state prison. Missouri's only nuclear power plant, the Callaway Plant is located 13 miles southeast of Fulton.
Wappingers Falls is a village in the towns of Poughkeepsie and Wappinger, in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 5,522. The community was named for the cascade in Wappinger Creek. The Wappingers Falls post office covers areas in the towns of Wappinger, Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, East Fishkill, and LaGrange. This can result in some confusion when residents of the outlying towns, who do not live in the village, give their address as "Wappingers Falls".
Gloversville is a city in the Mohawk Valley region of Upstate New York, United States. The most populous city in Fulton County, Gloversville was once the hub of the United States' glovemaking industry, with over two hundred manufacturers in Gloversville and the adjacent city of Johnstown. In 2020, Gloversville had a population of 15,131.
Granby is a town in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 6,821 at the 2010 census.
Pulaski is a village in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 2,365 at the 2010 census. The village is within the town of Richland, and lies between the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and the Tug Hill region. The village is located on U.S. Route 11 and is adjacent to Interstate 81. Pulaski lies in the Snowbelt, which is characterized by heavy amounts of lake-effect snow. It has a regional reputation for its heavy snow accumulations and adverse traveling conditions in winter, and for the long duration of winter conditions, often from mid-November through mid-April.
Scriba is a town in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 6,840 at the 2010 census. The town is named after landowner George Scriba.
Volney is a town in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 5,926 at the 2010 census. The town was named after a French author, Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de Volney, who toured the area in 1808.
Dolgeville is a village in Herkimer and Fulton counties, New York, United States. The population was 2,206 at the 2010 census. The village is named after the industrialist Alfred Dolge.
Oswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York." It is the county seat of Oswego County.
New York State Route 48 (NY 48) is a 28.20-mile (45.38 km) north–south state highway in Central New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is located at Interstate 690 (I-690) exit 3 near the interchange between I-690 and the New York State Thruway (I-90) in Van Buren, northwest of Syracuse. The northern terminus is located at an intersection with NY 104 in Oswego. In between, NY 48 passes through the riverside communities of Baldwinsville and Fulton and runs alongside both the Seneca River and Oswego River. For most of its route, NY 48 serves as an alternate route of NY 481. The routes share similar alignments along the Oswego River from the Syracuse area to Oswego, with NY 481 following the eastern riverbank between the two locations.
The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad founded in 1868. The last train ran from Norwich, New York to Middletown, New York in 1957, after which it was ordered liquidated by a U.S. bankruptcy judge. It was the first notable U.S. railroad with its mainline entirely abandoned.
New York State Route 176 (NY 176) is a north–south state highway located in the central part of New York, in the United States, that connects Cayuga County with Oswego County. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 370 in the northeast part of the town of Cato, east of Meridian. Its northern terminus is at a junction with NY 48 in the city of Fulton.
The Menier Chocolate company is a French chocolate manufacturing business founded in 1816 as a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Paris, at a time when chocolate was used as a medicinal product and was only one part of the overall business.
New York State Route 481 (NY 481) is a state highway in Central New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with Interstate 81 (I-81) in North Syracuse, where the highway continues southeastward as I-481. Its northern terminus is located at an intersection with NY 104 in Oswego about two blocks from Lake Ontario. In between, NY 481 serves the communities of Clay, Phoenix and Fulton along the Oswego River. NY 481 is one of two state routes in the Syracuse area that serves as an extension of an Interstate Highway; the other is NY 690.
New York State Route 57 (NY 57) was a north–south state highway in the central portion of New York in the United States. It extended for 33.45 miles (53.83 km) from an intersection with U.S. Route 11 (US 11) just north of downtown Syracuse to a junction with NY 104 six blocks from the Lake Ontario shoreline in Oswego. North of Liverpool, NY 57 was routed along the eastern bank of the Seneca and Oswego Rivers. It passed through several riverside communities, including the village of Phoenix and the city of Fulton. The route largely paralleled NY 48, which follows the western bank of the waterway between Van Buren and Oswego via Baldwinsville.
The Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in central New York, anchored by the city of Syracuse. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 662,057, slightly down from 662,577 in the 2010 census.
Junction Triangle is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the city's west end, just west of Lansdowne Avenue. The area is a triangle surrounded on all three sides by railway lines: the CNR/CPR mainline to the west, Metrolinx GO Transit Barrie line to the east, and the CPR east-west railway lines to the north. Bloor Street cuts across the middle of the neighbourhood, Dupont Street runs close to the northern edge, and Dundas Street is close to the southern boundary. By some accounts, the recent residential developments of Davenport Village and Foundry Lofts, built on former factory lands north of the CP Rail line, west of Lansdowne, south of Davenport and east of the GO Transit Bradford/Newmarket/Barrie line, also belong in this neighbourhood.
Fulton City School District is a school district in Fulton, New York, United States. The current superintendent is Mr. Brian Pulvino.
↑ "Nestlé Sources 100% Certified Cocoa Beans For CRUNCH®". Nestlé. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2023. Nestlé Crunch was invented in Fulton, New York, in 1938, and originally sold for five cents as "Nestlé's Crunch" milk chocolate bar with crisped rice."
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