ANNUAL GIVING 2024
Due to unprecedented donations to Annual Giving, your impact will continue long into 2025.
In 2024, we raised $19,585.89 for Annual Giving. That’s about $700 over our goal of $18,890. Incredible!
A tremendous thank you to everybody who contributed to the campaign. Thanks to your help, the Oswego County Historical Society will tackle new collections development and digitization efforts, restore the museum’s finial, and so much more. Keep reading for a closer look at the projects in store for 2025 and beyond.
We can’t thank you enough for your ongoing generosity and support.
UPCOMING PROJECT
Frank Barbeau Negatives Collection
Local photographer Frank Barbeau chronicled the life and times of Oswego County through his camera lens, and now his vast collection of negatives and photos have been cataloged and preserved. Thanks to your generosity, this collection will become digitally available for viewing on NYHeritage in 2025.
UPCOMING PROJECT
Restore the Museum Tower's Finial
At the end of 2021, the perilously tipping 9-foot finial decoration on top of the Richardson-Bates House Museum’s tower was removed for restoration, due to structural instability caused by rotting wood in the tower’s roof. It’s been missing from the top of the museum ever since.
Thanks to historic donations received in late board member Neal Johnson’s honor, the finial is slated to be restored back to the top of the tower as a powerful reminder of Neal’s legacy to our organization. Thank you to everyone who donated in his name.
UPCOMING PROJECT
Collections Development
The Society has been in possession of two large collections in need of processing. First: The Beadle/Bentley collection, spanning the Civil War to the 1930’s. Second: The Kingsford personal family files.
Thanks to your donations, both collections will be cataloged and preserved in archival, acid-free materials and rehoused into new boxes in our 2nd floor Research Library. And in the long-term, this crucial process brings us one step closer to digitally preserving the collections online, too.
Other Ways to Support
Donations are just one of the many ways you can support the Oswego County Historical Society and Richardson-Bates House Museum. Whether it’s volunteering at the museum, becoming a member, or anything in-between, there are lots of ways that you can support our mission and give back to the Oswego community.
