Oswego County Historical Society

A Victorian Tea Party
2025-09-07 13:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Richardson-Bates House Museum, 135 East Third Street, Oswego, NY, 13126, United States
Julius LeBlanc Stewart (b. 1855), An Interesting Letter (detail), c. 1884. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

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The Oswego County Historical Society cordially invites you to our second annual Victorian Tea Party! Enjoy an afternoon of tea and conviviality in a historical setting. The menu will include tea sandwiches, scones, sweets and other delicacies from a traditional afternoon tea.

Standard tickets are $45; tickets for members are discounted to $35 using coupon code “MEMBER” at checkout.

A special exhibit of 1880s wedding gowns from notable Oswego families will be on display for this event. Dressing up is highly encouraged!

Arsenic and Old Lace — Classic Movie Night 2025
2025-10-16 19:00 - 21:30 | Oswego Cinema 7, 138 W 2nd St #2763, Oswego, NY, 13126, United States
Oswego County Historical Society is once again hosting our Classic Movie Night, this time with the 1944 film Arsenic and Old Lace. Tickets are now available to purchase in-person at the Richardson-Bates House Museum, River’s End Bookstore, and Oswego Cinema 7 for $20!

Cary Grant plays Mortimer Brewster, author and nephew of Abby (Josephine Hull) and Martha (Jean Adair). Recently married, Mortimer visits his aunts with the intention of sharing the news, but secrets are revealed and hijinks ensue in this hilarious screwball black comedy.

Filled with good macabre fun, this is the perfect film for the Halloween season. You won’t want to miss seeing it on the large screen and laughing out loud with fellow fans of film and history.

Trivia Night 2025
2025-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 | G.S. Steamers, 70 E 1st St, Oswego, NY, 13126, United States
Test your trivia skills with Oswego County Historical Society’s 4th annual Trivia Night! Gather a team of up to six brainiacs and challenge yourselves to five rounds of trivia, with categories ranging from local history, to general trivia, to literature, sports and more!

Tickets are available for purchase in advance or at the door at G.S. Steamers. First place wins a snazzy gift basket of goodies—donated by Man in the Moon Candies—featuring chocolates, merchandise from local businesses and organizations, and other surprises.

We hope to see you there!

2025 Holiday Open House
2025-12-07 13:00 - 17:00 | Richardson-Bates House Museum, 135 East Third Street, Oswego, NY, 13126, United States
Experience Victorian Christmas through the eyes of the Bates family. Christmas decorations and Victorian children’s gifts are on display through the month of December.

Victorian Christmas Magic Lantern Show
2025-12-14 18:00 - 19:30 | Richardson-Bates House Museum, 135 East Third Street, Oswego, NY, 13126, United States
Joseph Boggs (J.B.) Beal’s collection. Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. More information: magiclanternsociety.org.

In the Victorian era, lanternists created captivating stories with painted or photographed projections, sound effects, and light. For one special evening at the Richardson-Bates House Museum, David and Todd McLean, along with the Goodnight Ladies, bring this tradition to live by weaving tales of ghost stories, some Christmas themed, in a special Victorian Christmas Magic Lantern Show.

David and Todd McLean have created many innovative adaptations and artistic performances, including a November 2024 adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Telltale Heart” presented by the Scriba Historical Society. The Goodnight Ladies feature Katie Donovan and Sarah Galvin and their string instrumentals for a perfect soundtrack.

This event starts at 6:00 P.M. Reservations are required due to room capacity; please call the museum at 315-343-1342 to reserve a seat.

National Medal of Honor Day 2026
2026-03-25 11:00 - 12:30 | Richardson-Bates House Museum, 135 East Third Street, Oswego, NY, 13126, United States
The community is invited to attend a special event commemorating National Medal of Honor Day at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at the Richardson Bates House Museum at 135 E. 3rd Street in Oswego. This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required, but seating is limited to approximately 40 seats in the drawing room.

2026 Not-So-Silent Auction
2026-04-24 18:00 - 21:00 | G.S. Steamers, 70 E 1st St, Oswego, NY, 13126, United States
Mark your calendars for our biggest fundraising event of the year; guaranteed to be an evening of fun, friends, food and fantastic finds!

The Not So Silent Auction is the Oswego County Historical Society’s largest annual fundraiser for the Richardson-Bates House Museum. Participate in a silent table auction where donated antiques and collectibles, gift certificates and products from local businesses plus antiques, and more are up for grabs. Many of the artifacts and artworks are from Oswego history!

We kick off the evening at 7:15 with a live auction of particularly important and high-ticket items, hosted by Jerry Petro of Iroquois Auctions. Before the live auction, you can find Jerry at the appraisal table, where he’ll appraise one antique item that you can bring with you as part of your ticket purchase.

There are raffle baskets, a lottery board, and much more! And don’t forget refreshments and a cash bar, as provided by the Lake Ontario Event and Conference Center.

We hope to see you there!

Become an Event Sponsor!

If you’re a local business interested in sponsoring the Not-So-Silent Auction, please consider donating at one of the following sponsorship tiers. All event sponsors receive sponsorship recognition in marketing material for the auction, and will have their business name and/or logo featured prominently on a donor thank-you panel at the event itself.

LevelAmountBenefitsPlatinum$1,0005 sponsored tables; 12 event tickets; 20 complementary museum tour tickets.Gold$7503 sponsored tables; 8 event tickets; 10 museum tour tickets.Silver$5002 sponsored tables; 5 event tickets; 6 museum tour tickets.Bronze$2502 event tickets; 5 museum tour tickets.Supporter$1501 ticket to the event. Thank you for your support!

Support from local businesses is a crucial component of this event, and others like it. It helps the Oswego County Historical Society not just host these kinds of fundraisers, but supports our mission to connect the community to the history that shapes their pasts, presents and futures.

Thank you for considering a contribution.

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