Built circa 1867 for Oswego real-estate attorney and two-term mayor, Maxwell Richardson, this Italian Villa-style home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


The home was built by noted architect Andrew Jackson Warner and today the museum still retains approximately 95 percent of its original first-floor furnishings, offering a glimpse into the opulent lifestyle of a prominent Oswego citizen. Upstairs houses the permanent “Timeline of Oswego County History” exhibit which chronicles a Oswego County history through a timeline that traces the people, events, agriculture and industries of Oswego County from the area’s Native American heritage to the 20th century.
 

One of the museum’s highlights is an intriguing Dr. Mary Walker exhibit, which displays an array of artifacts of this Oswego native who was a noted abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war and surgeon during the Civil War. She is also the only woman to ever receive the Medal of Honor, granted to her by President Abraham Lincoln. A Military Fort in Virginia, Fort Walker, was renamed after her, and her image appears on the U.S. $.25 cent quarter. 


Photos courtesy of the Richardson-Bates House Museum and 21 West Photography..