Oswego’s Bicycling History Exhibit

Oswego County Bicycles and Racing are celebrated at a new exhibit at the Richardson Bates House Museum.

Don Gillespie, famous artist and Fulton NY native,  donated his painting of an 1895 bicycle race that started in front of what is now the Richardson Bates House Museum. Gillespie’s great-grandfather, William R. Shayes, was an early proponent of bicycle racing, and President of the Oswego Bicycling Club in the late 19th century.

The Richardson and Bates families were also one of the earliest patrons of cycling in the state. According to Oswego County Historian Justin White, Norman Bates, nephew of the house’s owner Maxwell B. Richardson, was gifted a bicycle by his wealthy uncle, making him one of the first patrons of the nascent sport and method of transport. That bicycle, in the collections of the Oswego County Historical Society will be on display, along with other antique bicycles and artifacts relating to the history of cycling in Oswego County.

Entrance to the exhibit is included in the fee to tour the museum. Members of the Oswego County Historical Society are free.

The exhibit will be on display until the museum closes for the season on Saturday Dec 29, 2019.