On This Day

Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company is organized in Oswego, New York

The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad founded in 1868.

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 Class I U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.

The railroad began life as the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad, organized by Dewitt C. Littlejohn of Oswego, NY, in 1868. Its mainline extended from Weehawken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City, to Oswego, New York, a port city on Lake Ontario. It had branch lines to Kingston, Port Jervis, Monticello, Delhi, Utica and Rome, New York and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Historical Significance

The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad founded in 1868.

Events Before

  1. Labor union leader Samuel Gompers (17) weds co-worker Sophia Julian (16) in Brooklyn, New York

    Labor union leader Samuel Gompers (17) weds co-worker Sophia Julian (16) in Brooklyn, New York

  2. Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky (45) weds Anna Snitkina at Trinity Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky (45) weds Anna Snitkina at Trinity Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia

  3. British North America Act is passed in the House of Commons, serves as Canada's constitution for more than 100 years

    Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the second-largest...

  4. Joseph Lister first outlines the discovery of antiseptic surgery in an article in "The Lancet"

    Joseph Lister first outlines the discovery of antiseptic surgery in an article in "The Lancet"

  5. The United States buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (109 million in 2018 dollars), roughly 2 cents an acre

    The United States buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (109 million in 2018 dollars), roughly 2 cents an acre

Events After

  1. US postage stamps featuring scenes are issued for the first time, depicting a post horse and rider, a locomotive, a shie

    US postage stamps featuring scenes are issued for the first time, depicting a post horse and rider, a locomotive, a shield, an eagle, and a ship, the Adriatic

  2. Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table of the elements to the Russian Chemical Society

    Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table of the elements to the Russian Chemical Society

  3. Cincinnati Red Stockings become baseball's first professional team with ten salaried players

    The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players.

  4. US Abolitionist Harriet Tubman marries civil war veteran Nelson Davis in Auburn NY

    Harriet Tubman (1822–1913) was an American abolitionist and political activist. Tubman escaped slavery and rescued approximately 70 enslaved people, including members of her family and friends.

  5. Hudson's Bay Company cedes its territory to Canada

    The Hudson's Bay Company (abbreviated HBC and colloquially Hudson's Bay) is a Canadian holding company of department stores and commercial property.

More from the 1860s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on March 27, 1868?
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.
Why is Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company is organized in Oswego, New York significant?
The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad founded in 1868.

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