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The Town of Otisco – Since 1806

The Town is situated approximately 21 miles south of Syracuse, New York.

The area in which the Town is located had been occupied for centuries by the Onondaga People, one of the original 5 nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy in northeast North America.

The name “Otisco” may have been derived from the Iroquois name for Nine Mile Creek, Us-te-ke, meaning “bitter-nut-hickory”. At least one older map, published in 1825, has the name spelled as “Ostisco”. The name may also have been derived from the word ostickney, meaning “waters much dried away”, or from the Onondaga word ostick, meaning “the water is low”.

The area became part of the former Military Tract of Central New York State which consisted of nearly 2 million acres of land that was set aside to compensate New York’s soldiers after their participation in the Revolutionary War (American War of Independence). The Town was first settled by outsiders around 1798, and permanent settlement began around 1801. The Town of Otisco was formed in 1806 from parts of the towns of Marcellus, Pompey and Tully.

The Town also encompasses the Hamlets of Otisco and Amber, the latter being situated on the north shore of Otisco Lake, which is the easternmost of New York’s eleven Finger Lakes.

The Town’s picturesque countryside, with its rolling hills and mountainous terrain, is rural, dotted with homes, family farms and small businesses.

There were 2,368 residents and 924 households within the Town according to the 2020 census. In contrast to its relatively small population, the Town of Otisco is the 4th largest Town in Onondaga County in terms of land size, covering approximately 31.2 square miles with approximately 34.40 miles of Town roads. The Town Government consists of a Town Board, Town Clerk, Town Justice Court, Town Highway Department, Code Enforcement Officer, Animal Control Officer, Tax Assessors, Tax Collector, Attorney for the Town and Town Financial Advisor.

A Directory of the Town’s Municipal Departments can be found in the Municipal Directory on this website at townofotisco.com/services/