Town Of Orwell

 The Town of Orwell is located in the northern portion of Oswego County and is bordered by the Towns of Richland and Albion to the west, Orwell to the north, Redfield to the east, and Albion and Williamstown to the south. Orwell is located approximately five (5) miles east of the Interstate 81 corridor and 1.5 miles north of State Route 13. Brief History The Town of Orwell was formed in 1817. The area was first settled by Europeans in 1806 along the banks of the Salmon River, which provided fertile agricultural land. Early settlers had small-scale subsistence farms, first crop production and later livestock and dairy. Lumbering was the first large industry as the Town was largely forested. The Salmon River was used to float logs from Redfield and Osceola to the east. The W. H. Lattimer Chair Factory operated between the 1880s and 1950s, and cheese factories were also prevalent. Today, Orwell has two (2) hydroelectric plants on the Salmon River (Doyle and Graham, 2016). Orwell is located in the Tug Hill Region and a member of the Salmon Rivers Council of Governments.