Welcome! City historian Mark Simonson grew up in Oneonta, but like many at his age left to explore opportunities elsewhere. He returned in 1997. See the "About the Author" link for details.
Mr. Simonson was appointed Oneonta City Historian in 1998. Since then, he has been doing freelance research and writing for a column seen twice weekly in The Daily Star of Oneonta.
Additionally, Mark has published books about Oneonta and the other general topics of local history in a 5-county region.
Mark is available as his schedule permits for local speaking engagements. Typically, the ever-changing presentation is in a format of old local commercial
advertisements from newspapers with stories and trivia about the businesses.
The ads can be humorous, sometimes politically incorrect, and are guaranteed to
stimulate conversation among audiences.
Please note that NO taxpayer dollars financed this website. It is an independent project by the city historian. The historian does not have an office
at city hall. Mark considers his "office" to be any library or historical society in a 60-mile radius. So in a sense, you've entered one of his many "branch offices".
