Random Facts About Oneonta, New York As Told By Residents
Think you know everything about Oneonta? Think again! We asked our Facebook audience about what random facts they knew about Oneonta, and the responses were interesting to say the least. Here are a few examples.
SUNY Oneonta featured in Playboy
Multiple people commented that SUCO was mentioned in Playboy magazine multiple times as a number one party school. One commenter noted that it happened in 1994, and another said it was decades ago. Upon researching, I found that Playboy doesn't compile an annual list, and published the feature three times - in 1987, 2002, and 2006. Playboy typically re-publishes the Princeton Review party school list, which SUCO may have appeared on from time to time. Rumors of the party school list publication have swirled since the 1950s.
Mel Gibson lived here
While some are under the impression that the Mad Max star lived in Oneonta, he actually lived in Mount Vision, NY. A Deseret News article from 1990 states: "Gibson's father relocated his brood to Australia, his opera-singer mother's homeland, from upstate Mount Vision, N.Y., in 1968, fearing that his older sons would soon be drafted to fight in Vietnam."
What does Oneonta mean, anyway?
One commenter noted that Oneonta translates to "City of the Hills". Another said that Oneonta is a Native American name for girls. Yet another said that it means "rocks sticking up". While the word comes from unknown origin, popular belief is that it's a Mohawk word that means "place of open rocks" correlating to Table Rock.
Racers, start your engines
A comment stated that Belmont Circle in Oneonta was a race track a long time ago. Research shows that Belmont Circle was once the site of the Central New York Fair which ran from the 1870s to 1926. A site known as Webb Island, which is now Lettis Highway and Catella park held races from 1949-1951.
Oneonta once housed the world's largest rail roundhouse
This is 100% accurate. Built in 1906, the Oneonta roundhouse was said to be the largest in the world. A post from the Abandoned Rails Facebook group says: "Oneonta, NY Delaware & Hudson Ry. roundhouse and coaling tower remains. Touted in this group as "the world's largest," the thing was huge, and is now a huge rubble field. The last bits of life remaining are wistful to see. The coaling tower is just a monolith."