Mexico is a town in the northeastern section of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 5,257 at the 2020 census. The town contains a village also named Mexico.

Mexico has been referred to as the "Mother of Towns", as the original town as enacted by separate acts of 1792 and 1796 comprised an area that would eventually form six separate counties (Onondaga, Cortland, Oneida, Lewis, Jefferson, and Oswego). These six counties today contain a total of 84 separate towns that were once included in the original Town of Mexico.

NY 69 comes to an end in the village of Mexico, where it intersects with NY 104 (Main Street). U.S. Route 11 also passes through the town.

History

The first Mexico (a proposed county), with all the surrounding towns, was originally created from Town of Whitestown, Oneida County, New York, on April 10, 1792, by the State Land Commissioner. It was to include present day Oswego and Jefferson Counties. The original organization of the proposed Mexico County and a town of that name was abandoned for a time. In December 1794, George Frederick William Augustus Scriba purchased and patented a large tract of land; subsequently becoming a second Mexico, hence the Village of Mexico and the Town of Mexico.

In 1813 a system of public schools was established with 14 districts. The number increased to 19 by 1895 as new settlements developed. In 1822 a two-story brick school housing grades on the first floor and high school on the second. This was called "The Academy" and was admitted to the state system by the regents in 1833. Mexico was the first school of secondary education to be founded in what is now Oswego County. Mexico was the first school to centralize in Oswego county. This occurred in 1936 when 31 districts in the towns of Mexico, Palermo and New Haven closed to make Mexico Academy and Central School. An elementary school continued in New Haven and Palermo while the rest of the students were bussed to Mexico.

Education

The school district is known as the Mexico Academy and Central School District (MACS). The sports program's mascot is the Tiger, and the music program's mascot is the Matador. The High School Building was once the site of Mexico Academy, a military academy, from which the school district took its name. The district's bus garage is located on State Route 104, next to the middle school. Schools included in the district are:

  • Mexico High School
  • Mexico Middle School
  • Mexico Elementary School
  • New Haven Elementary School
  • Palermo Elementary School

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 47.0&nbsp;square miles (121.7&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 46.3&nbsp;square miles (120.0&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.6&nbsp;square mile (1.6&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (1.34%) is water. The northwest part of the town borders Lake Ontario.

Demographics

As of the census