Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter records, 1944-1946, 1983, bulk 1944-1946

Creator:: Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter (U.S.)
Extent:: 7.5 linear feet (16 manuscript boxes)
Language:: English
Scope and content:: Records consisting of official reports, manuals, correspondence, various processed releases, clippings, photographs, and other printed materials. The files document the origin, development, operation, and closure of the shelter.
Biographical / historical:: The Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter was established by the War Refugee Board in Oswego, NY, per President Franklin D. Roosevelt's memorandum dated June 8, 1944. The shelter housed nearly 1,000 refugees, the vast majority of whom were European Jews fleeing the Holocaust. The shelter was closed in February 1946. Today the site is known as the Safe Haven Holocaust Refugee Shelter Museum.

Catalog record:

Local call number:

MS#0444

Processing information:

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 06/--/1989.

In spring 2025, Relly Robinson (BC '25) reviewed the collection and added extensive description, including individual photo titles and lists of names that appear in the documents. The latter in particular will be helfpul for genealogical researchers. In fall 2025, Kevin Schlottmann improved the top-level description and ingested the new description and imposed a light series arrangement.

Acquisition information:

Source of acquisition--Marks, Edward B., Jr., Refugee Program Officer. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1946. Accession number--M-46.

Arrangement:

Arranged.

Accruals:

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Related material:

Records relating to the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter can be found at the National Archives and Records Administration (210.3.5 Records of the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter), the American Jewish Historical Society and Center for Jewish History (Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter Collection and Arthur Lehmann Correspondence), and in a series of oral histories held at the State University of New York at Oswego, Penfield Library, Archives and Special Collections.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Preferred citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter records; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms of access:

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Location of this collection:: Rare Book & Manuscript Library

RBML Home Page
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:: Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.

Contact:: rbml@library.columbia.edu

Collection