Editing Otisco, New York (section)

== History ==
The town was part of the former [[Central New York Military Tract]]. The town was first settled by outsiders around 1798, but permanent settlement began around 1801. The Town of Otisco was formed in 1806 from parts of other towns: [[Pompey, New York|Pompey]], [[Marcellus (town), New York|Marcellus]], and [[Tully (town), New York|Tully]].

[[File:Churches in Otisco, New York 06 59 07 589000.jpeg|left|thumb|Two of the three or more historic churches in hamlet of Otisco]]
The name "Otisco" may have been derived from the [[Iroquois]] name for Nine Mile Creek, ''Us-te-ke'', meaning "[[Carya cordiformis|bitter-nut-hickory]]". At least one older map, published in 1825, has the name spelled as "Ostisco".<ref name=Beauchamp_1893>{{cite book|last1=Beauchamp|first1=William Martin|title=Indian names in New-York, with a selection from other states, and some Onondaga names of plants, etc.|date=1893|publisher=H.C. Beauchamp|location=Fayetteville, NY|page=54|url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924020345876#page/54/mode/2up|access-date=June 6, 2015}}</ref> The name may also have been derived from the word ''ostickney'', meaning "waters much dried away", or from the [[Onondaga people|Onondaga]] word ''ostick'', meaning "the water is low".<ref name=Beauchamp_1907>{{cite book|last1=Beauchamp|first1=William Martin|title=Aboriginal Place Names of New York (New York State Museum Bulletin, Volume 108)|date=1907|publisher=New York State Education Department|pages=148–149|isbn=9781404751552 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBQTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA148|access-date=June 6, 2015}}</ref>