Sampson State Park (along with Sampson State Park Beach) is a
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...
located in
Seneca County,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
.
[ The park is south of the city of ]Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
in the Town of Romulus on the east shore of Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...
.
The park is located on the site of the former Sampson Naval Training Station, which later became the Sampson Air Force Base.
History
During World War II, the site was the location of the Sampson Naval
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...
Training Station; during the Korean War, it became the Sampson Air Force Base, again providing basic training. It is also located next to the former Seneca Army Depot
The former Seneca Army Depot occupied between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake in Seneca County, New York. It was used as a munitions storage and disposal facility by the United States Army from 1941 until the 1990s. The property was transferred t ...
, a munitions storage site. Most buildings are gone leaving a network of of once-paved roads and trails in a wooded area. The surviving building housing the "brig" today hosts a museum featuring displays that depict the activities and lives of the hundreds of thousands of Navy and Air Force personnel as they trained to go to war at Sampson.
After the United States declared the site as surplus, it was purchased in 1960 by the New York State Council of Parks for $500,000.[
Both the state park and the former naval training station are named after Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, who was born in nearby ]Palmyra
Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...
.
Park facilities
Sampson State Park includes a military museum, a campground with 309 campsites, a sandy beach on Seneca Lake, boat launches, and a marina with over 100 boat slips.[
]
Military Museum
The park is home to a museum run by volunteer Air Force and Navy veterans. The museum holds many artifacts and displays that were around when Sampson was a military base. The hours of the museum are dependent on volunteer support, but is usually open on the weekend.
See also
* List of New York state parks
This is a list of state parks in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Also listed are state golf courses, seasonal hunting areas, and ''former'' state parks.
In New York, state parks are managed by the New York State Office of Parks, R ...
References
External links
New York State Parks: Sampson State Park
Sampson Air Force Veterans Website
Historical Marker about Sampson Naval Station beginnings
State parks of New York (state)
Campgrounds in New York (state)
Museums in Seneca County, New York
Military and war museums in New York (state)
Parks in Seneca County, New York
{{SenecaCountyNY-geo-stub