Haunted by memories of textbook-driven teaching and rote memorization, Edward Austin Sheldon sought to challenge these prevailing pedagogies in schools. When he developed a curriculum based on Pestalozzian principles, he found Oswego teachers unable to enact his curriculum, prompting him to recruit teacher educators and eventually form what would become the Oswego State Normal School. Sheldon is often characterized as the driving force behind Oswego and the pedagogy most often linked to the school, "object teaching." Yet a gendered analysis of primary and secondary texts demonstrates that although women's expertise and experience were highly valued and were essential in cultivating an ethos of individuality, experimentation, and unrivaled opportunity at Oswego State Normal School between 1861-1897, these important influences and contributions have largely been suppressed by unitary historical accounts privileging a story of patriarchal origins, in which Oswego's predominately female faculty and student body have been cast as transmitters of Sheldon's educational ideas.