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Little Falls, NY

  • This day in history: August 12

    1847

    The new Benton House has opened (later Girvan House) to the public under the directorship of Mr. Giles Orcutt of Binghamton. It is pleasantly situated at the corner of Main and Ann streets, a short distance from the Rail Road Depot and the Packet boat landing.

    1870

    A man named Donaldson walked a tight rope suspended across from the Petrie building to the Loomis building, in a bag and blindfolded.

    1884

    Work on the Little Falls Roller Skating Rink at the corner of Main and John streets is to be commenced this week at a cost of $4,000. The skating floor will be 49 by 128 feet – all appointments to be first class.

    1886

    The last shipment of starch was made from the Gilbert’s factory ending many years as the village’s leading industry. The raw material had been unloaded to the large storage building on the Erie Canal and conveyorized across Seeley Island to the factory on the Mohawk River for processing. The building will be converted to a knitting mill under the direction of J. J. Gilbert.

    1895

    Manager Tittle of Camp Jolly launched the new barge “City of Little Falls” to be used to transport up to 500 passengers to the campgrounds a few miles east of the city. The double-decker is 55 feet long and 14 feet wide and will be lashed to the “Victor Adams” which can accommodate an additional 200 people. There is room on the barge for dancing.

    1922

    “Kite Day” will be introduced to hundreds of Little Falls kiddies, under the age of 12, when they have the opportunity to make a kite and flying it the highest altitude in a contest under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A.

    1930

    Dan Vickers (later Dr. Dan Vickers), son of Dr. and Mrs. H. W. Vickers, and Wells Davy, both of Little Falls, made their first solo flights at Seymour field near Little Falls. They are members of the Little Falls Flying Club where nine other members are learning to fly.

    1967

    The Eastern Herkimer County Industries Inc. has purchased 24 ½  acres of land from the New York Central Railroad Company. This land, between the railroad tracks and the Mohawk River, comprises the Riverside Industrial Park. The city recently received $280,000 from the United States Department of Commerce to develop the Riverside tract.

    2016

    Stephen “Pitt the Painter” Nicholas won the blue ribbon at the first Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts regional art show. ”Pitt” made his living as a sign painter, and was skilled in eglomise or reverse painting on glass. He is most known for his painting of “The Man on the Bateau,” an image seen throughout Little Falls.

  • Many thanks to Louie Baum for his research for This Day in History.

    ALL EXHIBITS

    • 1912 Little Falls Textile Strike
    • 1940 Gulf Curve Train Wreck
    • 240th Anniversary of the Battles of Stone Arabia and Klock’s Field
    • Athletics Wing Collection
    • Battle of West Canada Creek
    • Camp Jolly Exhibit
    • Church Street Cemetery Tour
    • City Hall – A History
    • Distant Drums – Little Falls during the Civil War Era
    • Early Base Ball in Little Falls
    • Early Little Falls Buildings and Organizations
    • First U.S. Cheese Market Exhibit
    • Frog Fountain
    • Herkimer County Bank
    • Little Falls African American History
    • Little Falls Diamonds Collection
    • Little Falls Music Exhibit
    • Little Falls Waterways
    • Little Falls and Women’s Suffrage
    • Making History Today
    • Making History Today Student Edition
    • Massacre at the Little Falls Grist Mill
    • Myjava, Slovakia, Sister City of Little Falls
    • Native American Exhibit
    • Prohibition Exhibit
    • Rockton Exhibit
    • Urban Renewal Exhibit
    • Vietnam War Exhibit
    • World War II and Korean Conflict Exhibit
    Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    About Little Falls Historical Society Museum

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    But we are proud to say that Little Falls Historical Society Museum contributed 233 entries already.

    Entries by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    The Lockout of the 20,000

    December 16, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    In 1886, 20,000 knitting mill employees were locked out of their jobs by 50 mill owners in New York’s Mohawk Valley. The lockout was mostly lost to history but recently came to light.

    Remembering the Old Manheim Neighborhood

    December 2, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    Much of today’s third ward of the City of Little Falls was once widely referred to as “the Manheim neighborhood.”

    57 Years Later, Reflections on the Tet Offensive

    August 18, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    On the night of January 30th 1968, the first day of the Vietnamese New Year (Tet), communist forces launched an enormous, concerted attack on American strongholds throughout South Vietnam.

    BURIAL GROUND SIGN PLACEMENT COMPLETES LONG PROJECT

    August 8, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    The combined efforts of the City of Little Falls and the Little Falls Historical Society over a ten-year period culminated in a Thursday August 7th well-attended sign dedication ceremony at the African American Burial Ground section of Church Street Cemetery.

    VICTOR ADAMS, A MAN OF PAPER, AND THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE NORTH WOODS

    August 5, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    In the years when Little Falls was renowned in the Mohawk Valley as the center of the knit-goods industry, Victor Adams’ Box Manufactory provided employment opportunities to many of its local citizens with the manufacturing of paper boxes.

    Little Falls Canal Days Celebration

    July 29, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    Off-site programs and activities for Canal Days of the Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    BRYNN SHEPARDSON ADDED TO MUSEUM NYS CHAMPIONSHIP ATHLETIC HONOR ROLL

    July 17, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    There is a multi-faceted history of Little Falls athletics exhibit at the Little Falls Historical Society’s Old Bank Building Museum. Part of this exhibit honors New York State high school champions from Little Falls.

    HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S OLD BANK BUILDING MUSEUM RECOGNIZED IN CEREMONY

    July 9, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    Saturday June 7th was a very special day at the Old Bank Building Museum. Preserve Our Past (POP) presented its annual historic presentation award to the Little Falls Historical Society in a noontime front portico well-attended ceremony.

    TWO EVENTS HIGHLIGHT DEDICATION OF LITTLE FALLS HISTORIC ENTRY

    July 2, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    The Little Falls Historic Entry has become a physical reality. Two recent events served to highlight this community milestone.

    Escape from Slavery and Life in Little Falls

    July 1, 2025/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    Addison and Lucinda Phillips, a Black family, lived most of their adult lives here beginning in mid-1863, raised their nine children here, and are buried locally.

    Page 3 of 24‹12345›»

    Explore our history

    • The Privy and the Pear Tree: Unearthing Little Falls History in Your Own BackyardJuly 15, 2026 - 2:42 pm
    • Francis Skinner Municipal PoolFrancis Skinner Municipal Pool
      More than 150 Donors Help Reopen Francis Skinner Municipal PoolJuly 1, 2026 - 5:00 pm
    • COMMITTEE OF FIVE PRESENTING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE TO CONGRESS IN 1776.
      THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 1776 – 2026June 26, 2026 - 8:01 am
    • Little Falls Historical Society Membership PicnicJune 5, 2026 - 1:51 pm
    • Charles P Colby
      A Capacity For AchievementMay 7, 2026 - 7:35 am
    • Fort Herkimer Church
      Patriots Day Event Saturday, May 16, at the Fort Herkimer ChurchMay 5, 2026 - 8:55 am

    Explore the history of the Mohawk Valley

    Visit MohawkValleyMuseums.us

    Museum Exhibits

    • Little Falls and Women's Suffrage
      Little Falls and Women’s Suffragein: Current Exhibits
    • Rockton Exhibit | Little Falls Historical Society | Little Falls, NY
      Rockton Exhibitin: Current Exhibits
    • Camp Jolly Little Falls Historical Society Museum
      Camp Jolly Exhibitin: Current Exhibits
    • Prohibition Exhibit | Little Falls Historical Society | Little Falls, NY
      Prohibition Exhibitin: Current Exhibits
    • Athletics Wing | Little Falls Historical Society | Little Falls, NY
      Athletics Wing Collectionin: Current Exhibits, Ongoing Exhibits
    • 1940 train wreck | Little Falls Historical Society Museum
      1940 Gulf Curve Train Wreckin: Ongoing Exhibits, Past Exhibits
    • Native American Exhibit | Little Falls Historical Society Museum | Little Falls NY
      Native American Exhibitin: Ongoing Exhibits
    • Little Falls Diamonds Exhibit | Little Falls Historical Society Museum | Little Falls NY
      Little Falls Diamonds Collectionin: Ongoing Exhibits
    • World War II Exhibit | Little Falls Historical Society Museum | Little Falls NY
      World War II and Korean Conflict Exhibitin: Past Exhibits
    • Little Falls Cheese Market | Little Falls Historical Society Museum | Little Falls NY
      First U.S. Cheese Market Exhibitin: Ongoing Exhibits
    • Myjava, Slovakia Exhibitin: Ongoing Exhibits
    • Little Falls Waterwaysin: Past Exhibits

    Explore events happening in the Mohawk Valley

    See what's happening on MohawkValley.Today

    OLD BANK BUILDING MUSEUM HOURS

    By appointment only after October 4, 2025 until May 2026.
    SPECIAL DATES:
    OPEN SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 9-2
    OPEN FOR CHRISTMAS IN LITTLE FALLS ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13TH

    Explore the history of the Mohawk Valley

    Visit MohawkValleyMuseums.us
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