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Little Falls, NY

  • This day in history: September 6

    1842

    Father John Shanahan began recording information on baptisms, marriages, and deaths at St. Mary’s parish. He covered an area extending from Tribes Hill to Deerfield and the valley towns to Newport most likely by horseback or horse and buggy.

    1866

    The presidential party, on its tour to Chicago, stopped in Little Falls. President Johnson appeared briefly and gave a short address from the rear platform of the train. General U.S. Grant, Admiral Farragut, William Seward and other notables were in the party.

    1889

    The steam “merry-go-round” is still in operation at the corner of Burrell and Alexander streets and is apparently doing a good business.

    1892

    As of this date, there were twenty-three lawyers in Little Falls.

    1893

    The canal boat “Gilbert Green”, bound to New York from Syracuse, sprang a leak and sank near the Taylor Driving Park with 230 tons of salt on board. The loss of salt is a total one.

    1918

    A military funeral was held at St. Mary’s church for Sergeant Dennis J. Ryan, the first local soldier to die in the service of his country. His body was laid in state at the K. of C. home. The Home Defense fired a last salute over the grave. He died at Fort Lee of a heart condition due to heat exhaustion.

     

  • 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
    1974 Milo holding his carved “Smith Bros Circus Red Caboose” alongside Marie, his favorite elephant on the side lawn at the Smith Brothers Farm

    AN ELEPHANT NAMED BIMBO AND A FUNERAL by Darlene Smith

    October 18, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    Most people usually don’t have an elephant attend a family member’s funeral, but then most other families didn’t have a grandfather who loved the circus the way Milo Smith did.

    Read more
    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Circus-20.jpg 500 591 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-10-18 10:13:222023-10-23 10:35:17AN ELEPHANT NAMED BIMBO AND A FUNERAL by Darlene Smith
    Promotional postcard of Bellcamp the Magician

    “Bellcamp” The Magician by Ann E. Schuyler

    September 13, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    “Uncle Archie, can you make me disappear?” I asked. “Yes,” he said, “Go in the other room.” I was expecting something like levitation.

    Read more
    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Promotional-postcard-of-Bellcamp-the-Magician.jpeg 1600 1200 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-09-13 08:18:002023-09-12 15:25:43“Bellcamp” The Magician by Ann E. Schuyler

    My First and Last Train Rides by Ann Eysaman Schuyler

    August 21, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    In 1944 I took my first train ride – all the way to Utica, NY. Having lived in Little Falls all my life, some of it on West Main Street at the foot of Glen Avenue, I knew about the railroad.

    Read more
    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Little-Falls-Baggage-Carts-1.jpg 899 1350 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-08-21 08:10:002023-08-18 10:32:17My First and Last Train Rides by Ann Eysaman Schuyler
    Civil War Burial Section of Fairview Cemetery outside Little Falls

    LOCAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY REFLECTED STATE AND NATIONAL EVENTS

    July 19, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    The primary purpose of this piece of writing is to chronicle a history of African American presence in Little Falls from the time of slavery up to the 2015 dedication of a monument in Little Falls Church Street Cemetery recognizing what was once known as the “Colored Burial Ground.”

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    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Civil-War-Burial-Section-of-Fairview-Cemetery-outside-Little-Falls-1.jpg 1601 1200 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-07-19 12:08:232023-08-05 06:29:28LOCAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY REFLECTED STATE AND NATIONAL EVENTS

    The Underground Railroad In And Around Little Falls

    July 13, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    The Underground Railroad (URR) was a loosely organized network of people, (men and women, African American and white,) dedicated to helping people escape from bondage in the slave-holding states of the South to freedom in the antislavery states of the North and ultimately to Canada in the period before the Civil War.

    Read more
    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_1937.jpeg 1169 1556 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-07-13 07:00:002023-08-05 05:44:27The Underground Railroad In And Around Little Falls

    The Main Street in Little Falls, N.Y. , circa 1955 -1965

    June 30, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    My father told the story, many times, of how when he was a little boy, his mother had to hold his hand tightly when they made their way downtown to do their shopping on Main Street in Little Falls.

    Read more
    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/My-dad-a-Little-Falls-businessman.jpg 1094 1280 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-06-30 14:01:032023-07-06 07:56:10The Main Street in Little Falls, N.Y. , circa 1955 -1965
    New York State historic marker nearby Yellow Church Cemetery.

    Little Falls Patriots Day Past and Present

    April 13, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    The Little Falls Historical Society will partner with the Yellow Church Cemetery Association to host a Patriots Day observance at their historic site beginning at 11:00 AM on Saturday May 20. The rain date is Sunday May 21 at the same time. The event is free and open to the public.

    Read more
    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Patriots-Day-Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.jpg 900 1200 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-04-13 12:04:582023-05-09 09:58:45Little Falls Patriots Day Past and Present

    2023 Writing Series Dedicated to Edward Cooney By Michael Cooney

    March 10, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    Edward Cooney was City Historian for over forty years, president of the Herkimer County Historical Society, and one of the founding members of the Little Falls Historical Society.

    Read more
    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/FC21B6F0-D728-424D-8977-B30ED811C037.jpeg 671 466 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-03-10 09:53:082023-03-10 09:53:112023 Writing Series Dedicated to Edward Cooney By Michael Cooney

    Eagle Down by John Frazier

    January 19, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    Donnie Coffin was somewhat of an enigma. Those who remember him recall him as an easygoing guy, but not many people have vivid memories of him.

    Read more
    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/A-proud-mother-and-her-son-Thanksgiving-1967.jpg 796 900 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-01-19 07:09:002023-01-19 10:04:44Eagle Down by John Frazier
    Moreland Park

    Little Falls Philanthropy by Louis W. Baum

    January 2, 2023/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum

    What did wealthy people do with their money? Some spent lavishly on themselves and their families caring little for their fellow man; others were philanthropic. Over the years, the citizens of Little Falls have greatly benefited in many different ways from the philanthropy of several of its leading residents who lived here in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

    Read more
    https://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Moreland-Park.jpeg 900 1200 Little Falls Historical Society Museum http://littlefallshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Little-Falls-Historical-Society-Museum.png Little Falls Historical Society Museum2023-01-02 10:58:112023-01-06 11:25:59Little Falls Philanthropy by Louis W. Baum
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    Explore our history

    • “Auld Lang Syne”, a short story with the main character being Dudley Burwell, who was known to the villagers of Little Falls as ”The Hermit of Burwell Hill,” was written in 1903 by Frances Ledyard Haun,, twenty-five years after the death of Burwell
      THE HERMIT OF BURWELL HILL POSTHUMOUSAugust 26, 2026 - 8:16 am
    • Little Falls Historical Society Mohawk Valley GivesLittle Falls Historical Society Mohawk Valley Gives
      MOHAWK VALLEY GIVES HAS ANNOUNCED SEPTEMBER 18TH AS COMMUNITY-WIDE GIVING DAYAugust 19, 2026 - 9:02 am
    • 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

    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

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