The Little Falls Historical Society Museum Exhibits
An educational, eye-opening experience, suitable for all ages.
An educational, eye-opening experience, suitable for all ages.
View the Church Street Cemetery Tour Exhibit with interactive timeline and downloadable brochure.
Little Falls received its NYS charter of incorporation in 1811 and Nathaniel Benton became our first village president. We remained a village until 1895; we then became, and remain today, the only city in Herkimer County.
In almost every corner of Herkimer County one can easily find reminders of the great impact that the Civil War had on the people of our area.
Base ball, in one form or another, has long been a part of the fabric of Little Falls. As early as 1827, the village Board of Trustees enacted an ordinance that no person shall “play Ball” on any village street or on the towing path of the Erie Canal.
Take a look at early 1800s buildings and organizations including The Octagon Church and more.
The Frog Fountain, which was cast in the local Reddy Foundry, was donated by Gertrude Sabin whose husband, Dr. Fred Sabin, was the first president of the Little Falls Historical Society.
The Bank of Herkimer County began operation in 1833, the first bank in Herkimer County. The building was placed on the National Registry in 1970 and is today a museum maintained by the Little Falls Historical Society.
The Little Falls Historical Society has developed a special virtual exhibit on our website to serve as a repository for written work, artwork, photographs and other materials related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
View stories and art submitted by students from the Little Falls School District. Each story and piece of art work are expressions of how students and their families have been dealing with disruptions in their daily routines due to COVID-19.
Read the Little Falls Historical Society Museum Writing Series published in the Times Telegram as well as here on our website.
Between 1930 and 2019, Little Falls athletes and teams captured five New York state championships, the last one in 2001. Eighty-nine years, five championships.
Most people have never heard of Camp Jolly and those few that have aren’t sure what it was, where it was located or even if it truly existed.
Yet, to the folks living in this area in the mid-1890s, Camp Jolly was widely known and thousands flocked to it as the summer place to be.
This exhibit addresses national and local events prior to the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment granting women’s suffrage.
Like the rest of the nation, Little Falls residents woke up to a new reality on Jan. 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment was official and for the next 13 years the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating beverages was illegal. Bootleggers, flappers, speakeasies and illegal stills would soon follow and neither the nation nor Little Falls would ever be quite the same.
How is it that Little Falls residents, when asked from where we hail, answer Little Falls and not Rockton? And how did our forefathers use their First Amendment rights to make that happen? Not sure? Read on.
Urban Renewal Exhibit includes documentation of Little Falls before and after major urban renewal, with a Then and Now map of Main Street.
Vietnam War Exhibit features memorabilia and collections to remember the 130 Little Falls service members who fought in the Vietnam War.
Little Falls Diamonds Collection
The Little Falls Diamonds Collection features many elaborate collections of Little Falls Diamonds found right in Little Falls.
Native Americans Exhibit includes artifacts and writing series including the Iroquois Confederacy, our Colonial Era, and the Revolutionary War.
Battle of West Canada Creek and Massacre at the Little Falls grist mill
Not too far from the Shell blockhouse, Lt. Solomon Woodworth and his scouting party were ambushed by Indians. Woodworth and 21 other brave patriots were killed in a matter of minutes. A year later, a band of nearly 300 Royalists and Iroquois Indians, attacked and destroyed the Petrie grist mill at Little Falls.
Octagon Church, early buildings and organizations
A meeting was held and eighty- eight subscribers agreed to furnish funds to build an eight sided union church to be known as the Octagon Church. John Porteus donated the land and burial ground for the church as well as twenty pounds.
The 4,752 foot long Western Inland Lock Navigation Company (WILNC) canal, containing five lifting locks and a guard lock, was “rendered passable” around the little falls and opened for business. 2,550 feet was through solid rock.
Early Base Ball in Little Falls
As early as 1827, the village Board of Trustees enacted an ordinance that no person shall “play Ball” on any village street or on the towing path of the Erie Canal.
The first bank in Herkimer County, modelled after the U.S. Bank in Philadelphia, was built at the corner of Ann and Albany streets on a lot purchased from Dudley Burwell.
Richard Ray Ward gave the property for the Church Street Cemetery to the village.
A petition to change the village’s name from Little Falls to Rockton, and signed by 500 plus signatures was submitted to the state Legislature.
In almost every corner of Herkimer County one can easily find reminders of the great impact that the Civil War had on the people of our area.
First U.S. Cheese Market Exhibit
The local press stated “Notwithstanding the hard times, failures and war rumors, our dairymen are hurrying forward their produce.” The streets of Little Falls were crowded with wagons as farmers shipped 1087 boxes of cheese weighing 70,503 pounds at the depot. Farmers and buyers made their bargains along South Ann Street by the bank building.
The Frog Fountain, which was cast in the local Reddy Foundry, was donated by Gertrude Sabin whose husband, Dr. Fred Sabin, was the first president of the Little Falls Historical Society. There were several of these which were located throughout the city and served to provide water to horses, cats, dogs, and people. People in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s took Sunday strolls and would meet at the “Frog.”
Camp Jolly was the dream of Daniel J. Tittle, Jr. In 1893, he moved from Rensselaer to Little Falls to take the position of master mechanic — chief engineer in today’s parlance — at Eagle Mills.
Little Falls and Women’s Suffrage
In 1894, a debate on women’s suffrage was held at the Methodist Episcopal Church on Albany Street and Susan B. Anthony was in Little Falls from September 11-13, 1894.
It all started with a mistake. One of the first to leave Myjava, a small village of 10,000 people, was young Anna Mocko, who left for America in 1892 and settled on a farm near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Three years later, she decided to visit friends in Little Falls, New Jersey. The railroad agent in Minnesota mistook the “J” for a “Y” on her handwritten ticket, and sent Anna on her way to Little Falls, New York. It seems the “J” and “Y” is used interchangeably in Slovak.
1912 Little Falls Textile Strike
The 1912 Little Falls Textile Strike began on October 9, 1912 and was not settled until January 3, 1913. During the eighty-seven day strike two national labor unions, the International Workers of the World (IWW) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL), competed to represent the interests of the striking workers.
Little Falls received its NYS charter of incorporation in 1811 and Nathaniel Benton became our first village president. We remained a village until 1895; we then became, and remain today, the only city in Herkimer County.
Like the rest of the nation, Little Falls residents woke up to a new reality on Jan. 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment was official and for the next 13 years the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating beverages was illegal.
Between 1930 and 2019, Little Falls athletes and teams captured five New York state championships, the last one in 2001. Eighty-nine years, five championships.
April 19 Less than a quarter of a mile down the street from the school was the Gulf Curve, which was the sharpest curve in the New York Central Railroad System.
World War II and Korean Conflict Exhibit
Looking back 75 years to 1941 when America entered World War II, it is difficult to grasp the sense of peril that gripped the nation and our allies as totalitarian dictatorships ruled much of the world. Freedom and democracy were threatened. Later on June 25, 1950, the Soviet Union-supplied North Korean army invaded South Korea. American forces were soon fighting in Korea. A three-year seesaw conflict ended with a 1953 ceasefire.
The Urban Renewal Exhibit chronicles the changes from the 1950s and 1960s throughout Little Falls, including Main Street, spurred by the community’s urban renewal initiatives.
The 1950s-60s brought America rock and roll, West Coast surfer music, Motown, the British invasion and later, anti-war protest and psychedelic music; local rock and roll bands provided us with an exciting “in person” ride on the same soundtrack. We owe much to these early local rockers and this is an attempt to tell their stories and ours.
The Vietnam War Exhibit features a selection of memorabilia and collections to remember the 130 Little Falls service members who fought in the Vietnam War.
Both the Making History Today and Making History Today Student Edition were developed by the Little Falls Historical Society Museum and Little Falls School District to serve as a repository for residents and students to submit written work, artwork, photographs and other materials related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many elaborate collections of Little Falls Diamonds found right in Little Falls.
Native American weapons, pottery, and jewelry dating back hundreds of years.
Art and information about Slovakian culture as well as Myjava, the Sister City of Little Falls.
Memorabilia from the First Cheese Market in the United States produced right in Little Falls well into the late 1800’s.
The 1912 Little Falls Textile Strike began on October 9, 1912 and was not settled until January 3, 1913.
Over the past two centuries the waterways of Little Falls have undergone major alterations.
Memorabilia, collections, and Honor Certificates to remember the service members who fought during World War II and the Korean Conflict.
Trophies, photos, and memorabilia from Little Falls Athletics teams.
Memorabilia and collections reflecting Little Falls musicians and the music of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
Little Falls Historical Society Museum
319 South Ann Street
Little Falls, NY (Get directions)
Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Alternate Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to Noon
(Beginning Saturday, May 25, 2024)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE AND VISITS DURING THE 2024 SEASON.
OUR ALL-VOLUNTEER STAFFED MUSEUM WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE SEASON AS OF SATURDAY OCTOBER 19. THE MUSEUM WILL THEN BE OPEN BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.
For appointments, please call
Louie Baum at 315-867-3527
Mary Ann Terzi at 315-823-1502
Jeff Gressler at 315-823-2799
PLEASE CONTINUE TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOR UPDATES ON OUTDOOR EVENTS, VIRTUAL TOURS & NEWS.
319 South Ann Street, Little Falls, NY, 13365