
It was decided at our January 8th board of directors meeting to dedicate the 2025 Little Falls Historical Society writing series to our organization’s founding members. We owe so much to these forward-looking historical preservationists who saved the 1833 Old Bank Building from the urban renewal wrecking ball in the late-1960s and early-1970s. Also, 2025 is the 60th anniversary of the 1965 election of Dr. Fred Sabin as the first Little Falls Historical Society president.
The foundation members identified on the Historical Society’s NYS charter document are:
Edward and Mary Louise Cooney
Lydia Loucks
Natalie Derby
Robert McEvoy
John Gallagher
Dr. Fred Sabin
John George
Harold Sperbeck
Mary Grace
Ralph Van Horn

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, LITTLE FALLS AND BEYOND
2025 marks both the 165th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 election to the presidency and the 160th anniversary of his April 15th, 1865 assassination.

Dwight James Baum: The World’s Most Famous Architect from Little Falls
My grandfather, Dwight James Baum, is undoubtedly Little Falls’ most-famous architect ever and one of its most-famous sons.

Little Falls’ South Side in the 1930s – 1940s: A Remembrance of Time and Place
As long as I can remember my father, Joe Vespasiano, loved to share his stories, and he had a lot of material.


Nostalgia
Nostalgia becomes a personal emotional experience. In times of stress, nostalgia can provide a retreat, a respite, a way to feel less alone.

Charlie Young: From Undefeated Football Team to Wrestler Revolt–And Beyond
Known as "Chub" by his family and close friends, Charlie taught and coached at LFHS for over two decades, and left an indelible mark.

The Pride of Little Falls
Every high school class has its outstanding students – the class valedictorian, the star athlete, the naturally-born leader, the most likely to succeed…

The Railway Express Agency and Pigeon Releasing
Sometimes all it takes is a picture or a story to generate a Historical Society writing series piece. Such is the case with this article.

A SAILOR AT HEART | THE LIFE STORY OF CHARLES P. BYRON
The prelude to the life story of Charles P. Byron begins as one walks through the entrance of the Old St. Mary’s Cemetery.

LUNDSTROM BOOKCASE’S LONG JOURNEY HOME
Lundstrom sectional barrister bookcases are often found in local law offices and private homes,holding sets of law books and personal libraries.

2024 HISTORICAL SOCIETY WRITING SERIES DEDICATED TO EDWIN VOGT
In recent years, the Historical Society has dedicated its annual writing series to three teachers, Harold Templeman, Hector Allen, and Helen Dunteman, and to former city historian, and one of the Historical Society’s founding members, Edward Cooney. The Society’s 2024 writing series is being dedicated to Edwin Vogt.


Mysteries of the Bowie Knife by Ann Schuyler
I sat by the window on the night of September 29th watching the last of four Super Full Moons when random memories ran through my mind.

AN ELEPHANT NAMED BIMBO AND A FUNERAL by Darlene Smith
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.

“Bellcamp” The Magician by Ann E. Schuyler
“Uncle Archie, can you make me disappear?” I asked. “Yes,” he said, “Go in the other room.” I was expecting something like levitation.

My First and Last Train Rides by Ann Eysaman Schuyler
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.

LOCAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY REFLECTED STATE AND NATIONAL EVENTS
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.”

The Underground Railroad In And Around Little Falls
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.

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

Little Falls Patriots Day Past and Present
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.

2023 Writing Series Dedicated to Edward Cooney By Michael Cooney
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.

Eagle Down by John Frazier
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.

Little Falls Philanthropy by Louis W. Baum
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.




















Growing up on the South Side from the early 1950’s through the late 1960’s By Donald F. Staffo
A Pizza Story by James Papaleo
South Side Cigar Stores by Gary Staffo
Every Legend Has a Beginning The Hubie Brown Story by David Dinneen
Dairy Farming In Herkimer County: The More Things Change… by De Wayne W. Perry
The Magnificent Mile at Little Falls by Louis W. Baum, Jr.
Burwell Street Namesake and Moreland Park Visionary
by Jeffrey Gressler
by Jeffrey Gressler
He Still Sustains: Pitt the Painter’s Studio Loft
by Laura Laubenthal
by Laura Laubenthal
“Surviving Childhood in Little Falls” by Cynthia Holick Foley
Long Ago From a Far Away Land by Jessie Snyder Thompson Huberty
John Frazier – Prisoner of War, Hero by John Frazier, Jr.
The Little Falls Lock 17 Dedication Celebration of 1916 by Angela Harris
Mayor Hadley Jones – A Saint or a Sinner (Part 2) by Louis Baum
Mayor Hadley Jones – A Saint or a Sinner (Part 1) by Louis Baum
A Sun Shower Without End by Ray Lenarcic
Patriots Day Honors Those Who Were Not Sunshine Patriots by Jeffrey Gressler
Sometimes Distributing Vaccines Easier Said Than Done by Schuyler Van Horn
Hector Allen by David Krutz