TWO EVENTS HIGHLIGHT DEDICATION OF LITTLE FALLS HISTORIC ENTRY
With the recent placement of the Little Falls Library and the Richard Ray Ward House blue and yellow NYS historic markers, the Little Falls Historic Entry has become a physical reality. Two recent events served to highlight this community milestone.
The first event was a gathering of approximately thirty Little Falls residents, while the second event was enthusiastically attended by the entire fourth grade class of Benton Hall Academy, their teachers, Principal Joe Long and two members of the Little Falls Historical Society.
Key historic landmarks identified on the Historic Entry’s confirmation sign are Benton Hall Academy, St. Mary’s Church Complex, the Richard Ray Ward House, Little Falls Public Library, the Loomis Burell Home, Little Falls City Hall, the Historical Society’s Old Bank Building Museum, and the African American Burial Ground section of Church Street Cemetery.
Little Falls Historic Entry Official Dedication Ceremony
On Thursday June 19, Juneteenth, community residents, Little Falls Historical Society members and City officials were on hand as Mayor Deborah Kauffman welcomed everyone and officially acknowledged the completion of the Historic Entry. Kauffman added that this new Historic Entry serves as the gateway to the many historic treasures that define Little Falls, while also adding that additional incoming traffic will also pass through the City’s commercial district.
Historical Society President Jeffrey Gressler next spoke by noting that the combined efforts of community individuals and organizations in the creation of the Historic Entry “exemplifies Little Falls at its finest.” Gressler also credited the vision of community resident Gary Gregorka for conceptualizing the entire Historic Entry project.
Holy Family Parish, Little Falls Public Library, and Jim and Sandy Hine, present owners of the Richard Ray Ward House, all recently purchased and placed Historic Entry NYS markers on their properties. Benton Hall Academy custodian Mark Pugilese restored the faded Benton Hall Academy marker to match the beauty of the new markers. Various Little Falls DPW workers provided key assistance with the placement of signs. Dr. Erik Stengler and his SUNY Oneonta Cooperstown Museum Students graduate program students also provided key assistance for this project.
The Little Falls Historical Society oversaw the entire project over a five-year period and financed both the Route 5 Historic Entry sign and the confirmation sign at the bottom of Ward Square. The Kasner Foundation financed the NYS historic marker outside the Old Bank Building Museum.
Fourth Grade Class Walks Historic Route Along Ward Square
On Friday June 20, the entire fourth grade class began at the Benton Hall Academy marker and then walked from marker to marker along the bottom of Ward Square. At each stop, the entire group of students enthusiastically read the wording on each marker in unison. Exposing young students to local history was the goal of this activity. Fourth grade teachers, Long and Historical Society members safely guided this mass movement of students from site to site.
The Confirmation Sign also features a QR code that opens a digital guide to each of the Historic Entry sites as well as other Little Falls historic treasures.
The completion of the Little Falls Historic Entry will hopefully draw more visitors onto East Main Street where many of the City’s finest historic treasures are located while also routing more traffic through the city’s commercial district.
