Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events

  • This day in history: July 26

    1848

    Village Trustees contracted with J. Clark Company of Cazenovia for a town clock for $250. It was to be placed in a church designated by the trustees. The clock was to run without winding for eight days, and strike loud enough to be heard two miles away.

    1895

    The Alumni Association of the Little Falls Academy raised money for the library. The subscription netted over $1,000 and the Regents Department added $500 for the fund.

  • This day in history: July 27

    1802

    From the diary of Rev. John Taylor of Deerfield Massachusetts: “… a small village, called Little Falls, by which the canals built in 1795 containing six locks pass. The village is built upon a ledge of rock and promises to be a place of business as to trade. They have a new and beautiful meeting-house, standing 40 rods back on the hill, built in the form of an octagon. The appearance of the falls is sublime.”

    1854

    Sanford’s Minstrels were at the Temperance Hall Admission 25 cents.

    1885

    Farmers who were selling their cheese on Albany Street were ordered off the street by Sheriff Abbott after a couple of residents claimed their teams were a nuisance. After the sellers threatened to go to Utica, better accommodations were found for them on Bridge Street.

    1998

    Six bicyclists making a 3,741, seven week trip across the country from San Francisco, Califiornia to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, stopped today in Little Falls – the 3,445 mile marker. The group is making the ride in support of Habitat for Humanity

  • This day in history: July 28

    1892

    A public spirited citizen, Mr. P. W. Casler, having watched hundreds of boys swimming in the river from the point of Hansen Island, has generously donated some bath houses to be located there. In the name of decency and cleanliness, a small fee might be charged for the use of bathing suits and towels.

    1895

    It is said that Little Falls has more pneumatic tired carriages than any other place of even double its size in this section of the state.

    1921

    A grateful community turned out at St. Mary’s church for the funeral of Deloir A. Marco, the first of its boys to make the supreme sacrifice on the battlefields of France, and the first whose body was brought home to its final resting place.

  • This day in history: July 29

    1913

    Stones, undoubtedly the walls of the 1796 Octagon Church, were unearthed by workmen employed on a drainage and heating system project for the Church Street School.

    1923

    The Italian Roman Catholics in Little Falls now have their own parish. The wood-framed church at the northeast corner of East John and South Mary streets was opened today under the leadership of Rev. Anthony Spina.

From the Cooney Archives

News and Updates

Springtime Greetings Historical Society Members

Spring’s arrival serves as a reminder for me that our directors and officers need to communicate a number of updates to our membership.

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.

The Great Bicycle Relay Race of 1892

THE GREAT BICYCLE RELAY RACE OF 1892

The Great Bicycle Relay Race was published in The Saturday Globe. This article has been adapted and added to by Ann Eysaman Schuyler.

2023 Annual Report

View the 2022 Little Falls Historical Society Annual report Including membership, sponsors, online activities, writing series, and more.

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

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.

The Bowie Knife

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.