Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events
This day in history: March 11
1930
The Victor Adams Hose Company, No. 1 of Little Falls was the Champion Drill Squad of New York State.
This day in history: March 12
1831
The Ellice Estate sold the lot at the southwest corner of Albany and Mary streets to the Baptist Association for a new church.
1878
A cattle yard has been established by the railroad company near the Fifth Street crossing for the accommodation of loading and unloading sheep, swine, cows, etc.
1886
The bell of St. Mary’s church was badly cracked by the recent frost, which will necessitate its being recast. In consequence the sexton rings it but a little.
1897
A new game called “basket ball” was played in the Little Falls gymnasium.
1920
The Little Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Little Falls Auto Club are going to try the experiment of an auto show. The event is attracting considerable interest, and all of the space at the Y.M.C.A. has been taken for the autos and accessories.
1922
The first Post Office truck, an army surplus G.M.C., arrived in Little Falls today. The truck had no starter so the driver would back up a hill, and use gravity to start the truck when next used. An alternative was to never turn the truck off during business hours.
1926
Razing of the old New York Central repair shop west of the Ann Street crossing brought to an end in what is believed to have been the oldest building in the city. The structure was built about 1792 as a terminal on the initial canal for the Western Inland Navigation Company.
This day in history: March 13
1885
P.W. Casler & Co. announced that their new sawmill, planning mill, and dry kilns on the south side of the river are in operation, and the company is prepared to furnish building material of all kinds promptly and at the lowest prices. Saw dust is also for sale.
1920
Thinking that her ten year-old daughter had been insulted and threatened, Mrs. Tony Lavista shot Carmelo Thamberro in the chest with a 38 caliber revolver. District Attorney Ward is busy trying to see if there is not something under the surface.
1936
A 1928 Essex sedan could be bought at the P.E. Whitcomb Ford dealership for $25. A 1930 Willys roadster was $50.
1972
A letter from the Chairman of the Little Falls Citizens’ Advisory Committee to Mayor Wind suggests that the city discontinue funding the Little Falls Public Library.
This day in history: March 14
1794
To attract skilled craftsmen to settle in Little Falls, it was determined that an improved road was needed. On this date, Porteous received a letter from Albany informing him that the Senate, led by Southern members, had defeated a bill for road work at the little falls. They claimed the treasury was too low for such projects.
1833
By an act of the New York State legislature, commissioners were appointed and the Herkimer County National Bank was organized and located in the village of Little Falls. Commissioners included Nathaniel Benton, Dudley Burwell, Arphaxed Loomis, and David Petrie. It was opened in the Beattie House at the corner of Main and William streets on August 24th , and moved in December to the new bank building.
1876
At Taylor’s Jewelry Store, Ladies’ gold watches are on sale at $30 to $50, and Gents’ gold watches from $50 to $100. Also offered are gold chains, necklaces, lockets, wedding rings, and diamond rings. The advertisement screams, “the fact is, tjmes are hard and money scarce” – “we offer our entire stock at a great reduction in price.”
1945
WW II Era – LIFE magazine has decided to make Little Falls the locale for a feature on “A Small City at War.” Former resident Ann Marcus (Dorothy Ann Goldstone) and famed photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt plan to devote several pages to photos and narrative from this city. (The war ended before the article could be published.)
1963
Another famous Little Falls landmark is soon to vanish from the Main Street scene. The venerable clock provided by the Herkimer County Trust Company on the corner of the Burrell Building is being taken down today. The old clock was erected in 1918.
From the Cooney Archives
“Bellcamp” The Magician by Ann E. Schuyler
/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.
My First and Last Train Rides by Ann Eysaman Schuyler
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumIn 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
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThe 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
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThe 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.
MEMORIAL SERVICE NOTICE FOR ARTHUR WITHINGTON
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThere will be a Memorial Service for former Little Falls native Annette (Eysaman) Withington’s husband, Arthur, on July 22, 2023, 11am, at the Cornerstone Plymouth Bethesda Church in Utica.
The Main Street in Little Falls, N.Y. , circa 1955 -1965
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumMy 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.
Patriots Day at Yellow Church Cemetery
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumOn Saturday May 20, the twelfth annual Patriots Day ceremony was held at historic Yellow Church Cemetery in Manheim. The well-attended event was co-sponsored by the Manheim Lutheran Church Association and the Little Falls Historical Society.