Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events

  • This day in history: April 4

    1793

    Before the Octagon Church was built, an agreement was drawn up stating that preaching was to be in German and English on alternating Sundays, and pews were to be sold to the highest bidders.

    1833

    Lawyer Arphaxed Loomis advertised water rights for sale.  About this time the Mill Street raceway was built that supplied power to many industries along the river.

    1904

    Titus Sheard, an industrial leader in Little Falls during the Gay Nineties, passed away today.

From the Cooney Archives

News and Updates

MAY 14 PATRIOTS DAY PROGRAM AT NORWAY RURAL CEMETERY

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The Little Falls Historical Society and the Norway Historical Society will hold a partnered Patriots Day observance program beginning at 11:00 AM on Saturday May 14 in Norway Rural Cemetery, also known as Four Wars Cemetery. 

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Old postcard image of Sheard Park looking north to south with an unpaved Furnace Street on the right.

SPORTS CITY U.S.A. – LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. by Ray Lenarcic

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As I get on in years, I’m often asked what factors accounted for my becoming the person I am. And surprisingly, given my legendary longwinded nature, the answer is five words. Music. Sports. Church. Little Falls.

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Helen Dunteman

LITTLE FALLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNOUNCES 2022 WRITING SERIES

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The officers and directors of the Little Falls Historical Society are proud to announce that their 2022 writing series will be dedicated to former Little Falls social studies teacher Helen Dunteman.

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A view of the building as it appeared prior to scheduled demolition.

The Old Bank Building Survives and Thrives by Pat Frezza-Gressler

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The wisdom of historic preservation has not always been a given. The desire by some to preserve old buildings and places is at times pitted against those who would rather “start over” with new construction.

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View of the Mohawk Valley looking south towards Little Falls, NY.

Palatine Germans in Search of a Land to Call Home by Ginny Rogers

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January 17, 2022 marks the 300th anniversary of the Burnetsfield Patent. 

The earliest European settlers in the Mohawk Valley came from what is now southwest Germany. Under near constant threat of destruction, whether from multiple wars, invasions, or the plague, in the near hundred years leading up to the 18th century, the southwest German population experienced extreme hardship.

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Helen Dunteman

MISS HELEN DUNTEMAN

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Helen Dunteman was a highly respected social studies teacher in the Little Falls school district for many years, retiring in 1962. Helen was both a lifelong Little Falls resident and a graduate of Oneonta State Normal School. She passed away in 1984.

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Growing up on the South Side from the early 1950’s through the late 1960’s By Donald F. Staffo

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In the 1950s and 1960s, Little Falls was a bustling blue-collar mill town of about 9,000 people with many hard-working citizens employed in its numerous factories. Most of the factories were on Mill Street which ran parallel to the railroad tracks on the southern side with a few factories on the other side of the tracks. My parents, and most of the parents of my friends, worked in the mills. None wore a tie to work.

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