Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events
This day in history: August 19
1953
Chr. Hansen’s Laboratory celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding at a banquet at the Mohawk Valley Country Club attended by 190 persons. Company chairman Johannes Hansen, accompanied by his wife, came over from Copenhagen, Denmark to deliver the principal address at the affair.
This day in history: August 20
1835
Colonel McKenster sold his hotel to Ezra C. Southworth and it will be called the Little Falls Hotel.
1867
The Rocktons and the Valley Club of Canajoharie played a very pleasant game of baseball on the Eastern Square in which our boys came off second best, the score standing 66 to 45.
1885
It was a red-letter day as the citizens of Little Falls gave a rousing, solid majority in favor of a water works to ensure a clean and healthy supply of clean water for the village. A pleasing feature of the election was the voting of the ladies who almost invariably voted on the right side for water. 864 electors voted for and 141 against the proposal.
1903
The multi-day “Grand Street Carnival” and “Old Home Week” celebration began today with a huge parade that drew unprecedented crowds to the city. Festivities included a carnival, band concerts featuring local and area bands, and special free exhibitions along city streets.
This day in history: August 21
1888
The Irish societies had their union field-day and outing at Burwell’s Grove with estimates of 2,500 to 3,000 attending. The quantities of food and refreshments required was tremendous, and were consumed in proportionate quantities. Athletic sports and exhibitions of strength, throwing of weights, jumping, baseball, foot races, and hurling were held throughout the day.
The Adam Forepaugh Wild West Combination show arrives in Little Falls, and will feature a wondrous sensational production of “Custer’s Last Stand or Battle of the Little Big Horn.” 200 mounted combatants, genuine savages, scouts, and soldiers including Sergeant Wagner, attack survivor, will be seen.
1916
A locally produced movie, “Man Haters,” was shown at Linton’s Hippodrome Theatre. Made in August 1915 the film featured locals Pauline Killmeier, Mrs. Ella Flood, Mel Nichols, Otto Wagner, and Chief James “Dusty” Long.
1931
The canal and river banks were lined with people, and the nearby streets were jammed with automobiles when Henry Ford’s big boat “Edgewater” came through Little Falls today. The modern steel vessel, 301 feet long and 40 feet wide, presented an imposing sight as it passed by Hansen’s Island
This day in history: August 22
1882
Barnum & London Shows rolled into Little Falls featuring “Jumbo” the massive elephant, 3 circuses in 3 rings, 2 enormous menageries, and the 7 largest shows on Earth. The shows were viewed in two huge tents.
1893
The steam launch, formerly called “Victor Adams,” was set afloat on the river off Moss Island under the new name of “The Hadley Jones.” The boat will seat twelve persons and will run between Moss Island and Five Mile dam, for pleasure parties.
1896
Local liquor dealers had one of the most jolly outings, enjoying a day of royal sport at their clambake at Camp Jolly. On a day of perfect weather, everyone sang, drank, danced, drank, ate, drank and entered heartily into the sports.
1911
Harry Atwood flew the first airplane, a Wright Biplane, over the Mohawk Valley, passing a little to the south of Little Falls, on his famous flight from St. Louis to New York City. The distance of 1265 miles was covered in 28 hours and 31 minutes.
From the Cooney Archives
The Little Falls Historical Society Honors our Nation’s Veterans
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThe Little Falls Historical Museum would like to honor all US Military Veterans for Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2022.
1882: The Year of Pestilence, Death and Solutions in Little Falls by David Krutz
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThe summer of 1882 was a bad time to be an inhabitant of Little Falls as sickness and death raged throughout the village. In those few months, an estimated sixty people died, with hundreds more sickened – over half of the deaths were of infants and adolescents. Cholera, typhoid fever and “brain congestion”, at the time often lumped together as “malarial disease”, were the culprits. Victims of cholera suffered severe cases of diarrhea and subsequent dehydration, with death sometimes occurring within hours or a few days from the onset of symptoms.
Those Were The Days by John Frazier
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumSt. Mary’s Parish (now Holy Family Parish) had a new priest, and this was his first assignment out of the seminary. He was young, he was friendly, he had an easy smile, most of the girls liked him because he was good looking, and the boys liked him because if there was a basketball game going on, he liked to take off his collar and join the game.
Broomsticks and Ballots by Ray Lenarcic
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumI love Halloween. Always have. My earliest remembrance is dressing up in a cowboy outfit complete with flannel shirt, neckerchief, vest, chaps and the piece de resistance, a pearl-handled, silver Lone Ranger cap pistol.
Morgan’s Dairy by Bart Carrig
/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum“Around the back and up the stairs…” That’s how our mornings began.
The first time I heard that instruction, from my Uncle Morgan Carrig, it was about 5:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, circa mid-June 1964. My older brother Kevin, who had previously enjoyed all the benefits and privileges of employment as a milk delivery boy for Morgan’s Dairy, was “unavailable” – no doubt due to a Friday night dance at Filipski’s bowling alley on the South Side.
Upon Turning 80 by Ray Lenarcic
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumI never thought about turning 80. Because I hadn’t. But now that I’m about to, I was asked by a friend if there was one word that could describe how I felt about becoming an octogenarian.
Little Falls: Cheese Capital of the World by Diane Ptak
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumSheltered in a deep curved gorge along the main transportation route across New York, Little Falls became a manufacturing leader in the latter half of the 19th century.