Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events
This day in history: May 5
1882
The Herkimer Telephone Company is fitting up an office in the Petrie Block, at the northeast corner of Main and Second Streets. Connections will be had with Utica and there are 25 subscribers. Rates are $40 a year for business places, and $36 for residences.
1896
By a law lately enacted it is made a misdemeanor to throw tacks or broken glass in the way of bicycles. The offense has been committed in Little Falls, and if repeated it will not be well for the person who may be found guilty.
This day in history: May 6
1849
On this day, John Splan was born in Little Falls, and by the age of seven “had a fair notion of a horse.” He hung around local stables and race tracks and ran away from home at a young age. Splan became a very early pioneer in the sport of trotters and became famous throughout the country in racing circles. Many of the training techniques he developed are still in use today.
1916
Men who were engaged in work on the new Grace block on William Street came upon 500 pennies which had been stowed away in the ancient structure for many long years. Some of the pennies dated back as far as 1811 and were of the large sized variety.
This day in history: May 7
1832
An ordinance was passed to change the name Telegraph Street to Mohawk Street and President Street to Jefferson Street.
1900
Mr. and Mrs. George Sanborn, of Utica, visited Little Falls today in the locomobile, a very neat horseless carriage, of the gasoline variety. Its adaptability for climbing our steep streets was shown by a run up Church and Prospect streets.
1918
Pickpockets, operating at the Hippodrome, Gem Theatre, and other public gathering places, have met with much success in the city. Wallets, purses, and watches all have been lifted.
1971
The Little Falls Citizens’ Advisory Committee proposes that the mayor appoint the library trustees.
This day in history: May 8
1796
Mr. Bethune Dodd was appointed by the Presbytery to preach at the Octagon Church. The previous evening, he stayed at the home of John Porteous.
1895
The cannon boomed and the headlines declared “LITTLE FALLS IS A CITY AT LAST” as the New York state legislature approved the charter for the village to become a city. Objections had been made for decades by the three towns from which the city was carved, Manheim, Danube, and Little Falls, because of the loss of tax revenue.
1936
The newly formed Birgir Inc. on West Mill planned to manufacture high-grade caskets and sectional bookcases. Birgir Lundstrom heads the company.
1942
WW II Era – 9,825 sugar ration books were issued, on 10,298 applications, at the four registration centers in the elementary schools of the city.
2004
Because of declining membership, Masonic Lodge No. 181 F&AM of Little Falls will meet no more. It has merged with Lodge No. 796 of Dolgeville. At one time the local lodge had over 350 members and another 173 ladies who belonged to the Order of the Eastern Star. In existence in Little Falls for over 150 years, its last meeting was in December 2003.
Tour Guide, Organizer and Historical Society Member, Gary Staffo, has requested that the Little Falls Historical Society share the Southside Walking Tour VIII – 1st FALL Tour!
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumGrowing Up on the Southside 1957 – 1970 (By popular demand SATURDAY November 06, 2021 for the 1st FALL TOUR!) WHEN: Saturday November 06, 2021 Sign In begins at 8AM (Registration, Questions, Safety Briefing), and the Tour STARTS at 9AM. Allow 2 to 3 hours, but participants can leave at any time (Please inform Tour Guide when […]
Dairy Farming In Herkimer County: The More Things Change… by De Wayne W. Perry
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumDairy farming has been integral to life in Herkimer County since the first European settlers—the Palatine Germans—arrived in the Mohawk Valley in the early-1700s, and some of their descendants still operate dairies around Little Falls and elsewhere throughout the county.
The Magnificent Mile at Little Falls by Louis W. Baum, Jr.
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumWhen it comes right down to it, Little Falls is all about water. The earliest explorers in America found it easiest to move along the waterways and rivers as did the Native Americans living here. In the 1600s and 1700s the British colonies extended inward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Appalachian Mountains.
Burwell Street Namesake and Moreland Park Visionary
/by Little Falls Historical Society Museumby Jeffrey Gressler
Since 1911, Moreland Park has played an important role in community life for generations of Little Falls residents. Family picnics, group outings, community events and celebrations, wedding receptions, birthday and graduation parties, family and class reunions, and kids squealing with delight on the playground equipment are all common occurrences on the park’s bucolic grounds. We all have our own Moreland Park memories.
by Jeffrey Gressler
He Still Sustains: Pitt the Painter’s Studio Loft
/by Little Falls Historical Society Museumby Laura Laubenthal
From 2011 to 2013, I wrote my master’s degree thesis for the Cooperstown Graduate Program about “Pitt the Painter” and his role in showcasing the identity of Little Falls by means of his artwork. The project was largely based on oral histories told by those in town who remembered him since his death on September 4, 2007. While I spoke with several people, there were so many more I did not reach, as Pitt’s sphere of influence seemed immeasurable. The project went on, and it was apparent that these stories meshed together as modern-day folklore about talent, humor, addiction, and belonging.
by Laura Laubenthal
A FAN’S NOTES ON THE RETURN OF VINTAGE BASE BALL TO LITTLE FALLS
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThis author admits upfront that he is both a local history nut and a diehard New York Yankees fan. The intertwined paths of baseball and American history resonate with me. Older readers of this piece will likely recall watching Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and the transformational impact of Jackie Robinson. This author’s baseball roots trace […]
“Surviving Childhood in Little Falls” by Cynthia Holick Foley
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumWhen asked if I had any siblings, I often quipped, “My brother and I were only children.” While my first decade was spent in the peaceful and prosperous 1950s, his was spent just prior and during World War II. Recently my big brother, Jan Holick Sr., (born 1935, and graduated from Little Falls High School 1953,) sat down with me, (born 1951, and graduated 1969,) and shared his memories of a time I never knew except in history books. He was kind enough to open a window to his past, and this article invites you to share that view.