Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events
This day in history: April 6
1903
The South Side Athletic Club has been reorganized with Frank O’Hara as manager. The club is negotiating for ball grounds on the north side between Little Falls and Herkimer that can be reached by trolley.
1917
On this date, the United States entered World War I, and there was an immediate need for men, materials, and vast sums of money by means of patriotic loans to the federal government. The Trust company organized a “Liberty Loan Club” for purchasing bonds and stamps.
1933
“New Beer’s Eve” passed quietly in Little Falls as the city went off the near beer standard. The tankard hoisters had their first legal brew at 3:00 am. It is questioned if the drinking public will pass up the heavier, more potent home brew for the just introduced Mr. 3.2 Per Cent.
1957
Showing faith in the future of Little Falls, two new retail stores opened for business – the P&C Market on North Ann Street and Walach’s Men’s and Boys’ Shop on East Main Street.
This day in history: April 7
1899
The reserved seat sale has opened for the concert by the mandolin and banjo club of St. Lawrence University at the Skinner opera house. Prior to the concert, a full dress rehearsal will be given to the old folks of the city.
1914
At a special election, Little Falls voters approved a proposal to build a new City Hall, 786 to 75. David H. Burrell had made an offer one month earlier to donate $50,000 towards the cost of a new, centralized structure.
1933
Little Falls Dairy began to ship milk by tank truck instead of the West Shore Railroad.
1961
Three supermarkets were closed in Little Falls as a result of a strike against Loblaw’s by Local1, Amalgamated Meatcutters, Butcher Workmen, and Affiliated Crafts Union. Affected locally, in addition to Loblaw’s were the Acme Market and the P&C Family Food Market. Pickets were on the streets.
This day in history: April 8
1818
Robert Hinchman leased a lot on Main Street (site of former Woolworth store) from the Ellice Estate, and a hotel called the “Eagle Tavern” was built. Since few people could read or write, a bronze eagle adorned the building. Eventually it became known as the Hinchman House.
1890
A beautiful knitting mill, a substantial addition of the industrial wealth of Little Falls, has been built by Robert MacKinnon at the corner of Second and Mill Streets near the New York Central & Hudson River railroad.
1913
Through a bill signed by Governor Sulzer, the state has purchased the General Herkimer home in Danube. The homestead will be looked after by the State D.A.R. and the German-American Alliance. It will be opened as a historical site.
This day in history: April 9
1804
The “Fall Hill and Turnpike Company” was chartered. The company was to build a wooden bridge across the river under the direction of Theodore Burr, which was believed to have been come into use in 1807 as a toll bridge. The Fall ill Turnpike came down Church Street from Eatonsbush, joined the Mohawk Turnpike, crossed the river, and went down the current Flint Avenue and continued west.
1868
The Little Falls Dramatic Association will give their first entertainment in Keller Hall. Two splendid pieces, “The Idiot Witness” and the laughable farce “Don Paddy de Bazan,” will be presented with new scenery.
1889
While digging for the foundation for the new schoolhouse on Church street several skeletons have been found. When the old octagon church, which was built in 1792, stood on the site, the grounds were used for a cemetery.
1898
The first burial was made in the Fairview cemetery on the Eatonville Road, being that of the body of Jesse Flagg.
1917
A national guard sentry at Lock 17 on Moss Island was fired at by an unknown intruder at 10 o’clock this evening. An intense search by national guard troops and Little Falls police offered no clues as to the perpetrator. It was also reported that a sentry at the suspension bridge was shot at a few nights ago.
1959
The Allegro Shoe Company of Little Falls, a division of Cosmos Footwear Corporation, moved up to eighth place in the entire nation for shoe production in 1958. The local company, which has approximately 600 employees, shipped 4,229,454 pairs of shoes last year with a sales value of about $6,135,000.
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.
UPDATED HISTORICAL SOCIETY CANAL DAYS CELEBRATION EVENTS SCHEDULE
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThe recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Herkimer County has forced our board directors and officers to rethink our Canal Days Celebration calendar of events and museum operation. Foremost in our thinking is public safety. We regret any inconveniences that these adjustments may cause. The CHURCH STREET CEMETERY TOUR was scheduled for Friday August 13 […]
Long Ago From a Far Away Land by Jessie Snyder Thompson Huberty
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumIn February of 1935, while snow fell heavily over Herkimer County in upstate New York, a cable arrived at the home of The Honorable Homer P. Snyder on Ann Street in Little Falls. It announced the birth of H.P.’s first great grandchild. It read: “Mother and child doing fine. Father barely survived!” Thus, I arrived amidst tropical breezes in the city of Manila, on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines, set between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Manila: 8324 miles away from the city on the Mohawk River.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY CANCELLING CEMETERY WALKING TOUR AND HISTORIC MARKER DEDICATIONS
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumMost Little Falls residents know who Nathaniel Benton, H.P. Snyder, and D.H. Burrell were, but who were Enoch Moore, Arphaxed Loomis, Titus Sheard, and Peewash and how did each of these individuals impact community history? What do gravestones with weeping angels, shrouded urns, and tree stumps represent? What interesting life stories are hidden away in […]