Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events
This day in history: July 7
1882
Two cannon balls, one 20# and the other 10#, were found on West Shore Road near the brick school (Jefferson Street School.) Others had been found in the area by construction workers, and they were thought to date back to the Revolutionary War.
1891
The great candle in Anderson & Houghton’s jewelry store at 550 East Main Street is to be lighted. A contest is being held to guess the length of time it will burn. General W. F. Lansing was the winner of a gold watch with a guess of 4 days, 4 hours, 3 minutes and 3 seconds. The actual time was 4 days, 4 hours and 17 minutes.
This day in history: July 8
1869
Madame Fernanto, the wonderful clairvoyant and healing medium, has taken rooms in the Hinchman House for one week. She has a marvelous and wonderful skill in revealing the present and future, and can cure all kinds of female diseases. Her stay was extended a few days.
1876
The “Daily Graphic” has a ten-page insert of maps of the country in which the Indian war is in progress, showing the location of two recent battles, an excellent portrait of General George A. Custer and Sioux chiefs, and reports and illustrations on the Centennial Exposition.
1932
As a result of provisions of the federal economy bill, employees of the post office will have a reduction of 8 1/3%.
Post Office employees, nationally as well as at the local post office, will have their pay cut about 8 % and receive reduced mileage allowance as a result of the Federal Economy bill passed by Congress.
This day in history: July 9
1722
Governor William Burnet purchased of the Mohawks the lands lying westward along the river from Little Falls to Utica. This action was known as the “Indian Deed.”
1853
Henry P. Alexander, one of the largest land owners in Little Falls, sold parts of lots No. 99 and No. 100 on North Ann Street and No. 1 and 2 on Garden Street to the trustees of the First Presbyterian Society. The current Presbyterian Church stands at the corner of Ann and Albany Streets.
1886
A new law gives women the right to vote at school meetings providing they reside in the school district, has a child who has attended school for eight weeks within one year preceding, the child resides with him or her permanently, and owns personal property exceeding $55.
1985
Nine-year old John DuPont drowned today in the city’s municipal swimming pool. The finding of his body was delayed for a day before it was found, because of murky water due to an improperly functioning diatomaceous earth filter system.
1996
Two Chevrolet Caprice patrol cars, formerly used by the Little Falls Police Department, are on their way to Cairo, Egypt via the Bronx. A dealer bought the cars at a public auction,, and ships them to Africa where they have a higher resale value.
This day in history: July 10
1921
A new form of entertainment, a pavement dance, was held on East Gansevoort Street adjacent to Western Park.
1996
More than 50 people were evacuated from their homes on West Main Street when a contractor hit an eight-inch natural gas main causing a major gas burst. Factory workers at nearby Burrows Paper Company were also evacuated.
Mayor Hadley Jones – A Saint or a Sinner (Part 1) by Louis Baum
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumEverybody enjoys a “rag to riches“ story especially if it involves a local boy or girl. Think about John Riccardo. John was the son of hard-working Italian immigrant parents. His father had a shoe store on John Street in addition to working long hours in a local bicycle factory. John rose to become president and chairman of the board of Chrysler Corporation.
A Sun Shower Without End by Ray Lenarcic
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumWhile driving down Flint Avenue in my hometown of Little Falls the other day, I happened to look to my right and for no apparent reason, my mind flashed back to the 1950’s. I recalled in vivid detail searching for diamonds on a rocky hillside behind the Ave with my buddy Rog Kopp.
Patriots Day Honors Those Who Were Not Sunshine Patriots by Jeffrey Gressler
/by Little Falls Historical Society Museum“These are the times that try men’s souls.” So begins Thomas Paine’s December 23, 1776 epic treatise “The Sunshine Patriot,” written at perhaps the darkest point of the American Revolution, George Washington’s half-starving, dis-spirited troops were in their Valley Forge winter quarters.
Sometimes Distributing Vaccines Easier Said Than Done by Schuyler Van Horn
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumWith all the buzz about COVID-19 vaccines, it brought back memories of vaccines administered when I was in Vietnam in 1971-72. I was not a Medic but an intelligence officer stationed in a remote place named An Loc. Not far from the Cambodian border, 70 miles north of Saigon, straddling Route 13 (Thunder Road), I was one of 32 Americans in MACV advisor team 47, next to 2,000 ARVN (Army of the Republic of Viet Nam).
Hector Allen by David Krutz
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumTo anyone who walked the halls of Little Falls High School in the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s and even into the 1990’s Hector Allen was a familiar and respected figure.
Hector taught “Social Studies” – New York State, United States and World History – at LFHS for 34 years.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumUsing a treasure trove at the Little Falls Historical Society Museum, Louie Baum toiled for months creating an over 200-page document to chronicle the historic past of Little Falls.
OLD BANK BUILDING REACHES A MILESTONE
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumPhoto submitted – National Herkimer County Bank and Presbyterian Church in the background – (Kinney Plaza) circa 1860. by Pat Frezza-Gressler, member of the Little Falls Historical Society Constructed of native stone in 1833 as the first bank in Herkimer County and placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1970, the Little Falls […]