Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events

  • This day in history: December 16

    1886

    About one thousand people were present at the public meeting under the auspices of the Knights of Labor, at the Skinner Opera House. The assemblage was addressed by Mr. T. B. Barry who talked about the local labor situation, and his unsuccessful attempts to meet and negotiate with head of the Little Falls Manufacturers Association.

  • This day in history: December 17

    1845

    The first electric communication through Little Falls was the telegraph line of the Utica and Schenectady railroad. A contract was made on this date and the telegraph line was installed in 1846.

    1917

    A good number of recently built US submarine chasers, moving down the canal, stopped in Little Falls on their way to New York City. They will bolster our shore defenses.

  • This day in history: December 18

    1830

    Disgusted with alien ownership, Little Falls citizens met to petition the New York State legislature to enforce the Alien Land Law of 1817.

    1896

    James Riley has secured, for the sum of $25, the privilege from the State, of using the part of the canal known as Leigh’s Level for an ice skating rink. Little Falls school children are allowed free at specific times. The general public is to pay an admission charge of five cents for using the rink. 

  • This day in history: December 19

    1898

    The old Girvan House suffered severely from fire forcing forty-five guests and other inmates out into the cold. The fire was believed to have started in the rear of Joe Wright’s fruit store.

    1933

    It’s full speed ahead to get the Melrose Slipper company of New York City into operation in Little Falls. All doubts about the ability of the company to secure a sufficiency of help would seem to be removed by the number of applications made to the company’s New York office. 125 to 150 jobs are projected.

    1941

    WW II Era – A record 181 trains on the New York Central line passed through Little Falls in a single day.

From the Cooney Archives

News and Updates

Patriots Day Little Falls Historical Society Museum Little Falls NY

Patriots Day 2019

Patriots Day 2019 Saturday May 18 11:00 AM Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Patriots Day is celebrated each year in most of New England to commemorate the April 15, 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord which marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The first Patriots Day was declared in 1894. In 1938 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts […]

Church Street Cemetery Vault | Little Falls Historical Society Museum

2018 Church Street Cemetery Tour

Church St. Cemetery [officially] opened in 1842. A 15-acre lot was purchased by the village from Mr. Ward. At the time, the cemetery was located outside the village with very few homes in close proximity. A wagon road entered the cemetery from Church St., and another rose diagonally from Monroe St. Originally, the southern arm […]

Little Falls Historical Society | Little Falls NY

Historical Society Seeks Prohibition Related Artifacts

Many stories abound in Little Falls from the Roaring 20’s era of Prohibition which lasted from 1919-1933. Some of our parents or grandparents may even have violated the Volstead Act. This law attempted to establish the legal apparatus to enforce the 18th Amendment which outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of most alcoholic beverages. There […]

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2018 ANNUAL REPORT

The Little Falls Historical Society Museum 2018 Annual Report is available for download.

Xerxes Willard

Xerxes Willard and the Prominence of the Little Falls Cheese Markets

Little Falls, New York enjoys a singular reputation in American agricultural history as the most important interior market for cheese during the great boom in dairy exports that began in the Civil War and peaked in ca. 1881.