Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events

  • This day in history: October 11

    1860

    A ”monster” parade was held in Little Falls, with several bands and two thousand men in uniform all carrying torches. The parade was organized by Republicans to further the efforts to elect Lincoln president.

    1874

    Little Falls progresses. There were five drunken fights in the village last night.

    1890

    A young bride, married two weeks ago without her farmer father’s consent, was torn from the arms of her husband in front of the Cowen shop. As she attempted to rejoin her husband, she was “picked up like a sack of flour” by her irate father, thrown into a buggy and driven out of the village at a rapid pace.

    1952

    Headline read: Registration Well Ahead of 1944 and 1948. Three-Day total Here Far Above Four Years Ago”

    The intensive community wide campaign to get out the vote is producing splendid results. When the eight registration places in the city closed at 10 o’clock last night, the names of 4,303 voters had been entered on the books. The total is 1.026 higher than the three-day figure for the last comparable year…”

    1962

    It was announced that the Little Falls Felt Shoe Company will cease operations at the local plant, and by the end of this year will consolidate all its factory work at the St. Johnsville plant.

    2012

    William Moynihan, Little Falls native and St. Mary’s Academy graduate, has passed away. Earning degrees from SUNY Binghamton, Colgate, and Syracuse (Ph.D.), Bill had leadership positions at Colgate, was director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and lastly as CEO of the Milwaukee Public Museum. He was buried in Hamilton, N.Y.

From the Cooney Archives

News and Updates

Noted actress Laura Keene, and John L. Sullivan, the heavyweight boxing champion.

Keene, Sullivan, among those who played Little Falls

Two of the famous people who performed in plays in Little Falls were the noted actress Laura Keene, and John L. Sullivan, the heavyweight boxing champion.

Come and enjoy Christmas in Little Falls!

Plan a visit to the Little Falls Historical Society Museum on your list of fun activities during Christmas in Little Falls at the Old Bank Museum on December 14.

Garfield’s whistle stop – 1880

In the presidential election of 1880, — General James A. Garfield, Republican nominee for president, brought his campaign to Little Falls on August 4 with a “whistle stop” on the New York Central.

Inter-urban trolley lasted 30 years

The electric trolley started in Little Falls in 1903 with great fanfare, a convenient and, for awhile at least, popular way to travel between Little Falls and points west and south.

Cars still a relative novelty at time of ‘Sociability’ run

Automobiles were still a relative novelty in Little Falls in 1909 when the Smith brothers, proprietors of the Richmond Hotel (later called Hotel Snyder) concocted the idea of a “Sociability” automobile run from the city to Cooperstown and back.

Little Falls High School class of 1954

Nostalgia

Nostalgia becomes a personal emotional experience. In times of stress, nostalgia can provide a retreat, a respite, a way to feel less alone.

Advertisement for Barnum's Circus -August 22, 1822

Jumbo entertains Little Falls

On Tuesday, Aug. 22, 1882, Little Falls played host to a 12-foot tall, 6½ ton entertainer, whose reach extended 26 feet from the ground.