Little Falls Historical Society Museum Events

  • This day in history: July 26

    1848

    Village Trustees contracted with J. Clark Company of Cazenovia for a town clock for $250. It was to be placed in a church designated by the trustees. The clock was to run without winding for eight days, and strike loud enough to be heard two miles away.

    1895

    The Alumni Association of the Little Falls Academy raised money for the library. The subscription netted over $1,000 and the Regents Department added $500 for the fund.

  • This day in history: July 27

    1802

    From the diary of Rev. John Taylor of Deerfield Massachusetts: “… a small village, called Little Falls, by which the canals built in 1795 containing six locks pass. The village is built upon a ledge of rock and promises to be a place of business as to trade. They have a new and beautiful meeting-house, standing 40 rods back on the hill, built in the form of an octagon. The appearance of the falls is sublime.”

    1854

    Sanford’s Minstrels were at the Temperance Hall Admission 25 cents.

    1885

    Farmers who were selling their cheese on Albany Street were ordered off the street by Sheriff Abbott after a couple of residents claimed their teams were a nuisance. After the sellers threatened to go to Utica, better accommodations were found for them on Bridge Street.

    1998

    Six bicyclists making a 3,741, seven week trip across the country from San Francisco, Califiornia to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, stopped today in Little Falls – the 3,445 mile marker. The group is making the ride in support of Habitat for Humanity

  • This day in history: July 28

    1892

    A public spirited citizen, Mr. P. W. Casler, having watched hundreds of boys swimming in the river from the point of Hansen Island, has generously donated some bath houses to be located there. In the name of decency and cleanliness, a small fee might be charged for the use of bathing suits and towels.

    1895

    It is said that Little Falls has more pneumatic tired carriages than any other place of even double its size in this section of the state.

    1921

    A grateful community turned out at St. Mary’s church for the funeral of Deloir A. Marco, the first of its boys to make the supreme sacrifice on the battlefields of France, and the first whose body was brought home to its final resting place.

  • This day in history: July 29

    1913

    Stones, undoubtedly the walls of the 1796 Octagon Church, were unearthed by workmen employed on a drainage and heating system project for the Church Street School.

    1923

    The Italian Roman Catholics in Little Falls now have their own parish. The wood-framed church at the northeast corner of East John and South Mary streets was opened today under the leadership of Rev. Anthony Spina.

From the Cooney Archives

News and Updates

Learn More About This Local Historical Society and Museum

Many of us never think about the fact that we’re living artifacts of history. Usually, we think that we’re not significant enough to count.

Gettysburg Address monument located in Ward Square

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, LITTLE FALLS AND BEYOND

2025 marks both the 165th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 election to the presidency and the 160th anniversary of his April 15th, 1865 assassination.

Dwight James Baum: The World’s Most Famous Architect from Little Falls

My grandfather, Dwight James Baum, is undoubtedly Little Falls’ most-famous architect ever and one of its most-famous sons. 

Rialto was Little Falls’ movie palace

Rialto memories

When preparing to write this article, I asked readers for their memories of the Rialto and received the following replies.

Rialto was Little Falls’ movie palace

Rialto was Little Falls’ movie palace

The Gateway Theatre in Little Falls, later to be renamed Rialto, first opened its doors to the public on October 22, 1923.

Old-time southsiders Father Dan Lanza and Joe Vespasiano at 2019 South Side Reunion

Little Falls’ South Side in the 1930s – 1940s: A Remembrance of Time and Place

As long as I can remember my father, Joe Vespasiano, loved to share his stories, and he had a lot of material.

Little Falls Historical Society | Little Falls NY

The Little Falls Historical Society hits the ground running in 2025

We are eagerly anticipating this year’s Writing Series with new historical articles that highlight life in Little Falls.