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

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.