The Little Falls Historical Society much appreciates the opportunity to work with the SUNY Oneonta’s Cooperstown Graduate Program of Museum Studies. Some background history about Little Falls will add perspective.
The City of Little Falls is a community of around 4700 residents situated in southern Herkimer County astride both the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal. Little Falls’ development and rich industrial history were impacted by geology and topography, particularly its waterside proximity.
The first inhabitants of the immediate area around Little Falls were members of the Iroquois Confederacy, primarily the Mohawks, one of the five tribes making up the Confederacy. The Mohawks were the keepers of the Eastern Gate of Iroquois territory. They called the area “Astenrogan” or “tumbling waters.”
The region’s first European visitors in the early 1600’s were Dutch and French traders and French Jesuit priests all in pursuit of favorable relations with Native Americans. The French first referred to the area as “little falls” to distinguish it from the “big falls” at Cohoes. In 1664, England seized New York from the Dutch
England used Palatine Germans in their upper Hudson Valley naval stores project; the Palatines eventually migrated into the central Mohawk Valley in the early 1700’s. Divided loyalties, largely based on ethnicity, characterized the entire region during the Revolutionary War.
The six lock Western Inland Lock Navigation Canal began operation in 1794 in order to make easier waterway passage around the Little Falls rapids. Little Falls was incorporated as a village in 1811. The Erie Canal was completed in 1825 and Little Falls began to thrive as the industrial hub of the central Mohawk Valley. Little Falls was later chartered as a city in 1895.
In 1833, the present Old Bank Museum, made of native rock and cut limestone, began operation as the first bank in Herkimer County. The building was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1970 and it is the present home of the Little Falls Historical Society.
Fast forward to 2018 when Dr. Erik Stengler resided in Little Falls with his family for a short period before taking up residence in Cooperstown. During his stay in Little Falls, Dr. Stengler became enamored with the community’s history. He was the first to conceptualize of Little Falls history as a potential area of study for his museum studies students. In 2019, Dr. Stengler reached out to the Historical Society to serve as an educational partner for his students.
The board of directors and officers of the Historical Society responded most favorably to this overture and this collaborative partnership was born and the byproduct of this collaboration is this book. Please enjoy this wonderful piece of work that has been generated by this fine group of students.
Jeff Gressler
Octagon Church & Burying Ground Audio Tour
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThe Octagon Church Site and Burying Ground Audio Tour written and narrated by Anna Rutenbeck, Cooperstown Museum Studies Graduate Program, SUNY Oneonta, Class of 2021.
The Old Bank Building Survives and Thrives by Pat Frezza-Gressler
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThe wisdom of historic preservation has not always been a given. The desire by some to preserve old buildings and places is at times pitted against those who would rather “start over” with new construction.
2021 Annual Report
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumView the 2021 Little Falls Historical Society Annual report Including elections, membership, sponsors, online activities, writing series, and more.
Palatine Germans in Search of a Land to Call Home by Ginny Rogers
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumJanuary 17, 2022 marks the 300th anniversary of the Burnetsfield Patent.
The earliest European settlers in the Mohawk Valley came from what is now southwest Germany. Under near constant threat of destruction, whether from multiple wars, invasions, or the plague, in the near hundred years leading up to the 18th century, the southwest German population experienced extreme hardship.
MISS HELEN DUNTEMAN
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumHelen Dunteman was a highly respected social studies teacher in the Little Falls school district for many years, retiring in 1962. Helen was both a lifelong Little Falls resident and a graduate of Oneonta State Normal School. She passed away in 1984.
Growing up on the South Side from the early 1950’s through the late 1960’s By Donald F. Staffo
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumIn the 1950s and 1960s, Little Falls was a bustling blue-collar mill town of about 9,000 people with many hard-working citizens employed in its numerous factories. Most of the factories were on Mill Street which ran parallel to the railroad tracks on the southern side with a few factories on the other side of the tracks. My parents, and most of the parents of my friends, worked in the mills. None wore a tie to work.
A Pizza Story by James Papaleo
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumIf you lived in Little Falls in the late-1950s through early-1980s I bet you ate at least one slice of Papaleo’s pizza or one of the delicious hoagies (subs) that came out of the family restaurant owned by my parents Anthony (Tony) and Grayce Papaleo.
Even today, 40 years after the restaurant closed, people still tell me and my sisters how our Dad’s pizza and hoagies were the best they have ever eaten. I might be biased, but I agree because I have never found another pizza or hoagie like Dad’s.
South Side Cigar Stores by Gary Staffo
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThis article came about as part of the research started for the Southside Veteran’s Recognition Project, which was displayed during the September 2013 Southside Reunion. It covers the period from the 1930s through the mid-1970s and the role three Southside cigar stores played in the lives of the young men who grew up hanging out around them.
Industrialization in Little Falls, New York, 1790-1960
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumThe Little Falls Historical Society much appreciates the opportunity to work with the SUNY Oneonta’s Cooperstown Graduate Program of Museum Studies. Some background history about Little Falls will add perspective.
Subtitle: A Cabinet of Curiosities by the Cooperstown Graduate Program
The City of Little Falls is a community of around 4700 residents situated in southern Herkimer County astride both the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal. Little Falls’ development and rich industrial history were impacted by geology and topography, particularly its waterside proximity.
The first inhabitants of the immediate area around Little Falls were members of the Iroquois Confederacy, primarily the Mohawks, one of the five tribes making up the Confederacy. The Mohawks were the keepers of the Eastern Gate of Iroquois territory. They called the area “Astenrogan” or “tumbling waters.”
The region’s first European visitors in the early 1600’s were Dutch and French traders and French Jesuit priests all in pursuit of favorable relations with Native Americans. The French first referred to the area as “little falls” to distinguish it from the “big falls” at Cohoes. In 1664, England seized New York from the Dutch
England used Palatine Germans in their upper Hudson Valley naval stores project; the Palatines eventually migrated into the central Mohawk Valley in the early 1700’s. Divided loyalties, largely based on ethnicity, characterized the entire region during the Revolutionary War.
The six lock Western Inland Lock Navigation Canal began operation in 1794 in order to make easier waterway passage around the Little Falls rapids. Little Falls was incorporated as a village in 1811. The Erie Canal was completed in 1825 and Little Falls began to thrive as the industrial hub of the central Mohawk Valley. Little Falls was later chartered as a city in 1895.
In 1833, the present Old Bank Museum, made of native rock and cut limestone, began operation as the first bank in Herkimer County. The building was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1970 and it is the present home of the Little Falls Historical Society.
Fast forward to 2018 when Dr. Erik Stengler resided in Little Falls with his family for a short period before taking up residence in Cooperstown. During his stay in Little Falls, Dr. Stengler became enamored with the community’s history. He was the first to conceptualize of Little Falls history as a potential area of study for his museum studies students. In 2019, Dr. Stengler reached out to the Historical Society to serve as an educational partner for his students.
The board of directors and officers of the Historical Society responded most favorably to this overture and this collaborative partnership was born and the byproduct of this collaboration is this book. Please enjoy this wonderful piece of work that has been generated by this fine group of students.
Jeff Gressler
Every Legend Has a Beginning The Hubie Brown Story by David Dinneen
/by Little Falls Historical Society MuseumOlder people in Little Falls, especially those sports fanatics, know who Hubie Brown is. However, the name may not be familiar with the younger folks. Hubie rose from the ranks of coaching basketball at St. Mary’s Academy in Little Falls to the apex of his profession, enshrinement in the National Basketball Hall of Fame.