Take a trip with me to the Manlius Museum

Cheney House Research Center - Manlius Museum 

The Manlius Museum and Cheney House Research Center

Settled in 1794 the Town of Manlius was once part of the Central NY Military tract and was actually much larger than it is today.  Located at the point where the Great Cherry Valley Turnpike met with the Seneca Turnpike, the village of Manlius grew quickly.  The village of Fayetteville, located within the town, grew its commerce and population with the introduction of the Erie Canal.

Famous residents of the Town of Manlius included Matilda Joslyn Gage, Civil War General John J. Peck and President Grover Cleveland, though it is most likely remembered today as the home of Stickley Furniture.

The Village of Manlius was the first actual Village in Onondaga County,  dating to 1813; it still contains a number of historic buildings,  including Christ Church, the first church structure that is still standing in Onondaga County.

Today the Manlius Historical Society is preserving the rich history of the Town of Manlius.  The society was founded in 1976 during the time of America’s bicentennial, something that caused a number of small towns to reach out to their historic past and search for a way to preserve it for future generations.

The strong community commitment of Manlius has made it possible for the society to grow and to become an important educational focal point for the area’s history.

The society has two buildings: the Cheney House, which is reserved for historical research, and the adjacent Manlius Museum, which has changing displays on the area as well as a functioning blacksmith shop.

The society has a professional staff and a very involved volunteer base committed to keeping the organization a relevant part of the community today.

This year’s featured Exhibit is titled MOXIE: Women in the Military and Life in Our Community During Both World Wars.

The museum, located  at 101 Scoville Avenue in the Village of Manlius, is open Saturdays, May through October, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.  Tours are available anytime upon advance request. For more information visit our website at www.ManliusHistory.org.

Come with me and visit the Elwood Museum

The Elwood Museum in Amsterdam one year later!

This week in August of 2011 a flood hit the Walter Elwood Museum during Hurricane Irene the fifth costliest United States hurricane.

Located on the Mohawk River in Amsterdam NY, the museum sustained horrific damage and is still trying to restore many of the artifacts that could be found among the mud and silt from the severe damage to its first floor.

The museum building itself was a historic treasure, Guy Park Manor, a limestone building built in 1774 by Guy Johnson on land given to him by his Uncle Sir William Johnson.  Johnson was also Sir Guy’s father-in-law since he had married Mary Johnson, one of William’s daughters. 

Amsterdam's Guy Park Manor, which is listed on the Historic Register was literally torn apart by the water, with its interior in part washed away by the raging river after its walls had been battered in by debris.

When able to return Ann Piconie the museum’s Executive Director, volunteers and workers literally sorted through mud to find artifacts that once graced the Victorian Room and first floor of the museum that lost its walls and contents to the river and the disaster.

The museum’s collections started many years earlier with the personal collection of an educator in the Greater Amsterdam School District - Walter Elwood.  Elwood, who had traveled widely as a young man collected all variety of antiquities including artwork, natural history objects, and things from Amsterdam and the Mohawk Valley’s past.

Joseph Todak, an art teacher, did exhibits in 1978, and the museum that houses over 25,000 items took form moving to a 100-year-old brick building and eventually on to Guy Park Manor.

Today work continues on the restoration of the artifacts with the museum set to move to higher ground at another location in Amsterdam.   The restoration of those artifacts that were saved however, will continue for many years to come and funds to do the work will have to be raised.

For more information or to learn how you can help you can go to www.walterelwoodmuseum.org .

Take a trip with me to Old Herkimer Church

Old Herkimer Church, once on the site of Fort Herkimer

Old and historic Herkimer church

By far one of the most beautiful stone structures in the Mohawk Valley is Old Herkimer Church.  The church, located near the site of Old Fort Herkimer, is a relic of times now past.  The churchyard is filled with the history of not only the Revolutionary War, but also of the early settlement of the Mohawk Valley.

Erected in 1853, the structure was originally only one floor high built in the Palatine German way and today it is the only remaining structure from the original Fort Herkimer.  John Yost Herkimer, the father of General Nicholas Herkimer, was the original builder of the church.  At that time he was the Justice of the German Palatine settlement.  During the American Revolution it served as the center for the area militias.

These early stone structures served as a safe house for the countryside.  Many times during the conflicts of the valley people fled to the stone structures for safety from invading armies and native tribes allied to the French or British. It was a safe haven during the Tory and Indian burning raids,  and of the many ensuing different skirmishes.  During the Revolutionary War a swivel gun was mounted in its tower for further protection.

John Yost Herkimer was a very respected immigrant from Germany, coming to this country in 1710.  After a number of moves, in 1721 he petitioned and was granted by then Governor Burnett the right to purchase lands in the Mohawk Valley.

The Daughters of the American Revolution in the 1900’s placed a marker on the spot to show where the birthplace of General Nicholas Herkimer was and today there is a centagraph that also honors the Herkimer family name.  The churchyard is filled with the remains of early settlers of the German Flats area, and also a number of Revolutionary War notables.
For more information on the church and its history you can visit http://fortherkimerchrch.org and for more history of the Mohawk Valley visit www.historystarproductions.com.

Take a trip with me to Old Fort Johnson

Take a Trip back in time to 

                 New York's Colonial Past!

Old Fort Johnson located on Route 5 near Amsterdam, New York

A writer for the Rome Daily Sentinel in 1930 wrote that people in their automobiles are traveling miles to see and visit historic sites of the American Revolution such as Valley Forge, Lake George etc. when all they have to do is take a ride down old Route 5 from Utica to Albany. Today that statement is as true.

For a wonderful history lessen a trip down old route 5 today will bring you to historic sites including Fort Stanwix, (Schyuler), Fort Klock, Fort Hunter, and Old Fort Johnson.

Damaged by a flood the National Historic Site reopened on August 11, 2012 and greets visitors with a history that spans time from 1743 to today.

The Fort was built by Sir William Johnson who came to America to help his Uncle Peter Warren with his land dealings eventually becoming the “Superintendent of all the affairs of the Six Nations and other Northern Indians.” Johnson occupied the Fort until he built Johnson Hall. The Fort was the site of Indian treaties; it saw the meetings of the great tribes and Sachems of the Iroquois Nations. it is the home that he occupied with Molly Brandt and the place that Joseph Brandt would left to go to the white man’s school.

The block style home has a history as varied as from William Johnson it passed to his son Sir John Johnson. John Johnson had married Mary) Polly Watts who came from a distinguished family of Colonial times. It had a progression of owners until in 1905 the home was purchased by Mary’s relative General John Watts de Peyster and was presented as a gift to the Montgomery Historical Society who still own it today.

A French spy traveling the area in the 1750’s gives us a wonderful description of the old fort. “Col. Johnson’s mansion is situated on the border of the left bank of the River Mohawk; it is three stories high; built of stone, with port holes (crenelees) and a parapet and flanked with four bastions on which are some small guns”.

Today the Fort still has its colonial nature and still stands as a reminder of our colonial past. Its shining demeanor invites us to “step back in time” with a special grace that few spots and do today, and a visit is a great way to learn about a man who worked tirelessly to keep upstate and the Mohawk Valley in the hands of the British.