November 2010

The history center itself is home to the Beltrami County Historical Society. It was once an old depot, but has now been restored to provide visitors with a three gallery museum, research library, gift shop, meeting room and public archives.

Today, Lincoln Log Cabin is an 86-acre historic site that is owned and operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Division of Historic Sites. The site includes an accurate reproduction of the Lincolns' two-room cabin that was constructed on the original cabin site in 1935 as a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) project.

A working living history farm has been developed around the cabin, and a second farmstead, the Stephen Sargent Farm, has been moved to the site to help broaden visitors' understanding of 1840s rural life in Illinois. One mile north is the Moore Home State Historic Site, a reconstructed frame home where Abraham Lincoln bid his stepmother farewell in January of 1861 before leaving to assume the Presidency.

The Lakota Family Camp displays many of the artifacts made in the early 20th century in the Lower Brule Reservation and given to the museum by the family of Father David Clark, an Episcopalian minister to the Sioux. In addition, see the 8 foot by 10 foot shanty built in 1882 by a Norwegian ship builder to house his 9 person family. Also stop by the restored 1912 Moline Dreadnought ’35’ in the “Time to Remember” in Heritage Hall, a hall dedicated to early pioneer life.

The preservation was, and is, accomplished through the storage of historical records and documents, the acquisition of artifacts illustrative of different periods in the county's history, and the mounting of both temporary and permanent exhibits at the Sullivan County Museum in Hurleyville, New York.

The Suffolk County Historical Society was founded in 1886 by a group of forward-looking county residents. The Civil War had recently ended; the country had just celebrated its Centennial; and Americans were thinking about their heritage and how to preserve it. The founders of the society realized that in a rapidly changing world, if something were not done to record the county’s history it would soon be lost. The County Seat of Riverhead was chosen as the logical place to found the new society, and County Surrogate Judge James H. Tuthill became the first President. The society began collecting items almost immediately, and the first displays were placed in a small glass case in Tuthill’s Riverhead office.

Strong is the only museum in the world dedicated solely to the study of play as it illuminates American culture. The museum explores play because it is critical to learning and human development and offers a unique window into American culture. Understanding play helps people know who they are and what they value.

In Alcoholics Anonymous, aka “the Big Book”, Wilson disseminated the idea of alcoholism as an illness and provided a program – the 12 Steps – for treating alcoholism and maintaining sobriety.

The museum also contains old city directories, microfilm of Lackawanna’s local newspapers and the Victorian, a publication devoted to the memory of Father Nelson H. Baker. The children’s room has a bright and colorful carousel motif.

On December of 1982, the Bethlehem Steel Corporation announced the shutdown of steelmaking at its Lackawanna, New York plant. The phasing out took almost a full year to complete and resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and ended the hopes of many families to add another generation of steelworkers to their legacy. The last pig iron cast from Blast Furnace J on October 17th, 1983 and the last steel heat from BOF Vessel No 17 at approximately 10:30 the next morning, virtually ended all major steelmaking in the Western New York area.

The site of The Farmers' Museum has deep roots in New York State's rural past. The land has been part of a working farm since 1813, when it was owned by James Fenimore Cooper. Judge Samuel Nelson, whose office is part of The Farmers' Museum Village, bought the farm in 1829 and raised sheep. Fenimore Farm, as it came to be known, changed hands again in the 1870s, when it was acquired by the Clark family.

In 1918, Edward Severin Clark built a showcase complex at Fenimore Farm for his prize herd of cattle. The barn, creamery, and herdsman's cottage designed by architect Frank Whiting in the Colonial Revival style and constructed of local stone still stand today and are an integral part of the museum. Today, they house museum offices, exhibition spaces, and public areas. The structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The museum features changing exhibits which display everything from local businesses to daily life in the past.

A miniatures room and a children’s hands-on room are two popular permanent exhibits.