Gouverneur Museum - The Cellar

I'd toured the first and second floors of the museum and then descended the narrow stairs into the cavernous cellar. There I found extensive rock and mineral exhibits in addition to this model mine mill:

Gouverneur was once noted for its mines and production of marble, talc and zinc:


And apparently of lead, as well:


This, if I remember correctly, was a collection of relics from the above mentioned St. Joe Lead Mine:


Gouverneur is also home to Kinney Drugs, a large chain of over 90 stores and pharmacies. So there were lots of medical supplies on display:

And who was that man with the charming smile? It was Burt O. Kinney, founder of Kinney Drugs in 1903:


There were lots of old medicines, bottles - and a wonderful old microscope:

Bedpans, scales, doctor's bags and much more:

Eyeglasses:

And a Victorian Era wheelchair:

And just outside of the medical room was the exhibit I'd most looked forward to seeing, the one thing which would make a little boy in a grownup's body drive for over an hour on a winter's day to see:

The famous two-headed calf, which was once used as a sales tool to promote "Payne's Calf Saver." The calf was encased in glass which reflected a lot of light. It was difficult to photograph, but I gave it my best shot.

There was only one more place to see in the museum's cellar, a room filled with antique business machines - typewriters, adding machines and cash registers:

There was a table lined with old typewriters which children were encouraged to try. A tour guide explained how you could push on a key, causing an arm to swing forward and print a letter on the paper. What really alarmed me was the children's reactions. They were amazed, almost as if it was magic. They'd never seen anything like this before. Well, that sure made me feel old! But I'd come to the end of my tour and walked slowly across the icy sidewalks to my car. I'd truly enjoyed this town's museum:

Gouverneur Museum - The Military Room, Bedroom And Women's Room

Having toured the music room and children's room, I proceeded into the military room, unsure of what I'd find:

There were old uniforms, honor rolls of veterans, American flags and weapons of many kinds:

Lots of old uniforms from various wars and branches of service as well as rifles:

This display case was especially interesting with its powder horns and ancient vest:

On the right was a Civil War powder pouch, and on the left was a traditional cow horn with wooden plug:

A British Light Dragoon Mounted Infantry uniform jacket from the battle of Sacket's Harbor (War of 1812). It was hand-sewn and made of linen with braid of wool twist and pewter bullet buttons. The original color was scarlet, though it has faded over the last 202 years. It was brought home by Dr. John Spencer, a veteran of the conflict. I would suppose it was taken from a fallen British soldier. This area was active during the War of 1812:

I then ambled over to the bedroom. Indeed, it looked much like my grandmother's bedroom:

I began to notice an abundance of homemade quilts:

Another view of the bedroom - with more quilts:

And, as I left the bedroom, I noticed even more quilts along the railing. Surely these home sewn treasures had been passed down from family members over the years before they were donated to the museum:

The pink women's room featured a number of mannequins in Victorian Era attire, lots of clothing accessories and the oldest, most primitive sewing machine I've ever seen:

This surely was someone's best outfit and reserved for formal occasions. I was on the second floor and my next stop would be the cellar, where there were lots more displays, including a two-headed calf. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Gouverneur Museum - The Music Room And Children's Room

I'd already explored the foyer, living room and dining room. My next stop was the music room, and the first thing I saw was this old crank telephone:

This model ship perplexed me until I read the sign. It was a model of the steamer Oswegatchie, the last commercial boat to operate on nearby Black Lake. It sank during high winds in 1908. Apparently, the winds have always been powerful in this part of the country:

This La Tosca Piano-Key Accordion was used by the popular Hyde's Orchestra at local nightspots during the roaring twenties:

And there was a player piano:

Here, listen to the player piano in operation:


I walked up the stairs and into the children's room, where I found lots of toys, dolls and clothing:

There were dolls galore and I had earlier overheard a young boy loudly tell his tour guide that "They are all looking at me and I don't like it." She explained that dolls had eyes and were supposed to look at you. "I don't care, I think they're creepy," the boy insisted:

Eek! When I got to this scary thing, I agreed with the boy about being creepy:
 

All these toys and dresses were undoubtedly kept by sentimental girls and then donated to the museum when they became old women:

There was a model railroad exhibit, a temporary exhibit, which was in its final few days. It was not really in the children's room, but I've included it here because it seemed to fit thematically. Having finished touring the music room and children's room, I moved on - but I'll post that in Part 3 tomorrow:

Gouverneur Museum - The Foyer, Living Room And Dining Room

I drove about one hour southwest of home to the village of Gouverneur to see their museum. It was right on the town square, within sight of the giant roll of Lifesavers, and located in an old, Victorian home:

I entered, signed in and was surprised at the busy and cheerful atmosphere inside. There was a large group of youngsters taking a guided tour and young parents with children kept arriving all time I was there. It was a jumpin' place. I began by viewing the giant pendulum clock in the foyer:

And over by the staircase was  - what on earth was that? It turned out to be a tree trunk from the Battle of Missionary Ridge near Chattanooga, Tennessee (Civil War), brought home by local soldiers:

And why, you may ask, did someone save a tree trunk? Because it had stood between the Rebel and Union lines at Missionary Ridge and had, lodged within it, one solid, six pound shot - one fragment of an exploded shell - and two unexploded shells from an English Armstrong Gun, a type of canon which the Confederacy was using:

I moved from the foyer to the living room where it became obvious, in case you hadn't already noticed, that the museum's Christmas decorations were still up:

The living room had Victorian era furniture and tchotchkes:

There was a spectacular pump organ:

And a Victorian doll house:

I walked behind the doll house for a closer look and it was fully furnished in period style. My sister, as a child, had such a doll house, passed down from her grandmother. When my sister outgrew it, it was passed on to a younger cousin:

From there I walked to the dining room, but this cabinet full of glassware was all I photographed. Yet there was a lot more to see at the Gouverneur Museum, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: