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 New York, Home Of Lifesavers Candy - Part 2

I was midway in a driving tour of Gouverneur, New York. I'd already seen the headquarters of Kenney Drugs, the downtown business district and, most importantly, the giant roll of peppermint Lifesavers. But I wanted to see more so turned up a residential street. I saw some very nice old homes:

I have discovered a lot of homes in northern New York with widow's watch cupolas. Perhaps the flat landscape afforded such nice long range views that the early builders just had to include them:

And this bright pink house selling - something. I can't remember what they sold:

This boxy house which I'll bet was quite the innovation in the 50s:

But all in all, Gouverneur's residential streets looked pleasant, well maintained and even upscale:

When I saw this sign for the Industrial Park I had to turn in and see for myself:

It turned out that Gouverneur is headquarters for another large company, Cives Steel:

It looked to me like they specialize in steel I-Beams. They sure did have them piled up in large quantities:

The only other business I saw in the Industrial Park was a distribution center for Kinney Drugs, also headquartered in Gouverneur:

I left the Industrial Park and soon saw a sign for a New York State Correctional Facility. This, I'm sure, employs many town residents:

The prison was mostly a one story, sprawling operation presided over by a water tower and a guard tower:

And surrounded by lots of razor-wire. It was time to head for home, but since I was already off the main highway, Route 11, I decided to drive the back roads, at least for as long as I could, on my way home. I'll post about that tomorrow: