Franklin County House of History - Part 1

It had been a long time since I was at the museum in Malone, New York and winter was rapidly approaching when they'd be closed. So one afternoon I drove to Malone to take another look:

The entrance leads into an old fashioned kitchen, complete with wood cook stove:

And a real pantry:

Even the curtains in the pantry looked old timey:

From the kitchen, I proceeded into the more formal parts of this old mansion, where a headless manikin in a servant's uniform stood by the door:

Malone was the home of William A. Weaver, 19th Vice-President of the United States, elected in 1876 with Rutherford B. Hayes. This was not Mr. Weaver's home, but this bedroom contains his furniture and personal belongings:

A nightstand in the bedroom:

Back into the more formal rooms, I took notice of several glass display cases which held Civil War memorabilia:

A selection of old teapots caught my fancy. I've always liked teapots even though I don't like tea:

Parrit Blaisdell Jr., a stage coach driver between Windsor and Montpelier, Vt. married Betsy Standish, a descendant of Miles Standish, in 1822. Their portraits now hang in the House of History:

Then I proceeded to the elegant front stairway, where a 1920s style flapper was standing:

Before going upstairs, however, there were several parlors to investigate. I'll post more photos tomorrow from the Franklin County House of History:

The Franklin County Museum - Part 1

The town of Malone was busy and the streets were bumper to bumper cars. I pulled off onto Clay Street and entered another world, where it seemed that time had held still since the Victorian Era. My destination was the Franklin County Museum:

I began in the kitchen, where they had an old fashioned wood cook stove and a pantry filled with gadgets and old time jars and cans:

The sink had a hand pump and old fashioned artifacts abounded:

I entered the bedroom, where a rocking horse kept itself warm by the fireplace:

This was the William Almon Wheeler bedroom, featuring the former Vice-President's original furnishings. Elected as Vice-President under Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, he served his term and then retired back to this beloved home in Malone. He died here in 1887, probably in this bed:       

From there to the main parlor, where many of the dolls and baby carriages from the museum's recent special exhibit were waiting to be returned to their regular places:

The parlor was formal and I could imagine a Vice-President receiving visitors here:

And from there, I ascended this elegant staircase:

One upstairs room was devoted to farm tools:

And they had some of the most ingenious farm tools I've seen. This is, after all, big farm country:

I especially liked this deerskin chest, from around 1833:

The guide told me that they have candle making demonstrations for school kids. But there was still more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: