Village Of Norwood, New York Museum-Part 1

The Village of Norwood museum is only open four hours per week in the summer and I hadn't been there in several years, so one afternoon I returned to have another look. There were several people there, sorting and cleaning, and all were friendly and welcoming:

I began in the parlor. I was told that this house once belonged to the village doctor, and this room was his office and examination room:

The inlaid floor was dramatic, and evidence of the railroad money which once made this town prosperous:


Now the room is a comfortable looking, Victorian Era parlor:


The next room was a tribute to the town's railroading history. They had more railroad lanterns than I've ever seen in one place:

I imagine that town residents donated most of the artifacts in this museum as well as all the other town museums I've been to:

Toy train cars, photos and memorabilia:

This old high button shoe was found inside a wall in a local house which was being remodeled. The tool with the hook was to help with the cumbersome job of getting in and out of such a shoe:

A room filled with village mementos:

Typewriters so old that they were even before my time:

A very old and faded red wig and a deluxe hairbrush set. I could only imagine that the bright red wig was used by a woman of dubious morals who entertained the railroad crew and passengers at the American Hotel, which used to be just down the street:

A baby's bonnet and more high-top shoes. There was a lot more to see at the museum and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Hopkinton, New York Town Museum - Part 1

It was raining and the weather service predicted only more of the same throughout the day. Besides, the Hopkinton Town Museum is only open two hours per day, one day per week, two months per year. If I was going to see it again, this was the time. So I drove to the quiet village green and parked:

The Museum is most of this red building, including the wing on the right and the small shed on the left, with a small section in the middle for the library. I entered by means of the ramp to get out of the rain as soon as possible:

I began in the dining room:

And looked at all the china and tea servers which local folks had held onto for many years, eventually donating them to the museum:

The parlor was warm and friendly - and a bit formal, I thought, for a frontier town:

There were interesting items and signs here and there:

All in all, a pleasant place to spend part of a rainy Saturday:

This ancient piano was recently tuned and one of only two on public display:

Collections of jewelry, books, odds and ends:

Clothing and dolls from days gone by:

The museum was a mixture of time periods but many small signs helped me place the articles in proper perspective or, in some cases, understand what they were:

This quilt depicted scenes from the town's past and was put together on Hopkinton's 200th anniversary:

This dress didn't look too terribly old to me, but then I myself am so old that my perspective is skewed:

A magnificent pump organ:

And a marble mantle clock. But there was still more to see and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Franklin County House of History - Part 2

I was touring the downstairs rooms of the Franklin County Museum in Malone, New York (see yesterday's post):

The downstairs parlors were elegant and impressive. This obviously was once the home of a wealthy family:

I moved to the foot of the stairs, where antique baby dolls rested in antique carriages:

I've noticed before that museums have lots of baby dolls and dresses, especially wedding dresses, because women cherished them and kept them all their lives, passing them on to their heirs. I always think of how much a doll was loved by someone - or by several people in a family:

I climbed the stairs and entered a room dedicated to weaving and looms:

School groups come here and get to weave a short section of fabric, which is added to the previous groups' sections and displayed in long scarves:

There were also candle making displays where the school children got to see candles being made and a corn broom making machine. There was also a one room school house display. But what really caught my eye was this county themed quilt, memorializing some of the rustic beauty of the surrounding town and countryside:

There was a room crammed full of antique farm implements:

I found these old farm tools fascinating and I'll bet that some of them would still be useful today:

I returned to the kitchen to end my tour but was told that there was one more room, containing a general store. I had not seen that the last time I visited, so it was totally new and fascinating to me:

The general store was full of antiques for display but also had souvenirs for sale:

This was a lively and elaborate display, perhaps my favorite part of the museum tour. But I'd seen everything at that point, so I thanked my guide and began making my way home to do the evening chores:

A Trip To The Hopkinton Town Museum

I got to thinking that it had been several years since I'd seen the Hopkinton Town Museum and August was the month when it was open, albeit for only a few hours. So I searched the internet for the schedule and found none. I began making phone calls and found the president of the Historical Society who said it was open for two hours that very day, though he couldn't guarantee it because the volunteers had forgotten to open up the previous two Saturdays. So I drove down to the lovely, shady village green:

I parked, and walked over to the museum building:

Inside, they had a very old and beautiful pump organ:

Various mannequins, dressed in period clothing:

A comfortable parlor from a bygone era:

I climbed the stairs and found lots of quilts:

The signature or friendship quilt, with all the people's names, was especially interesting. I could only guess what the "$1.60 amt" meant. Perhaps it was a fund raiser, and these people had donated $1.60 each, a lot of money back in the day:

And just when was "back in the day?" Another panel on that same friendship quilt told the story. It was stitched in 1902:

There was an entire room devoted to old fashioned school houses:

And a bedroom, complete with a set of "woolies" long underwear, hanging on the footboard:

Downstairs in the kitchen, this wonderful cupboard intrigued me. I've searched the internet for exactly what to call it, but "cupboard" is all I could come up with. Any ideas?:

The kitchen, of course, had a great wood stove. There were two other outbuildings which I'd visited last time, but the volunteer had no keys. So I thanked her for her kindness and returned home. I am glad that so many towns are preserving bits of their history. Perhaps there is hope for the human race yet: