The Franklin County Museum - Part 2

I continued my tour of the Franklin County Museum in Malone, New York in the upstairs room which was furnished as an old schoolhouse:

There was a broom making machine and the guide told me that they used to have broom making demonstrations for school kids and that Malone had a broom factory for much of its history:

There was a weaving, spinning and textile room:

And a bicentennial quilt, featuring fascinating cloth panels of local business, farms, wildlife, the county fair, the railroad and a big fire:

Weaving demonstrations for touring school groups:

And some amazing old sewing machines:

At the end of my tour, right next to the door, the guide pointed out this "Granny Bench," which I hadn't noticed before. The grandma sat on one side and could lay a baby next to her without fear of it rolling off:

I thanked my guide and left the museum. But I'd promised myself that I'd also take photos of some of the surrounding homes to give you an idea of the spectacular, historic neighborhood. This home was right next door and a sign indicated that it was a bed and breakfast:

A home with a turret:

An intricate home with lots of interesting features:

And a stone house with a wooden front:

I took one last photo of this brick colonial before putting my camera away and beginning the journey home:

The Parishville Town Museum - Part 2

I moved from the hand carved circus figures (yesterday's post) into the kitchen:

It reminded me of my grandmother's house:

There were old kitchen and pantry items from many eras, just as there probably had been when the original family lived here:

A cast iron wood stove and wood fired hot water tank:

Flatirons galore:

I moved back into the foyer and snapped a picture of the wonderful fireplace:

And then I proceeded to the stairs to see the upper floor:

The place looked much as if the original owners still lived there:

There were baby dolls and carriages from a bygone era:

A very small child's bed:

A room filled with band uniforms and musical instruments from the local high school:

And very large spinning wheels, perhaps 6 feet high. And yet there was still more to see. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

The Parishville Town Museum - Part 1

Parishville is a very small, scenic village to the southwest of me which straddles the St. Regis River. It has a lot of history and was once an industrial center with 14 mills on the St. Regis. I've driven by their museum many times and wanted to investigate, but it was only open two days per week, two months per year. So on its first day open, I paid a visit:

The museum was housed in a large, old mansion which once belonged to the richest family in town, owners of several of the mills:

Rocking chairs, spinning wheels:

An embroidered pillow: "Friendship, Love And Truth:"

A table covered with old books, many of them autograph books, and a stereoscope:

An upright grand piano:

And then I entered a small room filled with circus figures of amazing quality. I was puzzled until the historian explained that a town resident, Everett Frederick, had carved them all out of wood. It was his hobby and he loved the circus and its horses. He kept his beloved creations in boxes out in the barn. After his death, his family donated them to the museum and his great grandchildren have visited to see them:

Amazing creations, all hand carved from wood and trimmed with metal and leather:

I thought that the reins looked like plastic and the historian said no one had ever questioned that before. So he opened the case and took a look. Indeed, they were made of real leather:

Oddly, I didn't notice the monkey in the cage wagon until I was editing photos. I wondered if it too had been hand carved. I took another trip over, the next time the museum was open, to find out and the historian again investigated. The monkey turned out to be a rubber child's toy. He removed it and will replace it with a toy animal of a more appropriate size:

There was a town memorial quilt. But I had barely begun, so there was much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: