The Farmers’ Museum

  • Admission

    Adults (13-64): $15.00
    Seniors (65+): $12.50
    Juniors (7-12): $6.00
    Children (6 and under): FREE
    Museum members: FREE
    Admission is always FREE for active military and retired career military personnel.

    TWO-WAY TICKETS with FENIMORE ART MUSEUM
    Adults (20-64) $25.00
    Seniors (65+) $22.50

    Tickets only available at the door. No online tickets sold.

  • Hours of Operation

    April 1 – May 6
    Open Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00 am–4:00 pm Closed Mondays.
    Museum Store open 11:00 am–4:00 pm. Closed Mondays.

    May 7 – October 10
    Open Daily, 10:00 am–5:00 pm
    Museum Store: open daily, 11:00 am–5:00 pm
    Crossroads Cafe: open daily 11:00 am–4:00 pm

    October 11 – October 31
    Open Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00 am–4:00 pm. Closed Mondays.
    Museum Store: open 11:00 am–4:00 pm. Closed Mondays.
    Crossroads Cafe: Closed

    November – March
    Closed for winter except for special programs and events.
    Museum Store: The Farmers’ Museum Store has everything you need when shopping for the Holidays!
    11/1-11/24: open Tuesday-Sunday, 11:00am-4:00pm (closed Mondays and Thanksgiving Day)
    11/26-12/24 (Holiday Hours): open daily, 11:00am-4:00pm

  • Weather

    COOPERSTOWN WEATHER

The Farmers’ Museum

As one of the oldest rural life museums in the country, The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to experience 19th-century rural and village life first-hand through authentic demonstrations and interpretative exhibits.

The museum, founded in 1943, comprises a Colonial Revival stone barn listed on the National Register for Historic Places, a recreated historic village circa 1845, the Empire State Carousel, and a working farmstead. Through its 19th-century village and farm, the museum preserves important examples of upstate New York architecture, early agricultural tools and equipment, and heritage livestock. The Farmers’ Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 23,000 items encompasses significant historic objects ranging from butter molds to carriages, and hand planes to plows. The museum also presents a broad range of interactive educational programs for school groups, families, and adults that explore and preserve the rich agricultural history of the region.

History

The site of The Farmers’ Museum has deep roots in New York State’s rural past. The land has been part of a working farm since 1813, when it was owned by James Fenimore Cooper. Judge Samuel Nelson, whose office is part of The Farmers’ Museum Village, bought the farm in 1829 and raised sheep. Fenimore Farm, as it came to be known, changed hands again in the 1870s, when it was acquired by the Clark family.

In 1918, Edward Severin Clark built a showcase complex at Fenimore Farm for his prize herd of cattle. The barn, creamery, and herdsman’s cottage designed by architect Frank Whiting in the Colonial Revival style and constructed of local stone still stand today and are an integral part of the museum. Today, they house museum offices, exhibition spaces, and public areas. The structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Farmers’ Museum opened its doors to the public in 1944. At that time, the museum had 5,000 tools and objects, including important collections amassed by the Otsego County Historical Society; William B. Sprague, founder of the Early American Industries Association; and the Wyckoff family, one of Brooklyn’s oldest farming families. Today the museum’s collections number more than 23,000 artifacts.

The Farmers’ Museum is a private, non-governmental educational organization. It is closely affiliated with its sister organization, Fenimore Art Museum.

Events

Herbal Medicine Workshops in June at The Farmers’ Museum

Date: June 24, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: 5775 STATE HIGHWAY 80 (P.O.BOX 800) COOPERSTOWN, NY 13326
Organizer: The Farmers' Museum
Phone: 607-547-1450
Farmers Museum | Otsego County
Museums & Galleries

Saturday and Sunday, June 24-25 • 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. at the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown. Advance registration required

Cooperstown, New York — Join the knowledgeable staff at The Farmers’ Museum for two workshops during Herbal Remedies Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25. The workshops give participants a hands-on experience learning traditional nineteenth-century medicinal practices. 

Balms and Salves Workshop
Saturday, June 24. 1:00 p.m-4:00 p.m.

Learn how to make your own tinctures, extracts, balms, salves, and rubs. Make your own to take home. Stock your medicine cabinet with a variety of homemade remedies for everyday ailments – bruises, cuts, burns or sore muscles – all made from natural ingredients! Learn about the properties of plants, from the backyard as well as from the spice rack, and how to make tinctures, extracts, balms, salves, and rubs, then make your own to take home. It’s a cheap, natural, and fun alternative to a trip to the pharmacy.

Class Fee:  Members: $70 / Non-members $80. Lunch will be provided. Requires advance registration, limited to 8 participants, recommended for ages 14 and older. Please bring an apron or wear comfortable clothes that can get dirty. Closed-toe shoes are required. 

Backyard Weeds Workshop
Sunday, June 25, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Learn how what many consider weeds have medical, culinary, cosmetic, and household uses. After a weed walk make and sample herbal creations. This program explores the many uses of plants that most of us refer to as weeds. Burdock, dandelion, sumac, and plantain are just a few of the plants that will be explored. While participants learn about the history of these plants they will also discover the medical, culinary, cosmetic and household uses. Participants will go on a weed walk around the museum grounds while learning how to identify and gather plant material. The walk will be followed by a workshop making and taste-testing samples of teas and herbal treats produced from these plants. Recipes and other handouts will be given to workshop participants.

Class Fee:  Members: $55 / Non-members $65. Lunch will be provided. Requires advance registration, limited to 8 participants, recommended for ages 14 and older. Please bring an apron or wear comfortable clothes that can get dirty. Closed-toe shoes are required.

All workshops require advance registration. For workshop more information and to register, visit FarmersMuseum.org. Please email d.anderson@farmersmuseum.org with any questions. Workshops are held at The Farmers’ Museum located at 5775 State Highway 80, Cooperstown, New York.

About The Farmers’ Museum

As one of the oldest rural life museums in the country, The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to experience 19th-century rural and village life first-hand through authentic demonstrations and interpretative exhibits. The museum, founded in 1943, comprises a Colonial Revival stone barn listed on the National Register for Historic Places, a recreated historic village circa 1845, the Empire State Carousel, and a working farmstead. Through its 19th-century village and farm, the museum preserves important examples of upstate New York architecture, early agricultural tools and equipment, and heritage livestock. The Farmers’ Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 23,000 items encompasses significant historic objects ranging from butter molds to carriages, and hand planes to plows. The museum also presents a broad range of interactive educational programs for school groups, families, and adults that explore and preserve the rich agricultural history of the region.

FarmersMuseum.org

Herbal Medicine Workshops in June at The Farmers’ Museum

Date: June 25, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: 5775 STATE HIGHWAY 80 (P.O.BOX 800) COOPERSTOWN, NY 13326
Organizer: The Farmers' Museum
Phone: 607-547-1450
Farmers Museum | Otsego County
Museums & Galleries

Saturday and Sunday, June 24-25 • 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. at the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown. Advance registration required

Cooperstown, New York — Join the knowledgeable staff at The Farmers’ Museum for two workshops during Herbal Remedies Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25. The workshops give participants a hands-on experience learning traditional nineteenth-century medicinal practices. 

Balms and Salves Workshop
Saturday, June 24. 1:00 p.m-4:00 p.m.

Learn how to make your own tinctures, extracts, balms, salves, and rubs. Make your own to take home. Stock your medicine cabinet with a variety of homemade remedies for everyday ailments – bruises, cuts, burns or sore muscles – all made from natural ingredients! Learn about the properties of plants, from the backyard as well as from the spice rack, and how to make tinctures, extracts, balms, salves, and rubs, then make your own to take home. It’s a cheap, natural, and fun alternative to a trip to the pharmacy.

Class Fee:  Members: $70 / Non-members $80. Lunch will be provided. Requires advance registration, limited to 8 participants, recommended for ages 14 and older. Please bring an apron or wear comfortable clothes that can get dirty. Closed-toe shoes are required. 

Backyard Weeds Workshop
Sunday, June 25, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Learn how what many consider weeds have medical, culinary, cosmetic, and household uses. After a weed walk make and sample herbal creations. This program explores the many uses of plants that most of us refer to as weeds. Burdock, dandelion, sumac, and plantain are just a few of the plants that will be explored. While participants learn about the history of these plants they will also discover the medical, culinary, cosmetic and household uses. Participants will go on a weed walk around the museum grounds while learning how to identify and gather plant material. The walk will be followed by a workshop making and taste-testing samples of teas and herbal treats produced from these plants. Recipes and other handouts will be given to workshop participants.

Class Fee:  Members: $55 / Non-members $65. Lunch will be provided. Requires advance registration, limited to 8 participants, recommended for ages 14 and older. Please bring an apron or wear comfortable clothes that can get dirty. Closed-toe shoes are required.

All workshops require advance registration. For workshop more information and to register, visit FarmersMuseum.org. Please email d.anderson@farmersmuseum.org with any questions. Workshops are held at The Farmers’ Museum located at 5775 State Highway 80, Cooperstown, New York.

About The Farmers’ Museum

As one of the oldest rural life museums in the country, The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to experience 19th-century rural and village life first-hand through authentic demonstrations and interpretative exhibits. The museum, founded in 1943, comprises a Colonial Revival stone barn listed on the National Register for Historic Places, a recreated historic village circa 1845, the Empire State Carousel, and a working farmstead. Through its 19th-century village and farm, the museum preserves important examples of upstate New York architecture, early agricultural tools and equipment, and heritage livestock. The Farmers’ Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 23,000 items encompasses significant historic objects ranging from butter molds to carriages, and hand planes to plows. The museum also presents a broad range of interactive educational programs for school groups, families, and adults that explore and preserve the rich agricultural history of the region.

FarmersMuseum.org

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