Originally an 1833 bank, the building where The Little Falls Historical Society Museum is located was converted and restored to house thousands of artifacts, family records, and relics of the past.
This museum exists to discover, collect, display and conserve data, documents and artifacts that are a part of the history of Little Falls and to maintain an institution on educational usefulness.
The Little Falls Historical Society Museum is located in the stone Herkimer County Bank building, built in 1833 at the northeast corner of Ann and Albany Streets. The building was purchased by Urban Renewal in 1964 and was slated for demolition to become a parking log for a new bank.
This original group headed by Edward Cooney, Mary Louise Cooney, Harold Sperbeck, Lyda Loucks, Mary Grace, Robert McEvoy, Fred Sabin, John Gallagher and John George received a provisional charter from the University of the State of New York Education Department on April 26, 1963, and an absolute charter five years later.
The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 – one of the first in the area to be so honored. Purchased by the Little Falls Historical Society in 1977, it was carefully restored to its present grandeur over a seven-year period and, since 1985, has served as the depository for the society’s collections.
Adam Lenhardt
Arkell Museum
