Allegany County Historical Society

03/23/2026

𝙇𝙚𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙑𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

A new award is set to shine a spotlight on the people and organizations keeping Allegany County’s history alive. The Allegany County Historical Society has announced the new annual 𝘓𝘦𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, honoring outstanding contributions to local historical preservation.

The Award will recognize a person or an organization who has made a major contribution to the preservation of Allegany County History. Each Allegany County Township Historical Society or County Historical Association is eligible to submit one nomination. Members of the ACHS Board of Trustees are also eligible to submit one nomination. The organization or person submitting the nomination is responsible for providing the accomplishments of the nominee in a document of no more than five pages.

The first Award will cover activities for the year 2026 and for the five previous years. Future Awards will be based on only one year’s activities.

Submissions must be posted to ACHS via email ([email protected]) or USPS (P.O. Box 252, Andover, NY 14806) no later than September 1, 2026. The ACHS Board of Trustees will determine the winner of the 𝘓𝘦𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. The Award will be given in December 2026 at the ACHS Museum in Andover, New York. The winner will receive a check for $200.

12/24/2025

Allegany County Historical Societly will close today (December 24, 2025) at 3:00 pm.
We will remain closed until January 2 at 10:00 a.m. We will resume our regular hours of Wednesday-Thursday-Friday then with 10:00am Openings and Closings at 3:00pm . Special appointments are available by calling our landline (607)478-5390.
Join ACHS!! During the month of January we will be continuing our "Wicked Raffle". Look at our website and enjoy the holidays.
www.alleganyhistory.org
Ron Taylor - ACHS Historian - Cell: 585-610-8668 for appointment.

Allegany County Historical Society

12/12/2025

This photo shows students, ca. 1910, from Allentown's Union Free School. The back of the photo reads: "Standing: George Hardy, Laurence Butts, Chester McEnroe, Kathryn Snowdon, Will Musco, Jessie Storms, Mark Herold, Hazel Coast, Merritt Rolls, Lena Niles. Kneeling: Will Musco, Everett Hill. Sitting: Mattie Cleveland, Marion Gould, Grace Potter." Photo is courtesy of Molly Young, from the collection of her grandmother, Kathryn Snowdon Barnes.

12/11/2025

L. Frank Baum, the celebrated author of The Wizard of Oz, lived in Richburg in the early 1880s to operate a theatre commissioned by his father. Baum eventually left the region after the theatre was destroyed by fire in 1882.

To commemorate the movie release of Wicked 2, which is based on the Oz legend, and to showcase our Wizard of Oz collection, ACHS will hold a ticket raffle from December 1, 2025 to January 31, 2026.

A raffle ticket will be given when a new ACHS membership is purchased or when an existing ACHS Membership is renewed. Individual membership is twenty dollars for one year.

A drawing will be held on FEBRUARY 17th during the Board of Trustee meeting to pick a winner.

The prize is a signed copy of Gregory Maguire’s book Wicked, which seems to gain value every day, a photograph of Gregory Maguire signing the book in a special frame featuring a witch, and a copy of the New York City Visitor’s Guide featuring a cover for the musical Wicked.

Memberships or membership renewals can be paid for at the ACHS Museum, Andover, New York or online at www.alleganyhistory.org.

For any questions about the raffle call ACHS at 607-478-5390, Or, email [email protected] ; You may also pay by using your smart phone and texting the phrase (one word, no space): AlleganyHistory to 44-321.

11/22/2025

Andover football team, 1928. Can anyone identify the players?

11/21/2025

Croquet in the Angelica Circle, early 1900s. Back when 'casual gaming' still required a good hat, suspenders, and a very serious expression. Photo compliments of David Haggstrom.

10/13/2025

A new historic marker celebrates Alfred Station's Wally Higgins and his many contributions to his community and the nation.

07/08/2025

Next week!

05/20/2025

We're a registered participant for the Andover Community Yard Sales again this Saturday, May 24, from about 8am to about 3pm! Most items will be sold as donation*, meaning you pay what you think is fair (*unless otherwise marked).

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞!!! Check out the photos and information about the 1800s melodeon we are listing for sale! Even if you're not interested, please help us get this sold by sharing!! *Melodeon can be seen at the museum during the yard sales, anytime during open hours, or by setting up an appointment.*

05/02/2025

Kudos to two volunteers, Karen Dickerson and Laura Shields, for taking part in arranged by the ! 👏 Last week they beat the rain and helped tidy up around the Triangle No. 1 marker area in Alma. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔! We appreciate their work and hope to spread awareness of maintaining these historic markers that can be found all over the country. National Historic Marker Day/Weekend is the last Friday/weekend of April, but you can help keep these signs beautiful any day of the year. Cleaning tips, information, and suggestions can be found at https://www.wgpfoundation.org/national-historic-marker-day/ or reach out to your local historical society!

If you're interested in learning about the markers in Allegany County, head over to www.hmdb.org for detailed information and interactive maps.

04/22/2025

ALMOND -- The public is invited to the Almond Historical Society on Sunday afternoon, April 27, at 3 p.m. to take a personalized trip back to WWI: the Great War or the War to End all Wars, which was fought from 1914 to 1918. The war raged for three years and fought to a bloody standstill. The Allies (France, England, Russia, Italy, and Japan) as well as the Central Powers (Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey) suffered irreplaceable resources, supplies, and manpower. With the United States entering the war in 1917, it would be a matter of time before the Central Powers would collapse.

Private Steve Smith will be your guide as he shares his life and time as a Doughboy in the American Army. Private Smith endured bombardments, gas attacks, horrendous living conditions in the trenches, being wounded and survived the Spanish Flu Pandemic.

Our program will feature Dave Clark, professional impersonator, who was our guest in November, when he reenacted the experiences of his uncle, Steve Smith, as a Depression-era hobo. Clark’s performance is one of more than twenty historical programs that he, an art teacher and professional artist, offers to audiences.

The Almond Historical Society property is located at the corner of Main Street and Karrdale Ave/at the red light. The 1830s Hagadorn House will be open from 2-3, at which time the program will be presented in the adjacent office/archives building. Refreshments will be provided by Diane Stuart.

Copies of Andy Phelan’s newly released book, “Once Upon A Time in a Place Called Almond”, will be available for sale.