This constantly evolving talk by Derrick Pratt examines the experience of African-Americans along the Erie Canal Corridor, with a particular focus on the struggle for abolition. While parts of this story are unpleasant, slavery, racism, and resistance are critical to understanding our society today.

This program will take place at Opendore, 2978 State Route 34B in Sherwood, NY. The program will also be available by Zoom. Email hssmsherwood@gmail.com a week before the program to receive the link.

Auburn High School librarian Beth Cuddy will present "Tips to Navigate Our Misinformation World" at Opendore.

Cuddy, who was named School Librarian of the Year by the New York Library Association in 2022, collaborates with Ithaca College nonprofit media literacy program Project Look Sharp.

Her presentation will define and examine different types of misinformation, and provide ways to combat it.

"Misinformation creates real-world consequences," the library said in a news release. "It influences our politics, our health decisions and even how we view our neighbors. Social media, the way the majority of Americans get their news and information, helps fuel the spread of misinformation."

A Zoom link is available for the program. Email hssmsherwood@gmail.com for the link.

Step into Sherwood’s legacy and experience the people and ideals that shaped a more just and equal America with HSSM’s new drawing room exhibit. At the exhibit opening, Curator Larry Bell will share stories from a small Quaker community that helped lead the fight for abolition, women’s rights, and social reform.

At Opendore, 2978 Route 34B in Sherwood, NY. Free and open to the public.

The exhibit will remain open through the fall during the museum’s regular open hours, Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

This exhibit is sponsored by the Cayuga County Office of Tourism.

Beth Crawford will present an illustrated talk honoring some of CNY's most prominent 19th century social reformers and their historic houses featuring Isabel Howland, Harriet Tubman, Harriet May Mills & family, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and George & Rebecca Barnes. 

Beth Crawford is a Senior Associate & Designer with Crawford & Stearns, Architects and Preservation Planners LLC of Syracuse.  She has participated in the preservation, rehabilitation, and adaptive use of hundreds of buildings across New York State.  Ms. Crawford has participated as a team member on numerous historic building condition assessments and historic structure reports.  Beth was the project manager and designer for the award-winning rehabilitation of the Babcock-Shattuck House which was highlighted in the NYS Historic Preservation Plan 2015-2020.  Ms. Crawford has worked with the Howland Stone Store Museum for over 15 years to rehabilitate Opendore - The Isabel Howland Home in Sherwood.  Beth has previously served for fifteen years on the board of the Preservation Association of Central New York and is currently Vice-President of the Arts & Crafts Society of Central New York.

The Opendore Jeannette Rankin East Porch Dedication will proceed this program at 3:30PM.

The Museum opens at 1PM for visits and tours. All portions of the day’s events take place at Opendore. The Stone Store Museum will also be open for visits and tours from 1-3pm.

A new exhibit in the Howland Letchworth Parlor by Jen Gandee and Lucie Wellner, entitled, “Amazing Women” celebrates extraordinary contributions of women past and present through visual narrative on a series of ceramic plates.

At 3PM we celebrate the dedication of the Jeannette P. Rankin East Porch at Opendore. The porch is s been carefully rebuilt by volunteers to replicate the 1910 structure that was part of the buildings North Wing addition by Isabel Howland.

At approximately 4PM, Beth Crawford will present “Suffragists & Abolitionists: Central New York's Reformers & Their Historic Homes” an illustrated talk honoring some of CNY's most prominent 19th century social reformers and their historic houses featuring Isabel Howland, Harriet Tubman, Harriet May Mills & family, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and George & Rebecca Barnes.

Beth Crawford is a Senior Associate & Designer with Crawford & Stearns, Architects and Preservation Planners LLC of Syracuse.  She has participated in the preservation, rehabilitation, and adaptive use of hundreds of buildings across New York State.  Ms. Crawford has participated as a team member on numerous historic building condition assessments and historic structure reports.  Beth was the project manager and designer for the award-winning rehabilitation of the Babcock-Shattuck House which was highlighted in the NYS Historic Preservation Plan 2015-2020.  Ms. Crawford has worked with the Howland Stone Store Museum for over 15 years to rehabilitate Opendore - The Isabel Howland Home in Sherwood.  Beth has previously served for fifteen years on the board of the Preservation Association of Central New York and is currently Vice-President of the Arts & Crafts Society of Central New York.

Historical Cemetery Tour on Memorial Day

Join us on Memorial Day—Monday, May 26 at 4:00 p.m.—for a guided historical cemetery tour beginning at the Friends Cemetery on Poplar Ridge Road, just west of the Dixon Road intersection, in the town of Ledyard. This site marks the location of the first Friends Meeting House in the area, built in 1810.

The tour will end a short distance west at the Homestead Cemetery, the final resting place of the influential Howland family—prominent Quakers known for their leadership in abolition, education, and social reform.

Come discover the stories of those who helped shape our local history. All are welcome!

Howland Stone Store Museum

Notice of 2025 Annual Membership Meeting

Sunday May 18, 2025 ;  7:00 PM Opendore and by virtual conference

All members are invited and encouraged to participate, either in person or virtually

For Zoom connection please email request to treasurer@howlandstonestore.org

Agenda :

• Welcome & Opening Remarks – Guy Garnsey, President

• Roll Call – Larry Bell, Secretary

• Approval of 2024 Annual Meeting minutes (attached)

• Financial – Jackie Dickinson, Treasurer

o Review of 2024 and 2025 year to date

• Review of 2024-25 and upcoming activities – Guy Garnsey, President

• Discussion of Hazard Library addition at Opendore - Guy Garnsey

·      Open discussion by members

• Election of Trustees 2025

o  Expiring terms  - Jackie Dickinson, Karen Speck, Andy Simkin

o   Nominations by nominating Committee for three year terms – Lorrie Butcher chair

§  Jackie Dickinson

§  Andy Simkin

§  (to be determined)

o Nominations from membership at large

o Vote (request for motion to approve all nominations and elect nominees)

• Closing remarks – Guy Garnsey, President

• Adjourn

Program to follow : Jane Oakes on Water Cures: Suffrage, Temperance, and Abolitionist

Water Cures were not only a place to get well, but often where radical ideas about the rights of women, abolition, women’s dress reform and temperance were promoted.  Learn about our regional water cure owners who contributed to some of the great social movements of the nineteenth century.  

Isabel Howland and her mother visited the Elmira Water Cure when in need of restoration.

Jane Oakes has been involved with historic education for over forty years.  She taught hands-on classes at the Genesee Country Village and Museum, BOCES: Gifted and Talented programs, and the William Mills Mansion in Mt. Morris, NY.

She has also served as a consultant for regional museums in Western NY and advised on historic restoration of opera houses as well as re-enacting roles from the Revolutionary and pre-revolutionary periods.

Jane holds a BA in Theater with a minor in Anthropology and a MA in History.

Pitch in with a rake or a dust cloth to help prep the grounds and buildings for the Spring Opening. Lunch provided.

Sunday, April 13 at 2PM

Norm Dann from the Abolition Hall of Fame in Peterboro will speak on Gerrit Smith and his relationship abolition and the women’s rights movement as well as to Frederick Douglas, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman. Mr. Dann has written a number of books and a selection will be available for sale.

Happening at our neighbor to the south: Genoa Historical Society & Museum

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the GHA hosts author Judy Hart.

In 1978 the author proposed the development of The Women's Rights National Historical Park. The park's centerpiece is the Wesleyan Chapel that was the site of the 1848 women's rights conference that first called for the right for women to vote. However, in 1980 the Chapel was a deteriorating laundromat! This is her story of bringing that dream to fruition - challenging rules, flouting policies, and tenaciously leading the campaign to create a park that now holds and tells that story of being a woman during that era that took place almost in our back yard.

Join us for a casual social gathering with refreshments and a visit from Emily.

At Opendore, 2978 Route 34B, Sherwood.

TOPIC POSTPONED - Instead, Larry Bell will be discussing Slocum Howland and African Americans in Sherwood. Slocum was a Quaker store owner and abolitionist who used his connections to help freedom seekers on their way. Most went on to Canada, but since the Sherwood community was heavily Quaker, some felt safe enough to settle here. Store ledgers and other historic artifacts tell the story of those who stayed. Important sites will be located on the Cayuga County Underground Railroad Driving Tour.

Water Cures were not only a place to get well, but often where radical ideas about the rights of women, abolition, women’s dress reform and temperance were promoted.  Learn about our regional water cure owners who contributed to some of the great social movements of the nineteenth century.  Isabel and her mother visited the Elmira Water Cure when in need of restoration.

Jane Oakes has been involved with historic education for over forty years.  She taught hands-on classes at the Genesee Country Village and Museum, BOCES: Gifted and Talented programs, and the William Mills Mansion in Mt. Morris, NY. She has also served as a consultant for regional museums in Western NY and advised on historic restoration of opera houses as well as re-enacting roles from the Revolutionary and pre-revolutionary periods.

The museum opens at 3pm on the day of the program. A Zoom link for the program will be available the week prior to the program by emailing hssmsherwood@gmail.com.

The folks from the Hazard Library in Poplar Ridge will host a fundraising concert featuring music by Perform4Purpose and Special Guests at Opendore. The Library is raising money to build their new library addition at Opendore! Join them for food trucks, raffle baskets, a silent auction, 50/50 raffle and bake sale. Suggested donation for the concert is $10. Rain date is 9/29/2024.

As historic preservationist and grant writer for the City of Auburn, Mike Long has been heavily involved in the creation of the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park from its beginning over 35 years ago. Mike will share the fascinating story of how it finally came into existence. 

The original Underground Railroad Driving Tour was based on a 2005 book by Judith Wellman. “Uncovering the Freedom Trail” documented over 100 Underground Railroad sites in Cayuga County.  Recently, the project was updated and integrated into a new mobile phone application. The driving tour is in two parts. Former Auburn Historian Mike Long will discuss the Auburn portion; and HSSM Historian Larry Bell will discuss the Cayuga County segment. 

Mike Long has been known as a Preservation Advocate, previously served as Chair of the Community Preservation Committee, Inc. / Willard Memorial Chapel Project, the Chair of the City of Auburn’s Historic Resources Review Board and project manager for the Judy Wellman Underground Railroad Study, Auburn City Historian, and Speaker for the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce “Leadership Cayuga” History Program over the last 35 years. 

Professionally, Mike worked with City of Auburn / Cayuga County Planning Board for nearly 28 years in several positions last as the Director of Capital Projects and Grants and Auburn Interim City Manager, the City Administrator of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., the City Manager of Oneonta, N.Y. and most recently established a consulting business Finger Lakes Planning and Development.  Long holds a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University as well as a Master of Landscape Architecture from S.U.N.Y - E.S.F. and was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners FAICP and retired as a “Credentialed Manager of the International City / County Managers Association (ICMA-CM). 

The museum opens at 1pm on the day of the program. A Zoom link for the program will be available the week prior to the program by emailing hssmsherwood@gmail.com.

Give a little thought to the back of your ballot before election day. Come to Opendore at 4pm on August 18 to gain understanding of Proposition 1, The New York Equal Rights Amendment. Presenter Mickie Belosi is a National Organization for Women member and advocate. This is an opportunity to question and consider your concerns regarding discrimination of any kind, and what safeguards may be warranted. As the Supreme Court increasingly looks for clarity in laws passed by legislative bodies, citizens of NY also need to carefully consider amendments to the state constitution.
The museum opens at 1pm on the day of the program. This program will be in-person only.

Local railroad historian Bruce Tracy will discuss the portion of the short-lived steam railroad that ran from Auburn to South Lansing in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The railroad served many local communities including Mapleton, Merryfield (Scipio) and Venice providing both freight and passenger service. It is known that Emily Howland and Isabel Howland were passengers. The grade (roadbed) is still visible at many points along the route, and remnants of the stations and other structures still exist.

Mr. Tracy has many historic photos of the railroad and local structures that it served. In 1876, the UI&E bought part of the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad's Auburn Branch, extending from Freeville on the Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad to Scipio, and was operated by the UI&E. It subsequently extended the line north from Scipio to Auburn. In 1883, it was leased by the Southern Central Railroad (a subsidiary of the Lehigh Valley Railroad), whose route it paralleled. On November 2, 1889, the line between Auburn and Dougal Road was bought at foreclosure by the Lehigh Valley subsidiary Auburn and Ithaca Railway, which built a line diverging from the IA&W at Genoa Junction (just west of Auburn) to Cayuga Junction on the Geneva and Sayre Railroad, another subsidiary. The rest of the line, however, was redundant to the Southern Central, and passed through sparsely settled and unprofitable country. It was abandoned in 1891.

The grade from a point south of Genoa Junction to South Lansing was re-used by the Ithaca-Auburn Short Line, which was itself abandoned in 1923. The small portion preserved by the Lehigh Valley was abandoned in 1971. The grade from Genoa Junction to Mapleton is now a power line right-of-way.

The museum is open for regular hours from 1-4pm that day. Come by early and visit the exhibits before the program.

Zoom link available from hssmsherwood@gmail.com the week before the program.

HSSM Historian & Exhibit Curator Larry Bell will speak about the forced exodus of the indigenous people, the Yankee settlers who followed, and the early African American experience.

The museum is open 1-4pm.
Gallery Talk at 4pm with viewing & refreshments following.

Prior to its formation in 1794, Scipio was a battleground for the American War of Independence. The “scorched earth” policy of the 1779 Sullivan-Clinton campaign forced the indigenous people —perceived as supporters of the British—to flee their homeland and take refuge in Canada. Later, hordes of Yankee settlers moved in, finding prosperous land sold by developers for a low price. Some brought enslaved persons, who later formed the basis of a free African American community that welcomed fugitives from Southern enslavement. The exhibit will present these three migrations side by side as formative influences on the birth of the town.

Sponsored by Auburn Public Theater SCR.

Artwork: detail of Ensenore on Owasco Lake, by an unknown artist, courtesy of the Cayuga Museum of History and Art

Howland Stone Store Museum - Notice of 2024 Annual Membership Meeting

Sunday May 19, 2024 ;  7:00 PM Opendore and by virtual conference

All members are invited and encouraged to participate, either in person or virtually

For Zoom connection please email request to hssmsherwood@gmail.com

Agenda :

• Welcome & Opening Remarks – Guy Garnsey, President

• Roll Call – Larry Bell, Secretary

• Approval of 2023 Annual Meeting minutes (attached)

• Financial – Jackie Dickinson, Treasurer

o Review of 2023 and 2024 year to date

• Review of 2024 and upcoming activities – Guy Garnsey, President

• Discussion of Hazard Library addition at Opendore - Guy Garnsey

• Election of Trustees 2024

o  Expiring terms  -Guy Garnsey, Lorrie Butcher, Kirsten Gosch

o   Nominations by nominating Committee for three year terms – Karen Speck

o Nominations from membership at large

o Vote (request for motion to approve all nominations)

• Open discussion by members

• Closing remarks – Guy Garnsey, President

• Adjourn

 Program to follow : Claire Morehouse Introduces “Arabella”

Claire Morehouse will introduce her newest book, ”Arabella” bringing to life a doll that has been in her family since the early 1800s and likely witnessed the development of the women’s rights movement.  The book is written for an early teen audience with hopes of bringing clarity to the history of the movement to them.  

Books available by contacting Marilyn Post at madeline4394@gmail.com or 315-478-1800.

May 12, 2024 (Mother’s Day. 5pm) 

Laurence Hauptman, Conspiracy of Interests: Iroquois Dispossession and the Rise of New York State, pp 1 - 220

Opendore will be open at 3pm on the day of the program.

……or so we hope

Find out how museums and other non-profits in the area plan for their long-term future viability and how you can be a part of that success.

 Thomas M. Griffith, Interim President & CEO and VP of Development of the Central New York Community Foundation will speak about easy and beneficial ways individuals can incorporate charitable giving into their financial and estate plans. This includes accessible options for setting aside a portion of one’s assets, no matter the amount, for the benefit of Central New York charities to continue their impactful work. We will also share about ways anyone can leave a legacy behind for the benefit of both their families and the community through storytelling. This includes examples of community legacy stories and concepts that range from improving the family Thanksgiving table dialogue to writing your own story for future generations to learn from.

·      HSSM is pleased to offer this workshop along with our non-profit partners in Southern Cayuga County.

·      Free and open to all. Opendore will open at 3pm for museum visitors.

·      Zoom link available from hssmsherwood@gmail.com the week before the program.