Chemung County Historical Society

The Chemung County Historical Society is headquartered in the historic Chemung Canal Bank Building in Elmira, New York. It is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the cultural history of the Chemung River Valley region. The society was founded in 1923 and first chartered by New York State in 1947. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums, and currently operates two cultural repositories, the Chemung Valley History Museum and the Booth Library, both as non-profit educational institutions.

History of the society

In 1923 the society was founded by A. W. Booth, Harry Hoffman, Chester Howell, Jabin Secor, Harrison Chapman, Joseph H. Pierce, H.H. Bickford and Edward B. Billings.^{[citation needed]} At that time the society was organized by volunteers who formed small archival and artifact collections. In 1947, the Society was chartered by New York State; in 1977 the Board of Trustees reorganized their By-laws, and at that point in time the society launched a capital fund drive to purchase and renovate the former Chemung Canal Bank building at 415 East Water Street to use as a museum and head office. The society was first accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1986. Seventeen years of planning and the financial support from a National Endowment for the Humanities challenge grant saw the finished renovations to the museum and head office building in 1993. In 1999 the society was re-accredited by the American Association of Museums. At present the society has 5 staff positions, with members in 23 states and in Canada.^{[citation needed]}

Location

The Chemung County Historical Society is located at 415 East Water Street in Elmira, New York in the former Chemung Canal Bank Building. The Society operates two facilities in that building; the Chemung Valley History Museum, located on the first floor, and the Booth Library and archival repository, located on the second floor, along with Society offices. From 1833 until 1920, the current museum building served as the Chemung Canal Bank headquarters and then as various offices, notably the Sayles-Evans law office. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It originally had two and a half stories; a third story was added in 1868. The bank was a brick structure with stepped gables, most of the buildings in Elmira of the time being made of wood. The bank expressed a Greek revival idiom with transitional Federal-style elements. The entrance to the building was a stone stoop with steps adorned with an ornamental wrought iron railing. Like many other buildings of the era, the bank is thought to have consisted of a center hall with one or two rooms on either side, as well as a substantial staircase, although no evidence has been found to verify this. The building is believed to have been remodeled in 1903 by the architectural firm Pierce and Bickford when the Chemung Canal Bank merged with the Elmira Trust Company. In December 1920 the Chemung Canal Trust Company moved to a new facility and the bank building came under the ownership of the Arnot Realty Company.^{[citation needed]}

Collections and exhibits

At the heart of The Chemung County Historical Society lies its collection of documents, photographs, books, maps, and artifacts. Currently the three dimensional collection consists of more than 18,000 artifacts including a large textile collection. The Booth Library contains more than a million items, a collection including 2,500 books, 14,000 photographs, 30,000 manuscripts and 11,000 maps and architectural records. The Historical Society has storage space on the second and third floors of their main offices, as well as in an adjacent building on Carroll Street and additional off-site storage.

Chemung Valley History Museum

The Chemung Valley History Museum generally has upwards of 200 items on display, slightly less than 2% of the total collection. There are three main gallery spaces in the museum. The permanent exhibit, located in the Bank Gallery, showcases an overview of Chemung County history. The Barn and Howell Galleries are home to the museum’s rotating exhibits which change several times a year.^{[citation needed]}

Accomplishments and awards

The CCHS has earned many grants, achievements and awards. These include a 14-year grant cycle with the state arts council’s Arts-In-Education division for programming in rural school districts, a 20-year grant cycle with the Institute of Museum and Library Services for general operating support funds, a National Endowment for the Humanities challenge grant, and in 2005 a Save Our History grant from The History Channel. The Society also received a Certificate of Commendation for the exhibit "Mark Twain in Elmira" in 2011 from MuseumWise.^[1]

The American Association for State and Local History has given their Award of Merit and Certificate of Commendation for CCHS exhibitions and programs including: A Heritage Uncovered: the Black Experience in Upstate New York; Outsiders All: Nineteenth Century Prisons, Mental Hospitals and Asylums; and The High Line: A City Divided, A City United. The Historical Society has also received an Award of Merit from the Upstate History Alliance for the Chemung Historical Journal in 2003 and the exhibit Never Done: Women and Work in Chemung County, 1880-1920 in 2010.

A National Award of Merit was presented to the society from the Retirement Research Foundation for the video, A Heritage Uncovered, and its subsequent broadcast on PBS Television Network. The CCHS is accredited by the American Association of Museums and was selected as one of six Mid-Atlantic region museums to participate in their National Interpretation Project in 1999-2000.^{[citation needed]}

References

• Chemung County Historical Society, "Booth Library of the Chemung County Historical Society" (pamphlet), Elmira NY.
• Chemung County Historical Society, "Chemung Valley History Museum", (pamphlet), Elmira NY.
• Chemung County Historical Society, "Chemung Canal Bank Building", (pamphlet), Elmira NY. 1989
• Chemung County Historical Society, "Institutional Fact Sheet" (loose leaf), Elmira NY.
• Chemung County Historical Society, "Organizational History" (loose leaf), Elmira NY.
• Chemung County Historical Society, "Minutes, Volume 1" 1923 Elmira NY.
• Sunday Telegram, Elmira, NY, July 3, 1977
• The Star Gazette Historical journal editor retires March 18, 19986
• Weekend and beyond, a supplement to the Star-Gazette Civil War Weekend August 23, 1985
• The Star Gazette Foundation awards 18 grants December 4, 1986
• The Star Gazette Foundation awards $9,00 grants January 2, 1986
• New York-Pennsylvania Collector Museum Notes January 21, 1988

1. ^ Museumwise Awards of Merit

Publications

• Armstead, Myra B. Young; Sorin, Gretchen Sullivan; Horne, Field (1988). Cara A. Sutherland. ed. Elmira, New York: Chemung County Historical Society. OCLC 21113620. 
• Elmira Star-Gazette; Chemung County Historical Society (2001). Chemung County memories: the early years. Pediment Pub. OCLC 54780290. 
• Chemung County Historical Society Museum : dedication May 15, 1982. OCLC 54432376. 
• Banknotes : the newsletter of the Chemung County Historical Society. OCLC 30952942. 
• The Chemung historical journal. ISSN 0528-9599. OCLC 3467034. 
• Chemung County Historical Society (1980). List of Confederate soldiers buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira, New York. OCLC 7139424. 

External links

• Chemung Valley History Museum website