Events and Publications

 UPCOMING EVENTS!

Old Onaquaga Historical Society Part of NYS Path Through History

Exploring the History Trail of Windsor and Colesville in the Susquehanna Valley


The Old Onaquaga Historical Society invites you to explore the trail of history in the Susquehanna Valley of Colesville and Windsor on Saturday, October 12 from 10 AM to 3 PM as part of the NYS Path Through History Weekend. Visit sites along the river from Nineveh to the Pennsylvania border and learn about the Haudenosaunee people of Onaquaga and the pioneers who settled here 230 years ago. A handout map of the historic sites will be provided at St. Luke’s Church in Harpursville, the Charles L. English Museum in the Village of Windsor and the old Grange Hall in South Windsor.

Step inside St. Luke’s Church in Harpursville, a 196-year-old structure that is home to the Historical Society’s Local History Museum. And go back in time with a tour of the Doraville Schoolhouse Museum right down the road. Hear OOHS President Eileen Ruggieri recall her experience in helping to facilitate the repatriation of human remains, accidentally unearthed in the valley in the 1960s, to the Oneida people at 2 PM at St. Luke’s. The Joseph Knight Ancestral Farm in Nineveh, home of the First Branch of the Mormon Church, will also be open.

Downriver at Ouaquaga is the historic Old Iron Bridge and kiosk of the History of the Onaquaga Valley. South of there, at the base of Ouaquaga Mountain, visit the memorial marker to Rebecca Kellogg Ashley, interpreter for missionaries at Onaquaga in the 1750s and read about the life of this remarkable woman. Learn all about the history of the railroad era in Windsor at the Charles L. English Museum. Heading downriver again, stop in for an Open House at the old South Windsor Grange and one-room schoolhouse building. Right nearby is the newly-installed historic marker to George Catlin, well-known painter of Native Americans in the 1830s, at the site of his boyhood home in South Windsor. The history of George Catlin and South Windsor will be on display at the old Grange Hall.

Celebrating Local History at First Knight Windsor


If you’re going to the New Year’s Eve festivities at First Knight Windsor, you will want to check out the Town Hall on Main Street where Windsor Historian Rita Saunders and others have put together an amazing array of displays on the early history of education in the Town.

Highlights include the history of the first Windsor Academy built in the mid-1840s, the second Windsor Academy and Teaching Institute that followed, and numerous photos and other memorabilia from the many one-room schoolhouses throughout the town. A slideshow of schoolhouses and students from this time period will be another part of the evening events at the Town Hall which all begin at 7:00.

There will also be a display of items from the old schoolhouses—desks, books, examples of children’s writing and artwork, and a chalkboard with daily assignments. Town Councilman Gary Hupman will be exhibiting his very interesting collection from the one-room schoolhouse in South Windsor. Children can have fun making a corn husk doll and giving a try at writing with a quill pen.

For a look-back into the classrooms of long ago, stop by the Town Hall and enjoy this wonderful piece of Windsor history.


Windsor's First Knight New Year's Eve celebration is brought to you by the Windsor Partners & friends.

Coming up in October!


Celebrating the Many One-Room Schoolhouses of Colesville and Windsor

 

The Old Onaquaga Historical Society, along with the Colesville Historian Advisory Committee, Windsor History people and several Harpursville School District teachers are planning an eventful, family-friendly celebration of the numerous one-room schoolhouses that once dotted the countryside of both towns.

On Saturday, October 21, from 10 am to 2 pm, we will be displaying memorabilia at St. Luke’s in Harpursville that includes pictures of the 50+ schoolhouses throughout Colesville and Windsor, and some of the children who went there. Samples of old text books, children’s writing and artwork will also be on display. You can take a tour of the Doraville Schoolhouse Museum in Harpursville and check out a video of the day the schoolhouse was moved from Doraville where it had been for over 100 years to its present location behind the Town Hall. We have interesting oral history interviews with local people who remembered going to these one-room schoolhouses. There will be old-time games and other fun things for children to enjoy. So, mark October 21 on your calendar and join us for this memorable look at the good olde days.

Here are a few of the many old photographs of our one-room schoolhouses, the children who attended them and their teachers.

    • History in a Trunk at

    Windsor Corn Festival


    The Historical Society will be at this year’s 5th annual Corn Festival and Tractor Show on Saturday, August 26, from noon to 5:00 pm at Klumpp Park in the Village of Windsor.

    As in past years, we will have a display from our History in a Trunk program highlighting photos and other memorabilia from Windsor’s past. 

    Did you know that over 100 years ago, Windsor was known for its horse racing on what is now the Miller Farm? 

    We will also have local history books for sale. So, stop by and see what we have! The list is below.


    The Corn & Tractor Festival is brought to you by the Windsor Partners Inc. 

    Historian George Cummings on

    George Washington’s Military and Presidency

     

    Our guest speaker this month is George Cummings, well-known in the Southern Tier for his lively presentations of Early American history along the New York frontier and beyond. 

    He will be speaking this time on General George Washington’s historic career in the military as Commander-in-Chief during the American Revolution and his subsequent role as first President of the Country. 

    His presentation will include a reading of the first ever “State of the Union” address by Washington, which is quite short when compared with today’s speeches.

    George Cummings’ presentation is on Monday, June 26, at 6:00 pm at St. Luke’s Church on Maple Street in Harpursville. 

    The public is welcome and encouraged to join us for an evening of interesting American history.

    The Fascinating Story of Unitaria in Colesville History

    Starts Off OOHS 2023 Season on May 15 at St. Luke’s


    The Hamlet of Unitaria had a short but significant history in the Town of Colesville thanks to two families who made it their home in the 19th century. Three famous horses were stabled there in the 1860s; trained by A. H. Rockwell and M.D. Hurlburt to be driven without reins or any other harness except a surcingle to fasten them to a carriage. They were shown in many states throughout the country running, trotting and turning, totally controlled by a motion of the whip in the hand of the driver.

    Rockwell and Hurlburt took the team West during the Gold Rush era and made a lot of money sharing their reinless technique. They planned to return home with the gold they had made and put Unitaria on the map, but the ship they were on sank and they never made it back.

    Longtime Colesville resident Amadeo Cimini, who lives in the part of town that was once Unitaria, will tell this fascinating story at the Historical Society’s first meeting of 2023 on Monday, May 15, at 6:00 pm at St. Luke’s in Harpursville. He has new information to share on the fate of the ship that Rockwell and Hurlburt and their wives were on. You won’t want to miss this program!


    Caption

    The famous team of horses—Tiger, Mazappa and Star—driven without reins by A.H. Rockwell in this 19th century sketch.

    We keep finding really great photos for our archives!

    This is a picture of a snow drift about 20-feet deep over Colesville resident Mr. King’s well house in the winter of 1925. He’s standing on top of the well house with even more snow over his head. There’s an X on the door (right side of photo) leading into the well house.


    This picture postcard was taken in Windsor and according to writing on the back of the postcard it is of Archie Hanson’s Glen.

    Quilt Show 2016


    On September 10-11, 2016, the Old Onaquaga Historical Society presented a Quilt Show for the public at St. Luke's Church & Local Museum. 

    OOHS members and Quilters from the region were encouraged to display handiwork of their own, or of an ancestor.  Written descriptions and personal stories were encouraged.

    The nave of St. Luke's made a wonderful Gallery with it's beautiful stained glass windows and pews which doubled as quilt racks for the weekend. 

    Guests enjoyed the quilts and the stories that went with them.

    Everyone was also encouraged to tour the Old Onaquaga museum of Local History in St. Luke's Undercroft. 
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