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John M. Diven
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorIn Chemung County the Diven name is associated with state and local politics, the Civil War, and education, but one Diven received national recognition for his work...
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Half a Century of Computing Technology
By Monica Groth, CuratorThe coming exhibit, When Waters Recede: 50 Years Since the Flood of 1972, will remind visitors how much communications and computing technology has progressed in the past fifty...
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Helen Booth Sprecher
By Phoenix Andrews, Alfred University InternHelen Booth Sprecher was born in Spangler, Pennsylvania in 1913. She attended Slippery Rock State Teachers College (now Slippery Rock University) where she...
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Big Flats and the 1972 Flood
by Rachel Dworkin, Archivist1972 was going to be Big Flats’ year! It was the 150thanniversary of the town’s founding and they had big plans. There were events scheduled throughout the year including a...
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Our Town, Our Teams: Hockey in Elmira
by Kevin Earley, Alfred University internHockey in Elmira has a storied history to it that most people wouldn’t really think about. From going to the domes in Pine Valley to watch the Elmira College...
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Fifty Years
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorTwo eight-year-olds were recently touring the museum looking at the exhibit When Waters Recede: 50 Years since the Flood of 1972. One was overheard to ask the...
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Fascination, Salvation, Damnation, and Procrastination: The Infamous Corners...
by Monica Groth, CuratorWhile leading one of our Historic Downtown Walking Tours last month, I learned some fascinating history from our knowledgeable trolley-master Mark Delgrosso. Mark brought to my...
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From Our Interns:
As summer comes to an end and the start of the fall semester draws near, it is time for the two of us to say our goodbyes to the Chemung County Historical Society. We have spent the last few months...
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The Library Project
By Rachel Dworkin, archivist Sometimes visitors ask me what it is I do all day. Each day is different, but I currently have an interesting project I’m working on. In addition to the over a million...
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Take a Look: New in the Galleries
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorEveryone who has been to the museum has a favorite artifact or document that they remember long after they’ve visited. One of my personal favorites is not currently...
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The History of Hitching Your Horse
by Monica Groth, CuratorHitching Post Collection by Talitha BotsfordDuring the 19th century, horse-drawn transportation ruled the roads of Chemung County and the United States. The Chemung County...
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Capabilities and Disabilities
by Rachel Dworkin, archivistOctober is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, but, for disabled workers, employment can be complicated. When the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established...
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Mr. Bookmobile: Thompson Ellsworth Williams
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorKnown affectionately as Mr. Bookmobile for over thirty years, Thompson E. Williams not only drove the county’s first bookmobile, he shared his love of learning with...
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Faces of Chemung County
by Monica Groth, CuratorThe display surrounding Julia Stancliff Reynolds, one of nine individuals featured in our newest exhibitThe Museum’s upcoming exhibit Faces of Chemung County features the...
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So You Want To Be An Oral Historian
By Rachel Dworkin, Archivist The majority of the human experience will be lost to time. The most pivotal moments in people’s lives rarely make the newspapers, let alone the history books. Once someone...
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Holiday Memories
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorIn 2020, when the whole world seemed to pause, the annual Elmira Downtown Holiday parade was canceled. Without a parade, CCHS shared 170 images from our collection...
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The Duck that Laid the Golden Cure
by Monica Groth, CuratorAn Illustration Satirizing Medical "Quackery" in the March 1867 edition of The Herald of Health medical journal .The medical world of the 19th century was chaotic. Physicians...
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A Brief History of Abortion in Chemung County
By Rachel Dworkin, ArchivistEarlier this month, the FDA finalized a regulation allowing Americans to obtain a prescription for milepristone-misoprostol, also known as the abortion pill, at a pharmacy....
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Collecting Objects
by Susan Zehnder, Education DirectorLast year, someone accused us of collecting objects just to squirrel them away into drawers. A thought that if true, might explain the overflowing condition of the...
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Cleaning Up Cleaners
by Monica Groth, curatorBrownfields are defined by the EPA as areas “complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.” The term was coined in 1978...
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