By Jasmine Willis
COHOCTON — Some community members may have noticed some changes at the history museum and the historic Larrowe House lately.
The Cohocton Historical Society revealed at the Cohocton Fall Foliage that there are changes being made at both places.
The society was out in front of the famous buckwheat dynasty mansion during the fall festival doing a fundraiser for the museum.
“People have been enjoying the Crosby Building (history museum) and the Larrowe House. We are making some changes little by little. We are pulling things out of closets, basements, and attics,” Judy Hall, society member, said. “We have a fundraiser for the museum with a lot of small items brought in from members. It is a yard sale type of fundraiser with small items we had around the house. We are not giving away or selling any items that have been donated to us.”
Hall mentioned that an Alumni Room has been formed in the museum to keep the legacy of Cohocton alive. The members are trying to clean things up a bit, and make it easier to get to the important historic artifacts in the museum.
“We are working on painting, organizing, and moving things around. We are working on fixing up the house a bit too. There were so many things just jammed into the rooms,” Hall said. “We wanted to work on bringing in more items from the Larrowe Family as well.”
“We just received a special fountain this summer. The 1816 Fiske Fountain was donated to us by Jane Schryver in Dansville. These fountains were made of great quality, and we are very lucky to have it in our garden,” Bill Mehlenbacher, society treasurer, said. “Jane had bought it and kept it in her garage for a long time. She told us she wanted it someplace where it would look nice, and everyone could come out and enjoy it. It is a wonderful and historic fountain.”
Tim Cullen fixed up the Civil War Soldier in Dansville and had the honor of fixing up the Fiske Fountain as well.
“The Larrowe House is one of the finest examples of Italian Architecture in the area, and we are always working on keeping it maintained. We are lucky to be in touch with the descendants of the Larrowe Family and they have been very supportive of our efforts,” Mehlenbacher said. “There are many things donated by the Larrow Family in the house, and we have photos of them on the walls going up the stairway. We are also working hard on the museum. We are changing exhibits and adding them. The McDowell Family gave us all the McDowell Law Office artifacts, so we want to do a special exhibit on him.”
Mehlenbacher said that the society is working on establishing the proud history of the area and bringing awareness to the fact that we were once the largest buckwheat mill in the world.
The Cohocton Historical Society is always looking for new members and anyone who would like to get involved in history. The Larrowe House is located at 15 S. Main St. The Cohocton History Museum is located at 14 Maple Ave. To contact them call 585-313-5940. They are open by appointment only.
Comments