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The Corner
Continuing the Legacy of Henry Hinckley
The Hinckley Museum Foundation was established at the time of Henry Hinckley's death to support a museum of the Americana and other antiques he collected during his life.
His life is symbolic of many American stories and certainly of narratives specific to Ithaca and Tompkins County. Born in Trumansburg in 1888, this Cornell graduate was an architect, Air Force captain, investment banker, city building commissioner, owner and manager of residential properties, and collector and authority on antiques. For more information, see his featured profile currently on Ithaca Heritage's website.
After his death in 1969, his house became a museum until 2000. His interests in early American decoration, architecture, education, and connecting the generations were foci of the museum. His will established the Hinckley Museum Foundation with this stated mission: "The main purpose and object of the said corporation shall be the foundation, operation and maintenance of a museum, for the education and enlightenment of present and future generations."
When the museum closed its doors, the board members had to decide what to do with the collections; they deaccessioned artifacts and sold the museum property. The Hinckley Museum Foundation Board started the process of distributing the funds two years ago and were informed of the formal process to follow. At a press conference on March 12 funds were distributed to Lifelong, The History Center in Tompkins County, and Historic Ithaca to continue Hinckley's legacy here in Tompkins County.
Joan Heffernan and other Hinckley Museum Foundation board members were present at the new Tompkins Center for History and Culture to share this context and more about Henry Hinckley. Lucia Sacco of Lifelong, Susan Holland of Historic Ithaca, and Rod Howe of The History Center accepted the gifts and shared their gratitude and their collaborative plans. These organizations will honor Mr. Hinckley's legacy through an annual lecture, programs, tours and exhibits.
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Unpacking Update
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The History Center moved to 110 North Tioga Street in February. Here we go!
Organization Updates
The History Center in Tompkins County is now completely moved out of the East State Street location. Many thanks to Travis Hyde Properties and Hayes Strategy for their patience and assistance.
Staff, volunteers, and interns are busily working to unpack the archives, finish designs for the exhibits, edit oral histories for the Story Vault, and create new retail products.
If you're looking to help, staff can use photographers and other volunteers. You can also help by taking away the used packing materials:
used boxes, crumpled newspaper, bubble wrap, and more. Boxes vary in size. Packing materials will be bagged and easy to move.
Email Community@TheHistoryCenter.Net about these two opportunities.
Docents to guide visitors during the extended open hours are also being recruited. If you're interested, fill out the interest form
here.
Building Updates
The Tompkins Center for History and Culture on the Ithaca Commons' Bank Alley is filling up.
The History Center in Tompkins County is excited to be a partner here, a place like no other in upstate New York. The building will open in stages as the partners move in. You can learn about all the partner organizations
here
.
The Dorothy Cotton Institute moved in first, followed by The History Center, the Discovery Trail, and the Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation's "Tommy" plane. (Find incredible photos of the reconstruction process across social media with #tommycomeshome.)
Visit Ithaca's retail space and downtown visitors' center opens April 1. Community Arts Partnership hosts its first First Friday Gallery Night April 5.
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Some of the hard-working Thursday volunteers unpack the archives. These salt-of-the-earth folks packed the old location -- some for 14 months! -- and now unpack the new location. Thank you all for your time, strength, attention to deal, and good cheer. You are integral to moving history forward.
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Achieving Beulah Land - A History of Suffrage Activities in Tompkins County
Saturday, March 23, 1:00 to 2:00 PM
TCPL, BorgWarner Room East, 101 East Green Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
The History Center is proud to be a sponsor for this event, organized by the League of Women Voters in Tompkins County. Drawing from their recently published book,
Achieving Beulah Land: The Long Struggle for Suffrage in Tompkins County, New York
, Cornell Library Archivist Emerita Elaine Engst and Tompkins County Historian Carol Kammen will share the story of the suffrage movement as it unfolded in New York State, in Tompkins County and at Cornell University. The History Center will sell copies at the event. Attendees will have the opportunity to have their books signed.
What is our Next Taughannock Giant?
Friday, March 29 & Saturday, March 30
Tompkins Center for History & Culture, Art Gallery/Program Room, 110 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
The History Center celebrates its new location with this first public event focusing on a local legend: the Taughannock Giant of 1879.
An early example of heritage tourism, this is the subject of the annual program, "
Exploring Science, Imagination and Culture in Tompkins County," following in the tradition of the longtime "Light in Winter" program.
Discovery Trail exhibits and other places throughout Tompkins County to explore, imagine, and create will be shared. Made possible in part by a grant from the Tompkins County Tourism Program. Click the images to below to learn more about each event.
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A Century Ago: Ithaca's Movie Industry in our Parks
Thursday, April 4, 5:30 PM
Tompkins Center for History & Culture, Art Gallery/Program Room, 110 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
Tony Ingraham, president of the Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park, and Diana Riesman, executive director of the Wharton Studio Museum, will give an illustrated presentation about how Ithaca's silent film industry used our parks as settings for some of its movies and serials a hundred years ago. Free and open to all. The presentation will be preceded by a short annual meeting of the Friends. Find out more about the Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park at tremanparkfriends.org and about the Wharton Studio Museum project at whartonstudiomuseum.org.
Celebrating History Awards Gala
Thursday, April 11, 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Tompkins Center for History & Culture, 110 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
The History Center in Tompkins County is pleased to announce its fourth annual Celebrating History Awards Gala.he History Center's trustees and employees view the awards as a way to honor those who are making history, engaging with local history, interpreting local history, and/or whose work resonates with our mission statement. The Celebrating History Gala, sponsored by Tompkins Trust Company, will be festive, educational, and celebratory. Next week 2019 awardees will be announced and additional information will be shared online.
3rd Annual Ithaca Heritage Tasting & Cocktail Tour
Saturday, April 13, 2:00 to 5:30 PM
Around the Ithaca Commons
In partnership with Historic Ithaca and Ithaca is Foodies Culinary Tours, this year's tour will showcase four downtown Ithaca restaurants and their histories. In addition to past years' favorites--the Argos Inn (with food by Catalyst Catering) and Moosewood--we'll be visiting two new sites on this year's tour: Bickering Twins and Monks on the Commons. At each site attendees enjoy an appetizer and a drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic options available) while veteran guides share the history of each site and establishment. Spaces are limited. Buy tickets here.
Tuesday, April 16, 7:00 PM
Cinemapolis, 120 East Green Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
In marking the 50th Anniversary of the Occupation of Willard Straight Hall at Cornell University, Cornell, Cinemapolis and The History Center in Tompkins County will host this screening. This film captures the well-publicized events at San Francisco State in 1968 to the image of Black students with guns emerging from the takeover of the student union at Cornell University in April, 1969, the struggle for a more relevant and meaningful education, including demands for black and ethnic studies programs, became a clarion call across the country in the late 1960's. Through the stories of these young men and women who were at the forefront of these efforts, Agents of Change examines the untold story of the racial conditions on college campuses and in the country that led to these protests. Filmmaker Frank Dawson, Cornell alumnus, who participated in the occupation of Willard Straight Hall in April 1969, will be in attendance for a talkback with selected members from the Ithaca community. Free and open to the public.
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Re-visioning: Harriet Tubman in Visual Culture
Saturday, April 20, 2:00 to 3:30 PM
Tompkins Center for History & Culture, Art Gallery/Program Room, 110 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
This presentation is a consideration of Harriet Tubman in visual culture from her time to the present. This talk will also reflect on how the 2017 re-emergence of a photo of the younger Harriet Tubman, as well as the Women on 20's campaign to have her image on U.S. currency to commemorate the centenary of women's suffrage, has impacted the way we view her as a cultural icon. Representations of Tubman across various media will illustrate how her legacy has been framed and re-framed over time. Kimerly S. Cornish was born and raised in Cambridge, Maryland. She is a descendant of Harriet Tubman. She has a degree in English from Oberlin College.
And from another Discovery Trail stop, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art...
Opening Reception for World Picture: Travel Imagery Before and After Photography
Thursday, March 24, 4:30 to 6:00 PM
Cornell University, Carl A. Kroch Library, Hirshland Exhibition Gallery, Level 2B,
216 East Avenue, Ithaca, NY 14850
Drawing from Cornell's Rare and Manuscript Collections and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, this exhibition examines how published travel imagery created and transmitted geographical knowledge during the nineteenth century, a period of rapid and extraordinary change in how people travelled, represented, and understood the world. After photography's 1839 debut, the new medium was seen as uniquely suited to the task of presenting accurate geographical description. At the same time, traditional illustration methods such as wood engravings, etchings, and lithographs offered varied and often romanticized interpretations of their subjects in an exploding number of publications dedicated to travel and exploration. What does this reveal about the roles of authenticity and aesthetics in the success of the Western project to teach audiences about faraway places? World Picture will be on view at the Hirshland Gallery from March 21 to September 13, 2019.
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Seeking Food Business Owners to be Interviewed
Generation to Generation 2019
Generation to Generation is an inter-generational Oral History Project at The History Center in Tompkins County that builds bridges between youth and adults in the community. Through this project, we explore topics relevant to the community, while preserving local history and making connections to our current lives.
In this year's "Gen 2 Gen" program, we will explore the history of immigration in Tompkins County by conducting interviews with people who have immigrated to the United States, live in Tompkins County, and own a restaurant or food-related business (or whose parents/families owned the business).
We are seeking youth (9th-12th grade) to learn about Oral History, conduct interviews, transcribe the interviews, and share them with our community.
We are seeking food business owners (restaurants, caterers, food truck owners, etc.) who are immigrants, or the children of immigrants, to share your stories.
Project dates:
March 23, 12:00 to 3:00 PM --- Youth Training
April 6, 12:00 to 3:00 PM --- Youth and Adults meet and prepare for interviews
(Adults 12:00 to 1:30 PM, Youth from 12:00 to 3:00 PM)
April 7-27 --- Oral History interviews are conducted
June 1, 1:00 to 2:30 PM --- Community Celebration of the Oral Histories
What will you gain?
A deepened understanding of immigration in our local community history
The opportunity to connect to people in a different generation
The chance to develop skills in storytelling, listening, and digital technology
If you are interested in participating, please reach out to Julia Taylor at eightsquare@thehistorycenter.net or 607-273-8284 x229 by March 14.
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Save The Date: More 2019 Events
Tompkins County Genealogy Society
April 17, 6:00 to 7:30 PM at TCPL
Multicultural VOICES Chorus:
May 4, 4:00 PM at First Baptist Church of Ithaca
Exploring Ithaca's Heritage Through Song
Tompkins Center for History &
May 10, 4:30 to 7:30 PM at TCHC
Culture
Community Celebration
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CONTACT US
110 North Tioga Street,
Ithaca, NY 14850
Rod Howe |
Executive Director | Director@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone extension 222
Julia Taylor |
Youth Educator | EightSquare@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone
extension 229
Lucy Walker |
Community & Visitor Outreach Coordinator | Community@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone
extension 227
Nancy Menning
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Bookkeeper & Office Manager
| Admin@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone extension 225
Cindy Kjellander-Cantu |
Design & Support Specialist | Design@TheHistoryCenter.net | Phone extension 223
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@TompkinsHistory
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Event announcements, historical throwbacks, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and more...
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