This Week in History – Week of May 3rd
May 5th
1882
The Herkimer Telephone Company is fitting up an office in the Petrie Block, at the northeast corner of Main and Second Streets. Connections will be had with Utica and there are 25 subscribers. Rates are $40 a year for business places, and $36 for residences.
1896
By a law lately enacted it is made a misdemeanor to throw tacks or broken glass in the way of bicycles. The offense has been committed in Little Falls, and if repeated it will not be well for the person who may be found guilty.
May 6th
1849
On this day, John Splan was born in Little Falls, and by the age of seven “had a fair notion of a horse.” He hung around local stables and race tracks and ran away from home at a young age. Splan became a very early pioneer in the sport of trotters and became famous throughout the country in racing circles. Many of the training techniques he developed are still in use today.
1916
Men who were engaged in work on the new Grace block on William Street came upon 500 pennies which had been stowed away in the ancient structure for many long years. Some of the pennies dated back as far as 1811 and were of the large sized variety.
May 7th
1832
An ordinance was passed to change the name Telegraph Street to Mohawk Street and President Street to Jefferson Street.
1900
Mr. and Mrs. George Sanborn, of Utica, visited Little Falls today in the locomobile, a very neat horseless carriage, of the gasoline variety. Its adaptability for climbing our steep streets was shown by a run up Church and Prospect streets.
1918
Pickpockets, operating at the Hippodrome, Gem Theatre, and other public gathering places, have met with much success in the city. Wallets, purses, and watches all have been lifted.
1971
The Little Falls Citizens’ Advisory Committee proposes that the mayor appoint the library trustees.
May 8th
1796
Mr. Bethune Dodd was appointed by the Presbytery to preach at the Octagon Church. The previous evening, he stayed at the home of John Porteous.
1895
The cannon boomed and the headlines declared “LITTLE FALLS IS A CITY AT LAST” as the New York state legislature approved the charter for the village to become a city. Objections had been made for decades by the three towns from which the city was carved, Manheim, Danube, and Little Falls, because of the loss of tax revenue.
1936
The newly formed Birgir Inc. on West Mill planned to manufacture high-grade caskets and sectional bookcases. Birgir Lundstrom heads the company.
1942
WW II Era – 9,825 sugar ration books were issued, on 10,298 applications, at the four registration centers in the elementary schools of the city.
2004
Because of declining membership, Masonic Lodge No. 181 F&AM of Little Falls will meet no more. It has merged with Lodge No. 796 of Dolgeville. At one time the local lodge had over 350 members and another 173 ladies who belonged to the Order of the Eastern Star. In existence in Little Falls for over 150 years, its last meeting was in December 2003.
May 9th
1884
Hours were set for the public library which is located in the Chronkhite opera house block.
1892
“The Jewelers Weekly” has mentioned J. H. H. Vosburgh’s remarkable collection of quartz crystals. The Little Falls man has a collection of more than 60,000 “diamonds” found within one mile of the village. This is one of the most unique and interesting collections of small crystals in the world. (Note: Mr. Vosburgh’s collection is on display at Colgate University.)
1903
The South Side Union Church, a handsome structure conceived and constructed under the practical well doing of David H. Burrell, Sr. was dedicated. The first pastor is Dr. J. L. Humphrey who returned to Little Falls from missionary work in India.
1930
In a light turnout, voters in the city approved two bonding propositions for executing public work to offset the slack industrial period and help reduce unemployment in the area. One was for paving Southern Avenue, and the second was for improvements at Church Street cemetery.
1952
Loomis Burrell, chairman of the board of Cherry-Burwell Corp., was honored by Cornell University for outstanding contributions to the dairy industry.
This Week in History” is brought to you by the Little Falls Historical Society. Please Visit the Little Falls Historical Society Website and please consider supporting the Museum by becoming a Member. Download the membership form here!
Additional Links
- Little Falls Historical Society
- Times Telegram
- Little Falls, NY
- Little Falls City School District
- Little Falls Hospital
- City of Little Falls
- Little Falls Youth & Family Center
- Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts
- Upstate Venture Connect
- Shop Little Falls, NY
- Preserve Our Past
- The Mohawk Valley Through the Lens
- My Little Falls
- Think Local Little Falls
- Little Falls Public Library