The Museums of Historic Palmyra

When my friend Krista suggested an outing to Palmyra to visit the museums there, I didn’t know that she had lived in that area for years! So it wasn’t a new adventure for her, but it was for me. Thankfully, we didn’t do anything Mormony.

the tool room

There are five Museums of Historic Palmyra, and although they are relatively small, it actually took us just under 2.5 hours to complete a guided tour of all five, with a little bit of time in the gift shop at the end. Krista chatted briefly with her friend Bonnie Hays, the Executive Director, before we set off with our docent, Steve, and another couple (from Webster). First up was the Historic Museum, in an 1800’s building that had originally been a boarding house (with 16 rooms and one bathroom…). 

creepy wreath made out of
one woman's hair from
different times of her life

Apparently, the building was moved from a nearby street, after the existing structure burned down in the mid-1960s. The rooms were organized by theme of memorabilia – military, medicine, religion (can’t get too far from that subject in Palmyra, it seems – the town also has the unusual distinction of being the only one with four different churches at each of the corners of its main street downtown), dolls and toys, etc.

Steve was a font of information, and talked quickly, so I didn’t take in everything, but the town was on the Underground Railroad as well as the Erie Canal, and has links not just to Joseph Smith, but also Winston Churchill (his grandparents were married there), and Henry Wells, founder of Wells Fargo.

Next up was the 1826 Erie Canal Depot, where goods were unloaded from the barges, and where the hoagies (the men who drove the mules) bedded down upstairs, while the mules were boarded in the basement. In addition to various artifacts, the building houses a cool diorama of Old Lock 30, a defunct double lock in Macedon.

At the Print Shop next door, we learned a bit about printmaking, and sliced up a phone book with an incredibly large and sharp paper cutter. A crafter's dream!

the washtub...

We transitioned to the Phelps Store just as a thunderstorm rolled in and Steve was explaining how the house was haunted. I got to use my new favorite phrase, courtesy of my sister: “But, science…” 

Steve opened several bottles so we
could sense the scents of 1940

The store was certainly eerie – Julius Phelps had locked the store for good in 1940, and all of the dry goods (and even some egg shells) were frozen in time. Upstairs from the store were the living quarters, where Julius’ daughter Sibyl (an Eastman School of Music grad and a “spiritualist” who was friendly with Houdini) lived until she died in 1976. Although there was a closet containing a toilet, it had never been connected, and the house had no running water. Most of the furnishings are original, although much restoration was needed because toward the end, she lived in squalor with lots of cats. Luckily for historical preservation, the house was converted into a museum within six months of her death.

My favorite, by far, was the Alling Coverlet Museum, our ultimate destination. The only museum dedicated to America’s hand-woven coverlets, it houses over 350 coverlets and quilts, including Merle Alling’s own collection of over 200 coverlets, as well as several looms. Every year, 60 coverlets are selected for display, and they are beautiful. Some of them are fine examples of the prolific weaver Ira Hadsell, whose work is in the collections of museums such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Folk Art Museum in New York. Sadly, demand for hand-made coverlets declined with the rise of the cheaper, machine-made versions.

Krista and I were happy to make some purchases on our way out, to support this all-volunteer organization. They have a nice selection of pillows made from antique coverlets (ones that are donated, but aren't wholly intact…). I can definitely see taking visiting friends to Palmyra in my future!