Concerned that, “No one will know who was here, or what they did,” in December of 1934, a group of 60 or more Skaneateles citizens formed the first Skaneateles Historical Society. They elected Fred Humphreyes as their president, drew up a set of by-laws as guidelines for governing the group and set the dues at 50 cents per year.
The group of about nineteen people, many of them direct descendents of the pioneer settlers, set about preserving the history of the town and its people. But interest waned and membership declined. The group disbanded about 1940, just as World War II was getting underway.
Then, in March of 1961, the present Historical Society was organized. Wester Baker, editor of the Skaneateles Press, was elected as its president. By October of that year 44 members were enrolled, with dues now $2 per year. They met monthly, first in the Skaneateles High School cafeteria, then later in St. Mary’s Hall. They began collecting and preserving the history of Skaneateles. However, with no central place to store artifacts, many members kept the accumulating historic items at their private homes.
In 1968 the Society received its charter under the University of the State of New York. This granted the society its not-for profit and tax-free status.
After being homeless for 18 years, in March of 1979, the Skaneateles Town Board, under the leadership of Charles Major, voted to offer the Society the use of several rooms on the second floor of the Town Hall on Jordan Street. At last the Society had a secure place to store their records, books, photographs, and the ever growing collection of historical artifacts.
However, by 1989, both the Town and the Historical Society had grown. Each needed more space. Therefore, in November of that year, a special meeting was held by the Historical Society to discuss and consider renovating the old abandoned Creamery building on Hannum Street for a new home which included a community museum.
With the help from the generous community – with funds, talent and time, this run-down building, once a thriving butter-making business, then an ice cream processor for the Best Ice Cream Company and the Borden Company, was turned by the members of the Historical Society into the place known today as “The Creamery.”
In its new home since late 1990, the Skaneateles Historical Society continues to collect, catalog, and display artifacts pertaining to local history, to conduct an ever- expanding research department, and to send out a newsletter to over 400 members.
Submitted by Beth Batlle, Skaneateles Town HIstorian
