CAZENOVIA — Late last month, the Cazenovia Public Library & Museum (CPL) finished installing a new exhibit featuring a collection from the archives of Cazenovia College, which permanently closed in 2023 due to financial difficulties.
Founded in 1824, Cazenovia College was the eighth-oldest private, independent college in New York State and the 28th-oldest independent college/university in the United States.
According to CPL Museum Educator Julia Shotzberger, the library was approached about housing the college’s extensive Frederic and Jean Williams Archives shortly after the closure announcement in December 2022.
“Because of the recent renovations that had been done in our archives, we had room to take some of their collection,” said Shotzberger. “Over several months, [CPL Director Elisha Davies] and I took time to look at each box, making sure to choose items that pertained to the history of the college as well as Cazenovia, including any ephemera, [such as] programs, award certificates, etc.; publications; information about the buildings and grounds; and some of the thousands of photographs. It was a race against time as we knew the doors would be locked the day after graduation.”
When discussing the transfer of the archival materials to CPL, Shotzberger and Davies acknowledged former Cazenovia College archivist Kasey Sikorsky and her predecessor, longtime faculty member Dr. John Robert “Bob” Greene, for their hard work organizing and systematizing the Frederic and Jean Williams Archives.
“The fact that their archives were in great shape and had a great database allowed us to be able to bring them here,” Shotzberger said.
Le Moyne College, a private Jesuit college in DeWitt, also stepped in to help preserve Cazenovia College’s nearly 200-year legacy by housing its student records and other documents.
Shotzberger said she suspects there might be many more boxes still sitting in the college archives.
“We are hoping that whoever eventually purchases [the campus] will say, ‘Oh, there are still boxes here, would you like them?’” she said. “That would possibly give us a chance to bring more over.”
Intent on sharing Cazenovia College’s story with the public, the library enlisted the help of CPL Museum Committee member and local craftsman Federico Meira, who converted two empty bookcases in the building’s front parlor into lit glass cabinets matching the room’s existing “Cabinet of Curiosities” display.
In the meantime, Shotzberger and Sharon Cooney — a CPL Museum Committee member, local historian, and former Lorenzo State Historic Site archivist — worked to identify the items that would best represent the college’s history and role in the community.
“It was a joy to take this incredible collection of the college history and turn it into an exhibit for the enjoyment of the alumni and all museum visitors,” said Shotzberger.
Each section of the display cases offers a glimpse into a different era of Cazenovia College’s rich and storied history.
The exhibit text explains that the college repeatedly adapted to the times, resulting in several name changes and curriculum shifts.
For example, the institution was co-ed in 1824 but became a women’s college during World War II. In 1982, men were once again admitted.
The text also notes that for many years, the school served as a junior college, offering two-year degrees with advanced credit options for transferring to larger institutions.
“Changing curriculum to specialize in marketable degrees as well as providing state of the art programs in the equestrian and art fields, the college always provided a quality education,” the exhibit states.
According to Shotzberger, the items currently displayed in the cases could eventually be replaced with materials representing other eras of the college’s past.
Local history panels
In March 2024, CPL installed two new panels in the museum’s local history space.
Designed by Kevin Mann, owner of Campdesign, and researched and planned by Shotzberger and Cooney, the exhibits explore Cazenovia’s early agriculture and industry.
“Our local history panels are snapshots into our past,” said Shotzberger. “The goal is to highlight the self-sufficiency and interconnection of local agriculture and businesses, as well as the incredible innovation that turned local enterprises into successful industries.”
The new panels are part of an ongoing effort to revamp the library museum’s entire local history section. In addition to the agriculture and industry panels, the exhibit also features updated panels dedicated to the Haudenosaunee and Cazenovia’s early settlers, including founder John Lincklaen.
CPL’s next project will involve producing a panel focused on transportation and its impact on the previously isolated Cazenovia community. Work on that panel will begin in the late fall.
The library plans to host an opening reception for its new exhibits on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m.
“We hope to see many Caz alumni and hear some of their stories,” said Davies.
To learn more about CPL and its museum exhibits, visit cazenoviapubliclibrary.org.