Library Buzz: Discover Baldwinsville’s past through New York Heritage Digital Collection

BALDWINSVILLE — Last month, our local history librarian, Bonnie Kisselstein, reported in a History Mystery that the Gazette and Farmer’s Journal was recently scanned and uploaded to the New York Heritage Digital Collection. The Gazette and Farmer’s Journal published the 50th and 100th anniversaries of Baldwinsville, two of many such publications and photographs now housed there.

The Gazette is just one of the many photographs and information about Baldwinsville that have been uploaded to the New York Heritage Digital Collection. It is a great resource for materials you don’t find in history books but add to the cultural and historical understanding of living in New York State. You can find this exciting gem of the internet at nyheritage.org.

Shown here is a storage igloo and truck at the New York Ordnance Works during World War II — Shown here is a storage igloo at the New York Ordnance Works during World War II. (Courtesy of Baldwinsville Public Library/New York Digital Heritage Collection)

Our Baldwinsville contribution to New York Digital Heritage includes maps and pictures about the New York Ordnance Works, an ammonium picrate factory built during World War II to help the war effort. It was located at what is now Radisson.

Also, there are many yearbooks from the early 20th century to the present — a treasure trove of photos and names for genealogists to explore.

Besides the digital collection, the Baldwinsville Public Library has an accessible local history collection within its walls where you can browse printed materials such as yearbooks, genealogies, books by local authors, and information about area manufacturing and businesses. Check our catalog to see what you can take out (bville.lib.ny.us).