Desk of Fayetteville suffragist loaned out to governor’s office

VILLAGE OF FAYETTEVILLE – For the next year, a desk once owned by a noted area suffragist will sit in the office of New York’s first-ever female governor.
Earlier this month, two tour staff members travelled from Kathy Hochul’s Albany office to the Matilda Joslyn Gage Center in Fayetteville to pick up the personal writing desk used by Gage herself.
The governor’s office representatives were given two additional keepsakes: one the preserved front page of an issue of the “National Citizen and Ballot Box,” a monthly journal that Gage published from 1878 to 1881, and the other a set of four photographs of her that have been grouped together in a foldable, twig-like frame.
Melissa Almeyda, the Gage Museum deputy director, said she is sad to see the memorabilia temporarily leave the museum but that the exchange serves a greater cause.
“We don’t have a problem loaning our stuff out because we want more people to see all of it and become aware of the historical connections,” said Almeyda. “I think Matilda would be very impressed by Kathy Hochul’s path and drive.”
An active abolitionist and an upholder of expectations for equal treatment toward women, Gage is further remembered for her outspokenness about human trafficking and sexual abuse by priests.
“Despite being dead for more than 100 years, we can still learn from her,” Almeyda said.
The Matilda Joslyn Gage Center on 210 E. Genesee St. was its namesake’s home from 1854 until her death in 1898, and it was at one point a stop on the Underground Railroad.
“It’s an amazing place,” Almeyda said. “You can feel the history that’s here.”
The house was restored and turned into a center for social justice dialogue in 2010. Its displays touch on everything from Gage’s life to American slavery to Haudenosaunee clothing, and there’s even a reading corner dedicated to “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the author of which was Gage’s son-in-law, L. Frank Baum.
The center is currently operating on an appointment-only basis. Directions to the house, a listing of its daily hours and other information can be found on the foundation website, matildajoslyngage.org.
The directors of the museum encourage unguided tours so that guests can walk through at their own pace.
Though the directors advise against sitting in the delicate original chairs, guests are told they can touch and take pictures of the rest of the exhibits to their hearts’ content—they can even play a tune on the antique piano if they wish.
For as long as the writing desk was featured in the center, it was never roped off, and people routinely came through to sit at it and write on the stationery.
“We’re not a typical museum,” Almeyda said. “We want people to interact with stuff and treat this as their home.”
Counted among the museum’s many visitors who could consider the house a momentary home was Kathy Hochul when she was lieutenant governor of the state.