Schenectady County Historical Society, Schenectady, NY

The late Victorian style building was designed by architect Samuel Potter and built in 1895 for Dora Jackson. She had been a widow for many years before her son Jones Mumfor Jackson bought the land and had it built for her. She did not have many years to enjoy it before dying in 1900. Jones continued to live there until 1905 when he was killed by a trolley, leaving the house to his sister Helen who then sold it to the GE Women's Club. In 1960 they deeded it to the Historical Society for $1.00. Previous to that, the Historical Society had rented quarters in several different locations.

The original building has had several expansions, including a large, modern research library for historical records, photography and genealogy. The museum maintains wonderful collections documenting domestic and industrial life from 1690 to today including one of two pre-Revolutionary war "Don't tread on me" flags known to exist. It also has a famous dollhouse. Both the museum and the research library are open to the public.

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Speaker: Wayne Harvey

 

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