Articles
Pal-Mac History Clubs Are Going Strong!
By: Linda Braun, Town of Macedon Historian and Macedon Historical Society Secretary An AMAZING field trip was held this past week! On Wednesday, March 16, nineteen young people and their teacher came to visit the historic Macedon Academy, located at 1185 Macedon Center Rd, in Macedon Center. Built in 1853, this building is a cornerstone…
Read MoreFrederick Douglass’s Visit to Macedon
February 25, 2015This article is contributed by June Hamell, Macedon Town Historian,Linda Braun, Village of Macedon Historian and Sandy Pagano, Presidentof the Macedon Historical Society: It was in August 1849 that Frederick Douglass visited the First Baptist Church of Macedon, NY. His visit was recorded in the book, “First Baptist Church of Macedon, A History…
Read MorePhilomathean Society at the Macedon Academy
MARCH 16, 2014 JUNE HAMELLWe found a journal of the Philomathean Society at the Academy. It is dated on the first page as August 1850. The first entry:At a convention of teachers and students at the Macedon Academy on Friday the twenty fifth day of April A.D. 1845 Stephen Wood was chosen chairman and Gideon…
Read MoreTemperance in Macedon
This article was printed July 4, 1980 for the dedication of the new temperance monument – author unknown. Since 1845, a Temperance Monument has stood in Macedon Center, inscribed, “Total Abstinence 1845”. Macedon Center since has always remained dry but King Alcohol finally got to the rest of the town. In the early 1840’s, a…
Read MoreGold Rush Carpenters?
A daguerreotype of four carpenters is in the possession of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) Photography Department. The individuals are identified as Edwin Green (holding an adz), Crosby (holding a hammer and saw), Peter Elebash (seated holding a square and weight for the plumb line) and L. Arnold (seated sharpening the blade and…
Read MoreCattail Harvesting in Macedon
Two types of cattail leaves are harvested in Wayne County. One type known as ‘Cooper’s Flag’ is used in the manufacturing of wooden barrels. The other type is ‘Rush’ and it is used for caning chairs. Rush was harvested on the south side of Macedon for many years by Ward Russell. His son, Stephen, still…
Read MorePhelps & Gorham Purchase Relative to Macedon
May 10, 2018This article is contributed by Dave Gardner, member of the Macedon Historical Society: The Phelps & Gorham Purchase took place in July, 1788. Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham bought approximately 2,250,000 acres of land from the Indians. This land extended west from the pre-emption line and north from the Pennsylvania state line to…
Read More