Friends of Historic Rochester (FHR) is an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the historic heritage of the town of Rochester, in Ulster County, NY. Friends of the Historic Town of Rochester
Ulster County, New York
Friends of Historic Rochester (FHR) is an all-volunteer organization which is dedicated to preserving and promoting the historic heritage of the Town of Rochester. The museum is open by appointment for historical or genealogical research, etc. Anyone is welcome to become a member of FHR. Basic annual dues are $25, which include a subscription to The Accordian, our quarterly publication on local history. For more information, send an e-mail to [email protected], or write to:
Friends of Historic Rochester
P.O. Box 229
Accord, NY 12404
Museum of Local History and Genealogical Research Library
The beginning of the museum and library of local history and genealogy in the town of Rochester goes back almost twenty years, when a small group of volunteers banded together to preserve the town's historic heritage. Friends of Historic Rochester was incorporated in 1988 and the group began collecting historical data and artifacts at that time. The museum and library building is named for two of the original founders of Friends, who strongly promoted the establishment of a museum for the town: Percy W. Rosakranse. In 2005, the museum acquired the extensive Eleanor Rosakranse Genealogical Research Collection, comprised of hundreds of books and documents. Rosakranse had spent nearly fifty years in genealogical research and bequeathed her collection to the museum upon her death. Also featured at the museum is a “picture wall” covered with 8”x10” prints of old-time local postcards and photographs of buildings, people, and events; about 300 pictures so far and we are still soliciting more. We can scan and immediately return the originals to their owners, although we do have originals that were donated directly. Additionally, other items of interest at the museum include oral histories recounting the “Old Days and Ways"; copies of the Cemetery Book, an inventory of the more than 70 cemeteries in the town; full sets of The Accordian, which has been published quarterly since 1989; numerous volumes on local history, and notebooks with photographs and written material on many historic assets of the Town – stone, frame and brick houses, barns and other outbuildings, railroad stations, churches, and one- and two-room schoolhouses. The museum is open Wednesdays 1-3pm or by appointment at [email protected]
Friends of the Historic Town of Rochester is a 501(c)(3) organization.
