Manlius Historical Society

10/16/2026

We were recently gifted several postcards of Manlius homes by Jan Windmiller of Iowa. Jan’s grandparents were William Mahlon Rose and Grace Ellen Russell Rose. Jan’s mother Jean Arlene was the youngest of William and Grace’s nine children.

William was born in New Bedford on January 8, 1874 and passed away in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on December 14, 1947. He married Grace in New Bedford on May 26, 1898.

William was known for building numerous homes in Manlius in the early 1900’s.

William’s youngest sister was Nellie Gertrude Rose who was married to Perry Nelson. They are the grandparents of Elaine Hewitt, George Nelson, and Perry Nelson.

We have several houses we are looking to identify. We are looking to clarify if they are in Manlius. Any help is greatly appreciated.

10/14/2026

Maurice Frederick Schmidt’s hardware and implement store was built in 1902 when the railroad came to Manlius.

10/10/2026

Did you know the 1,000,000th Farmall tractor built was sold in Manlius?

The tractor was built in Rock Island and consigned to Schmidt Implement. Maurice Schmidt sold the model M to local farmer Clint Thomas.

10/08/2026

I Spy The First National Bank of Manlius.

10/07/2026

Just inside the vault, we have a very unique looking safe made by the Mosler Safe and Lock Company. It sits just to the left as you enter the vault. Maybe you’ve been in there and haven’t even noticed it because of all the other interesting artifacts.

The Mosler - Bahmann Safe Company was founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. There was a falling out between the families after Gustav Mosler’s passing. The Mosler family left the business and started Mosler Safe and Lock Company. They eventually relocated to Hamilton, Ohio, and remained there until their bankruptcy in 2001.

It was not uncommon to see a Mosler safe in a bank, post office, business, or wealthy person’s home.

The company was known for having made doors for missile silos, the vault that formerly held the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and they constructed the vault and emergency doors for Fort Knox.

We will be open this Saturday (October 10) from 10-2. We would love for you to come check it out.

10/03/2026

We are open 10-2 on this beautiful Saturday in Manlius

09/25/2026

09/21/2026

Did you know we have an entire room on the second floor dedicated to our local military personnel? Our collection includes uniforms, medals, and history of local people that served.

Genevieve Dabler was born to Drucilla and William Dabler on January 4, 1917 in Manlius, Illinois. On August 26, 1943, she was sworn into the W.A.V.E.S. and received her boot training at Hunter College, New York. She attended shopkeeper’s school at the U of IN. She was then sent to Sampson, New York, where she was stationed until May 1946 when she transferred to the Brooklyn Navy Yards. On August 20, 1946, she received her honorable discharge and returned to Manlius.

The Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (W.A.V.E.S.) was established on July 21, 1942, by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Roosevelt on July 30th. This authorized the U. S. Navy to accept women as commissioned officers and at the enlisted level, effective for the duration of the war pus six months. The WAVES numbered over 86,000 at one point and served at 900 stations in the United States.

09/15/2026

We are saddened to hear of the passing of New Bedford Elites batboy Charles Hewitt. We were lucky enough to be able to display his uniform at our Elites presentation back in April.

Charles was a Manlius grad and was a standout basketball and baseball player. He went on to star at Bradley University in the late 50’ and early 60’s where he would eventually be inducted into their Sports Hall of Fame. He played with the likes of Chet Walker (Chicago Bulls) and Bobby Joe Mason (Harlem Globetrotters).

Charles enjoyed a 44 year career in education. Twenty seven of those years were spent at the University of South Florida as an administrator and teacher.

Charles was the son of Glenn and Hazel Hewitt and the brother of Joanne Nelson.

09/13/2026

The Historical Society had a sweet little visitor come to visit the museum yesterday. Rumor has it their favorite CAT-egory was all the Manlius High School class pictures.