Museum & Research Library Hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 11am-5pm.
The History Center Has Arrived!
Looking Back by Greg Potter, Assistant Director, The History Center
A New Perspective by Bruce Estes, Managing Editor, The Ithaca Journal
Retiring Simeon DeWitt by Carol Kammen, Tompkins County Historian
Ithaca, NY, April, 22, 2004: What began as the Ithaca Historical and Scientific Society founded in 1863 by people whose names still resonate today: Ezra Cornell, Josiah Williams, Douglas Boardman, and others, later evolved into the DeWitt Historical Society and has now transformed into The History Center in Tompkins County.
The new name was announced at a press conference, in Ithaca on April 22. Leading business members of the community and local and state officials were on hand for the announcement. President of the Board of Directors of The History Center, Carl Gortzig says, “This new name reflects our dedication to be a resource for our entire community, a center for hands-on learning where the stories of local experience become the gateway to history in both its local and national dimensions.”
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton adds, “The new name, The History Center, reflects a renewed concern for the importance of understanding history, our own and that of other people, so that we might make good decisions today about the course of our future. No mission is more important, and I applaud the re-thinking of that critical goal that is reflected in this change.”
From its deep local roots, The History Center has evolved into a successful cultural and educational mainstay in Tompkins County. “We engage, educate and inspire people of all ages to uncover the stories, delights, and insights to be found in the unique raw materials of history.” Says Executive Director Matthew Braun. “We are a center for learning where you are guided to discover connections to the past, better understand the present, and create new perspectives for the future.
- DHS Awarded Grant to Preserve Historic Scrapbooks
- DHS Receives Grant for Student Historians Initiative
- Eight Square Schoolhouse Celebrates 175th Anniversary
- Historical Society Reprints Popular Book
- Tompkins County Historic Maps Online
- Museum Association of NY
- Upstate History Alliance
- Institute of Museum and Library Services
- American Association of State and Local History
- New York State Museums
- New York State Archives
- National Archives and Records Administration
- New York State Council of the Arts
- American Association of Museums
- New York Council for the Humanities