History Forge

 

 

 

The next meeting will. be on Thursday, March 26 at 6pm at 25 Homer Ave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first spring Lunch & Learn ~ April 9!

Celebrating Cincinnatus 1910 Author Elizabeth Lee Blunt:  Speaker Beth MacRae will share selected passages from the fascinating book, When Folks Was Folks

This year is our ELEVENTH year of providing lunchtime learning opportunities for our community, and we hope you’ll join us to learn more about local and regional history!

What to know:

~This event will take place at our event center located at 9 Grace Street, Cortland. There is a small parking lot and additional street parking.

~Bring your own lunch if you wish, and we will provide a beverage and dessert.

~Admission is free for members of the Cortland County Historical Society (CCHS) and $5 for CCHS members-to-be. Membership is a fantastic way for you to help CCHS preserve and share local history for just pennies a day! Consider becoming a member today: https://cortland-county-historical-society-inc.square.site/membership. 

~Please call us at 607-756-6071 with any questions, and we’ll be glad to help.

April 23

This illustrated talk explores the surprising connection between the American sculptor William Couper (1853-1942) and the city of Cortland, New York. Late in life Couper moved to Cortland to live with his son, the painter William Alan Couper, who had established a home at 94 Tompkins Street. During his final years there, Couper had largely left sculpture behind and devoted himself to painting. The presentation traces Couper’s artistic career, his connection to Thomas Ball, and the rediscovery of his Cortland residency through local historical research. Sculptures from the speaker’s collection and a painting by William Alan Couper donated to the Cortland County Historical Society will be featured.

This year is our ELEVENTH year of providing lunchtime learning opportunities for our community, and we hope you’ll join us to learn more about local and regional history!

What to know:

~This event will take place at our event center located at 9 Grace Street, Cortland. There is a small parking lot and additional street parking.

~Bring your own lunch if you wish, and we will provide a beverage and dessert.

~Admission is free for members of the Cortland County Historical Society (CCHS) and $5 for CCHS members-to-be. Membership is a fantastic way for you to help CCHS preserve and share local history for just pennies a day! Consider becoming a member today: https://cortland-county-historical-society-inc.square.site/membership. 

~Please call us at 607-756-6071 with any questions, and we’ll be glad to help.

April 30

An unforgettable Civil War-era coming-of-age saga of family, sacrifice, and the hard-won courage to hope.

Waldo Potter has spent his life in the shadows of Solon Pond—working the fields, tending to chores, and carrying the weight of his family’s expectations on a farm that barely survives. In upstate New York on the brink of the American Civil War, he longs for something more even as the burdens at home grow heavier.

With his father’s farm slipping toward ruin and familial resentments rising, Waldo finds an unexpected mentor in his Uncle Charles—whose steady guidance offers both comfort and challenge. When war calls, Waldo enlists, stepping into a world of battle, hardship, and hard truths that reshape him from the inside out.

From the rich rhythms of rural life to the brutal realities of war, By the Shores of Solon Pond captures one young man’s journey from boyhood innocence to war-worn self-understanding and his enduring devotion to family. It is a story of heroism, sacrifice, and the resilience of the human spirit.

This year is our ELEVENTH year of providing lunchtime learning opportunities for our community, and we hope you’ll join us to learn more about local and regional history!

What to know:

~This event will take place at our event center located at 9 Grace Street, Cortland. There is a small parking lot and additional street parking.

~Bring your own lunch if you wish, and we will provide a beverage and dessert.

~Admission is free for members of the Cortland County Historical Society (CCHS) and $5 for CCHS members-to-be. Membership is a fantastic way for you to help CCHS preserve and share local history for just pennies a day! Consider becoming a member today: https://cortland-county-historical-society-inc.square.site/membership. 

~Please call us at 607-756-6071 with any questions, and we’ll be glad to help.