All Blog Posts
The Buffalo State Hospital Farm Colony, Wilson, New York
June 30, 2014
By Dr. James M. Boles, Senior Research Advisor As the Museum of disABILITY History continues to research the history of Buffalo State Hospital in preparation for a new Abandoned History Series™ publication, more information has been uncovered about the Wilson Farm Colony. Our initial research was directed to the land owned by the Dwight family in the Town of Wilson. This was based upon an inquiry from a Wilson resident and New York State reports. However, with the assistance of the Town of Wi…
The Underground Railroad in Niagara Falls
May 4, 2012
By Bradford Watts, Contributor The Underground Railroad occupies a central place in American history and folklore. The “railroad” refers to the routes followed by brave African American individuals who escaped from slavery during the mid-nineteenth century, as well as the people, networks, places and structures that collectively provided for and supported their efforts to gain their freedom. Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area The Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area …
The Find
March 16, 2012
By Douglas Platt, Museum Curator One aspect of building and overseeing the collection for the Museum of disABILITY History is what I call “The Find.” It is the moment when you realize that a recent acquisition has expanded the breadth and depth of the collection exponentially. My most recent “Find” arrived in a photograph album. The Museum recently acquired a dark brown photo album, bound with a brown shoe-lace. Upon opening the album, the first two photos were 7 x10 inch photographs of a con…
Home Run for William “Dummy” Hoy
March 8, 2012
By Reid Dunlavey, Contributor
With Major League Baseball clubs reporting for spring training it got me thinking again about William “Dummy” Hoy (1862-1961). He was a baseball player who was deaf and played in four different major leagues from 1886 until 1902. He had a stint with the Cincinnati Reds and a year in Buffalo, New York playing with Hall of Fame catcher Connie Mack.
Some credit Hoy with the development of hand signals for safe and out calls because he couldn’t hear w…
Dr. Platt H. Skinner - Early Educator, Advocate, and Abolitionist
February 2, 2012
By Reid Dunlavey, Contributor Dr. Platt Henry Skinner. Photo courtesy of Gallaudet University
Conducting research on forgotten events and people that have impacted disability history can be difficult and at the same time very rewarding. This is the case in regards to a little known educator named Platt H. Skinner. In 1858 Skinner opened his “School for the Instruction of the Colored Deaf, Dumb and Blind” in what is today Niagara Falls, New York near the Suspension Bridge that crossed the b…
Comics Enter The Fight Against Polio Part 2
January 13, 2012
By David LoTempio, Contributor (With assistance from Steven Bennett for additional research) The 1940s were a dangerous and nervous time in America, and not just because of World War II. The nation experienced cyclical and increasingly widespread epidemics of polio during this period. While most people exposed to the virus would fully recover, the disease’s dramatic ability to paralyze or kill the infected left a profound fear through the country. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralys…
A Curator's Thanksgiving
December 14, 2011
By Doug Platt, Museum Curator A museum’s collection is a critical part of its existence, the wellspring from which its exhibits originate and the storehouse for inquisitive researchers. The Museum of disABILITY History Collection includes books, photographs, documents, newsletters, adaptive equipment, movies, toys, clothing, stamps, postcards and sound recordings all related to the rich history of individuals with disabling conditions. Strategic purchases have been made by the staff of the mus…
Kennedy’s: A Family of Advocacy
December 8, 2011
By Nicole Forgione, Contributor Kennedy family portrait, circa late 1930s. Is there an athletic program for children and adults with disabilities to compete in? Is there a national program to help people with disabilities express themselves through artwork? Is there an organization focused on friendship that fund-raises to help families with a loved who has an intellectual disability? If it was not for members of the Kennedy and Shriver family, the answers to these questions may be no. Inst…