
All Blog Posts in "Preservation"
Haunted Misperceptions
April 26, 2013
By David Mack-Hardiman, Contributor
While the computer age has revolutionized the world and forever changed the way that information is received, it has also given almost unlimited ability for people to stretch the truth, distort reality, and give imaginary thoughts a non-fictional spin. Hidden behind pseudonyms and user names, people are given an unchecked license to lie.
A few years ago, I was trying to find more information about the Wheater Road Cemetery in Collins, NY, whi…
The Niagara County Almshouse Cemetery
June 22, 2012
By David Mack-Hardiman, Contributor Surrounded by a thorny thicket of nearly impenetrable foliage, the Niagara County Almshouse Cemetery sits on a remote hill in Lockport, NY. Here lie the remains of approximately 1,400 people who lived and died at the almshouse from 1830 until 1916. As one walks up the path to approach the cemetery, songbirds chatter in the treetops. Densely overgrown bristly shrubs sit to the left of the path while an open grassy field is on the right. The taller treed area …
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…
Restoration of Institutional Cemeteries
November 29, 2011
By David Mack-Hardiman, Contributor For the past five years, employees and individuals associated with People Inc. have been engaged in the restoration of three cemeteries in the Southern Tier. More than 2,000 graves were discovered for residents of the J. N. Adam Developmental Center, The West Seneca Developmental Center and, The Gowanda Psychiatric Center. Volunteers toiled away in the summer sun, recording each grave, gently cleaning the stones, edging around the markers and, uncovering tho…