Tompkins County Historical Commission - Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ Signs Added to "Cayuga Street" in Ithaca, Trumansburg, & Groton

While out walking or driving in Tompkins County in recent weeks you may have  noticed new purple signs spelling out "Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ" (pronounced Guy-uh-KOH-no) beneath the Cayuga St. signs in Ithaca, Trumansburg, and Groton. Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ is the non-anglicized pronunciation of "Cayuga", what the Indigenous peoples of Tompkins County have called themselves for millennia. There has been a growing effort among historical groups across Tompkins County to shift away from the outdated term of Iroquois to Haudenosaunee, and in recent years from "Cayuga Indians" to Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ to respect the language, culture, and people that pre-date Euro-colonial settlement in the region we now call Tompkins County.

The street sign project was a multi-year collaboration of the Tompkins County Historical Commission, which is a coalition of various community groups, non-profits, individuals, and municipal entities which formed in 2017 to celebrate Tompkins County's bicentennial.

The History Center was one collaborator involved in the project, and we have been on our own internal path of improving awareness and representation of the Indigenous history of our region through our exhibits, events, programming, and consistent use and education around our use of Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ vs. Cayuga. Learn more about the terms, spellings, and pronunciation currently in use by Indigenous language keepers here: The History Center in Tompkins County - Land Acknowledgement. 

• Cayuga Language Presentation at The History Center in Tompkins County - May 12th 2018 - Stephen Henhawk (Cayuga) - 1:16:08
• Destroyed, Forgotten, Never Noted: Ithaca's Hidden Indigenous History - September 19th 2015 - Professor Kurt Jordan, PhD Associate Professor of Anthropology & American Indian Studies at Cornell University

'Exhibit Opening @ The Cherry Gallery - 'Genderqueer Pioneers: The Lavender Hill Legacy' 


Opening reception Fri Aug 4 from 5-7pm.

In 1973, a brave group of big city homosexuals left the disparaging metropolis and bought a piece of land together out in Danby. They built shelters, they planted gardens, and they partied. A lot. They called themselves the Lavender Hill Collective.

So much has changed since 1973. What used to be unspoken – and even censured! – about gender identity is now part of everyday vocabulary and culture. Reverence for the earth and home-grown food is as mainstream as “supermarkets” and more idealized than “convenience.” Communities of makers, maker spaces, and other artist groups sustain and unite us as politics urges us to split apart.

With this exhibition, we celebrate the Lavender Hill collective as pioneering genderqueer artists. Along with art made by members of the collective, we are also showing some contemporary pieces that channel the Lavender Hill legacy. After the commune itself ended, their openness to love and adventure, land and community endures.

This exhibition is co-presented by The Cherry Arts, History Center in Tompkins County and curated by Judy Swann and Laurence Clarkberg. It is part of the Seeing Ithaca, for which 10 local galleries are exhibiting works showcasing interpretations of Ithaca.

The Cherry Gallery, 130 Cherry St, Ithaca NY

On display weekends 1-5pm August 4th-September 17th.

New and Noteworthy Collections

The United States Geological Survey has been creating topographical maps of the US since the 1880s. They are invaluable resources for showing the history of the land and its use.

Our map collection contains several dating back to 1893. We recently received one from 1918 that had been used by Cornell Professor Clinton Beaumont Raymond. Professor Raymond, a 1913 graduate of Cornell's College of Agriculture, taught there in the Vegetable Crops Department from 1930 until his retirement in 1954. His career varied from vegetable production to extension work with home gardeners. During World War II he worked closely with urban groups helping to foster the Victory Garden program.

His map is especially interesting for our researchers, since it contains more than the usual USGS map content; it includes carefully hand-drawn boundaries (done, no doubt, by Professor Raymond himself in his work) of state and federal lands in the area.

To examine our collection of USGS maps, or for more information email archives@thehistorycenter.net.

Women Swimmin' for Hospicare 20th Exhibit OPENING on July 12th @ Tompkins Center

Twenty Years Later: Visit Our Exhibit To Celebrate How Far We’ve Swum 

Stop by! An entertaining and informative display commemorating the 20^th annual Women Swimmin’ for Hospicare will open on July 12th from 5-8pm in the atrium of the Tompkins Center for History & Culture on the Ithaca Commons featuring posters from each year and a timeline starting with the fundraising idea proposed twenty years ago by Joan Brumberg and Ann Costello. The exhibit includes photos, video and memorabilia celebrating the swims, swimmers, paddlers and boaters, fundraisers and volunteers — and Hospicare’s impact on the people of Cortland and Tompkins counties.
 
The display will be available through September 2023. The Tompkins Center atrium is open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm. Located in Bank Alley on the Ithaca Commons, visitors can enter through the front door adjacent to the Bernie Milton Pavilion. The street address is 110 North Tioga Street, Ithaca.
 
Thanks for making the exhibit goes to display team leader Linda Mikula and team members Lorraine Heasley, Judy Stewart, Bonni Voiland, and Sara Worden; the staff of The History Center; and sponsors The Image Press, Word of Mouth Catering and Jon Reis Photography.

Last Month at The History Center...

On June 16th we screened 'Lavender Hill: A Love Story' to a full room in  the CAP ArtSpace. The screening of the 23 minute documentary was followed by a panel of former Lavender Hill members; Ned Asta, David Hirsch, and Yvonne Fischer moderated by Dr. Jeffry Iovannone. 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the purchase of the Lavender Hill property.  Lavender Hill formed in Newfield NY (address of West Danby) in 1973, and became a commune of young gay and lesbian activists. The community survived for 11 years, making it one of the longest running queer-based communities in the country. In 2013 a short documentary was made including interviews with surviving community members and original 8mm film shot in 1974.  During a time when over a dozen "straight" communes also existed in Tompkins County, Lavender Hill which grew to include several homes across the property was unique in its expression of collaboration, intentionality, and social political connection for young gay and lesbians during this period. Learn more about LGBTQ+ history in Tompkins County at thehistorycenter.net/lgbtq-history and by scheduling an appointment in our Research Library to review our archival collections.

Historic Ithaca & The History Center Collaborate on Digitization Project

South Central Regional Library Council awarded a $7,651  Technology & Digitization Grant to Historic Ithaca in collaboration with The History Center in Tompkins County to digitize the 1954 Ithaca Tax Photograph Index Cards collection held by Historic Ithaca. This collection includes approximately 5,600 images, depicting all taxable buildings in the City of Ithaca including residences, businesses, and industries. The resulting images will be available online through Historic Ithaca’s collection on New York Heritage Digital Collections and on The History Center’s innovative open-source digital history platform HistoryForge (tompkins.historyforge.net).

A small, initial set of 112 of these images were previously uploaded to Historic Ithaca’s collection on New York Heritage Digital Collections (New York Heritage) as a trial. This project will benefit the region by completing the collection which provides a unique view of the built environment of a small Upstate New York city in the mid-20th century and by increasing its accessibility.

Through NEH Grant HistoryForge Confirms NEW Testing Partners

An exciting aspect of the recently awarded $145,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to the HistoryForge project is the expansion of records for Tompkins County as well as the addition of new partner sites across the country. Over the course of the next year each new partner site will begin implementing HistoryForge in their own communities under the guidance and support of Tompkins HistoryForge. 

HistoryForge is an innovative digital history project combining maps, archival records, and census data that allows any community to explore its local history through the individuals who lived there and the buildings and neighborhoods they lived in. 

We are excited to welcome the following organizations to HistoryForge! 

• Pittsburgh HistoryForge (https://pittsburgh.historyforge.net), Coordinated by the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Focus on 1920 census and Pittsburg's Hill District. 

• Schenectady HistoryForge (https://schenectady.historyforge.net/) coordinated by the Schenectady County Historical Society in Schenectady, NY. Focus on 1910 census for first and second wards.

• Southeastern Louisiana HistoryForge (https://sela.historyforge.net) coordinated by The Ethel & Herman L. Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies, University of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. Focus on Iberville and the Tremé-Lafitte areas, and wage laborer lists.

• Walnut Hills HistoryForge (https://walnuthills.historyforge.net/) coordinated by the Walnut Hills Historical Society in Cincinnati, Ohio. 1940 census focus.

From before the Civil War, the Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati became home to both middle and working class families from many different racial and ethic groups, including African Americans, Italians, Mountain People from Appalachia, and many others. By focusing on the 1940 census, we will use HistoryForge to identify, describe and celebrate the vibrant diversity of Walnut Hills, especially as it existed prior to the transportation and other social developments that transformed the neighborhood beginning in the 1950’s. This work supports the mission of the Walnut Hills Historical Society: To promote the unique history of Walnut Hills through research, engagement and advocacy. 

 From 2022-2024 the HistoryForge project is supported by a major grant from the 'National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom'.

New & Noteworthy Collections

There are several different kinds of archival collections at The History Center. Most consist of materials that document a particular history, such as letters of a local family, or business records of a local industry. Sometimes we receive something we call a research collection. These are compilations put together by a researcher who has studied a specific local topic and preserved the materials this work has generated. They often include copies of articles and notes, photographs and other reference materials that researchers rely on in their work.  These donations are very useful, because it helps us avoid the need to go over research ground that has already been well-trodden. And when the researcher is a noteworthy historian, then we are especially grateful.

We just received a collection of such material from recently retired Tompkins County Historian Carol Kammen. She did extensive research over many years on women from Tompkins County and the surrounding area who served as nurses during the Civil War. Women such as Sophronia Bucklin from Ithaca, or Julia Cook from Dryden were pioneers in serving where women were often not wanted at a time when they were not allowed to work in the dangerous environment of a theater of war. Kammen's research materials include her notes on each of these women, highlighting the sources she used in her work. The collection also contains several books and articles that she relied upon as well.
 
Carol Kammen was appointed as Tompkins County Historian in June 2000 and fostered local history through numerous projects and initiatives. She wrote several books on various aspects of the history of the county, including suffrage and the history of local African Americans. She founded and chaired the Municipal Historians of Tompkins County, an active and productive group who collaborated on many local history initiatives. She also served as co-chair of the Civil War Commemoration Commission, of the Tompkins County Bicentennial Commission, and in 2018 chair of the Tompkins County Historical Commission. She retired in 2022.

For further questions or to make an appointment to visit the research library email archives@thehistorycenter.net

In April of 2022 The History Center was awarded $29,582 from the Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant program to significantly address the backlog in the archival processing of our oral history collections. Through significant work and time on the project from our transcription assistants paid through the grant, federal work study, volunteers, and The History Center staff we are thrilled to share the huge improvement in accessibility for this collection. 

Transcripts were completed for 132 interviews in our collections. Including language translation for Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫˀ (Cayuga) language-keeper Stephen Henhawks 2018 interview, a 2006 interview with Nina Ebbs, a 2016 interview with Bob Nobles, completion of transcription for two large-scale projects recorded in collaboration with Cornell's Public History Initiative, in addition to dozens of others. 

We also completed listing notes and Finding Aids for 12 oral history projects, and 7 thematic collections including: Searching for LGBTQ Community, Warmest Years on Record, Oral History of Holocaust Survivors Who Settled in Tompkins County, Stories of Immigration and many others. These will be available for preview at thehistorycenter.net/oral-history and as a reference catalogue in the Research Library. Community members interested in these collections and recordings may make an appointment in our archives to listen to any interview in our collection of over 200 narratives of local life, experience, and memory. 

This was a huge undertaking and we are grateful and proud of Lauren Kessler, Julia Calagiavanni, Andrew Harding, Melanie Jalbert, Dan Motta, Blythe Van Ness, and Kethry Larsen for all their work on this project since last July!

History Center staff  Ben Sandberg, Cindy Kjellander-Cantu, and Zoë Van Nostrand attended the Museum Association of New York's  Annual Conference in Syracuse NY (Onǫdagehó:nǫˀ Territory (Onondaga)). This years theme was 'Finding Center: Access, Inclusion, Participation, and Engagement'. It included a range of panels and speakers that mirrored and inspired reflection on the work we've been doing at The History Center to prioritize highlighting and including previously under-represented histories and communities. We were excited to make connections with more than 500 museum professionals from across New York State, and discover many of them have visited in recent years and have been following the growth of the HistoryForge project!

Our staff also loved discovering Tompkins County history connections as they explored Syracuse. From the 'Jerry Rescue' monument in Clinton Square featuring Jermain Loguen, who was one of the first pastors at the Ithaca St. James AME Zion Church, to noticing that the Everson Museum of Art building shared a striking resemblance to our own Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, because they were both designed by architect I.M.Pei in the late 1960's!

Our thanks to MANY for curating such a powerful and inspiring conference!

Some of our favorite panels and experiences included: 
- Reimagining Public History with the Reframing History Toolkit @ Erie Canal Museum (Our staff HIGHLY recommend their new guided tours! Especially Pathway of Resistance)
- The Northern Slavery Collective; How Museums and Historic Sites are Joining Forces to Collaborate on Interpreting the History of Enslavement (Video of panel)
- Towards Inclusive Metadata (Publicly Accessible Toolkit)
- Breaking Museum Rules to Create and Experience Participatory Democracy @ The Matilda Joslyn Gage Center (MJG loaned us their 'Haudenosaunee Influence on Women's Rights' exhibit in 2021 for Breaking Barriers; well worth a drive to Fayetteville to visit their museum!)