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PRESS RELEASES

|  2024  |  2022  |  2021  |  2020  |  2019   2018  2017 |

2024

Photographs of City of Ithaca from 1950s-1960s recently digitized and made publicly available on Tompkins HistoryForge & New York Heritage Digital Collections

February 21st 2024

Historic Ithaca (HI), a non-profit preservation organization, and The History Center in Tompkins County (THC), an education and research center preserving the history of Tompkins County, NY, collaborated and received a grant from the South Central Regional Library Council (SCRLC) to digitize HI’s collection of 5790 images of Ithaca tax photograph index cards from the 1950s-1960s and connect them to corresponding building records on the Tompkins HistoryForge platform (tompkins.historyforge.net). The images depict all taxable buildings in the City of Ithaca at that time including residences, businesses, and industries. 

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The History Center in Tompkins County ‘A Sporting Chance: On and Off the Field' exhibit opens Friday February 2nd

January 25th 2024

The History Center in Tompkins County announces their next major exhibit ‘A Sporting Chance: On and Off the Field’, to open on February 2nd 2024 at the Tompkins Center for History and Culture located on the Ithaca Commons.The History Center's new exhibit explores the stories of local athletes, teams, and the community that cheered them on. From league tournaments to pick-up games in the park, our community history of sports balls, paddles, and skates traverses water, ice, air, and land.

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2022

The History Center in Tompkins County Announces Upcoming Exhibit ‘Knot Sew Fast: Patchwork of Tompkins County’

October 20th 2022

The History Center in Tompkins County announces their next major exhibit ‘Knot Sew Fast: Patchwork of Tompkins County’, to open on February 3rd 2023 at their Exhibit Hall on the Ithaca Commons. Knot Sew Fast pulls from the extensive textile and fabric arts collections held by The History Center to lay out the stories these functional artworks tell about Tompkins County history.

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The History Center receives major award through the Digital Humanities Advancement Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

August 17th 2022

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced a major award of $145,634.00 to The History Center in Tompkins County (thehistorycenter.net) for their digital application HistoryForge: Mapping Census Data to Visualize Local History. In addition to this critical piece of funding, The History Center’s project earned additional recognition in the application process, and was selected to receive funding through the NEH’s A More Perfect Union initiative.

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The History Center in Tompkins County is a 2022 Blue Star Museum

June 2nd 2022

The History Center in Tompkins County announced it will join museums nationwide in the Blue Star Museums initiative for the third year, a program that provides free admission to currently-serving U.S. military personnel and their families this summer. The 2022 program will begin on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 21, 2022, and end on Labor Day, Monday, September 5, 2022.

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The History Center in Tompkins County Awarded $4,710 from NYSCA and MANY Partnership Grants for Capacity Building

May 23rd 2022

See thehistorycenter.net/Grants page for details

The History Center in Tompkins County Awarded $4,710 from NYSCA and MANY Partnership Grants for Capacity Building

May 23rd 2022

See thehistorycenter.net/Grants page for details

The History Center in Tompkins County Awarded Pandemic Recovery Grant from the American Historical Association to Support Oral History Collection

April 6th 2022

The History Center in Tompkins County has been awarded funding from the American Historical Association’s Grants to Sustain and Advance the Work of Historical Organizations Program, which provides relief to institutions adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This opportunity was made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The History Center in Tompkins County will use the awarded funds to support the archival processing, digital preservation, and public sharing of our Oral Histories of Tompkins County collection (thehistorycenter.net/Oral-History). 

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The History Center in Tompkins County announces new exhibit - reCOUNT: Facing our Census

February 1st 2022

The History Center in Tompkins County announces their next major exhibit, reCOUNT: Facing Our Census, to open on April 1st, 2022. The U.S. Census impacts everything from political representation to school funding. Tompkins County, and every other community across the nation, has been fundamentally shaped by the regular count of Americans. The census is also a valuable historical resource. Since 1790, the census has provided a broad snapshot of the nation and its communities. A critical examination of these records reveals biases and shortcomings baked into this American system. reCOUNT uses the census as a lens to explore the history of Tompkins County and its people, recognizing the value of the census, as well as its limitations.

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The History Center in Tompkins County awarded $10,000 by the New York State Council on the Arts

January 26th 2022

The History Center announced today a grant award totaling $10,000 from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to support the recovery of the nonprofit arts and culture sector. The History Center will use these funds to support the research and exhibit design for reCOUNT: Facing Our Census, an exhibit by The History Center in Tompkins County (THC), opening on April 1st , 2022, in celebration of the historic release of the manuscript records of the 1950 U.S. Census by the National Archives.

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2021

2021


The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation awards critical support for increased access to community archives - September 1st 2021

Delmas Foundation awarded a total of $17,565 to The History Center in Tompkins County to support improving remote access to the museums valuable collections through the creation of Finding Aids. Finding aids provide detailed scope and content descriptions to assist researchers with our collections. The project includes creating Finding Aids for a number of important collections that span local industries (Groton Iron Bridge Company Collection and the Ithaca Small Business Collection), arts and culture (the Strand Theater collection and the Performing Arts collection), civic and political collections (the Public Health collection and the Tompkins County Agriculture collection), and military histories of Tompkins County (Civil War collection and World War 1 collection)

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Deadline Extended on Call for Essays Reflecting Upon 2020 - August 2021 - Tompkins County Historical Commission New York

Pandemic, with lockdown, school closures, social distancing, isolation. A tense presidential campaign and  election, leading to controversy, discord, information wars, insurrection. Social protest and intense self examination on a national scale. Hurricanes, wildfires, natural disasters. Public and personal drama. The deadline for this call has been extended until  September 30, 2021.

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The History Center in Tompkins County Announces New Exhibit: 'Breaking Barriers: Women's Lives & Livelihoods' - May 24th 2021

The  History Center in Tompkins County (THC) is excited to announce its new exhibit "Breaking Barriers: Women's Lives & Livelihoods" will open July 2nd 2021. This exhibit has multiple components: a temporary (July 2021-February 2022) physical display of six interactive exhibits at The History Center Exhibit Hall on the Ithaca Commons, selected virtual exhibits available atthehistorycenter.net/virtual-exhibits, and public access to selected interviews from the Women's Voices in Tompkins County: Oral History Collection.

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The History Center in Tompkins County Announces Access Program for Low-Income Families - Museums for All to increase accessibility of high-quality museum learning resources - May 14th 2021

The History Center in Tompkins County has joined Museums for All, a signature access program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum-going habits. The program supports those receiving food assistance (SNAP) benefits visiting The History Center with free admission.

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The History Center in Tompkins County receives Award of 2021 Arts & Culture Organization Development Grant from the Tompkins Tourism Program. Read More - March 2nd 2021 

2020

2020

The History Center in Tompkins County Selected as a Museum Association of New York Museum Partner for Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility

The Museum Association of New York (MANY) is thrilled to announce that 98 museums from across New York State have been selected to participate in “Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility”, an IMLS CARES Act grant project designed to help museums impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic share their collections and reach audiences who cannot physically visit their museums.

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The Alex Haley Memorial Project and The History Center in Tompkins County unveil historic signage celebrating Alex Haley on August 8th, 11 am.

ITHACA, NY. July 20th, 2020 – The Alex Haley Memorial Project, in collaboration with The History Center in Tompkins County, will live stream a ceremony to honor Ithaca-born Alex Haley on August 8th, at 11am.

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Humanities New York awards HNY CARES Emergency Relief Grant to The History Center in Tompkins County.

ITHACA, NY. June 30th, 2020 - The History Center in Tompkins County was awarded a Humanities New York (HNY) relief grant in response to the ongoing public health and economic crisis. This support from New York State is critical for The History Center as they navigate the ongoing public health and economic crisis. The successful application for the year July 2020 – June 2021 designates funds for ongoing archival work and developing new methods for engaging the public with archival materials. The total award of $10,000 is designated primarily for staff expenses, occupancy, and programmatic costs.

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The National Endowment for the Humanities awards Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) grant to The History Center in Tompkins County.

ITHACA, NY. June 30th, 2020 - The History Center in Tompkins County was awarded a COVID-19 relief grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities last week. The federal support is critical for The History Center as they navigate the ongoing public health and economic crisis. The successful Youth Program Resiliency, and Community Archives and Exhibits application provides support for a selection of fall humanities programs, ongoing archival work, and the creation of supplemental digital content for the exhibit hall. The total award of $79,814 is designated primarily for staff expenses, occupancy, and programmatic costs.

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Sisters of Change: Dorothy Cotton and Unsung Sheroes for Racial Justice, Human Rights and the Vote - Exhibit and Related Programming Through April 2020

ITHACA, NY, January 23rd, 2020 - The Dorothy Cotton Institute (DCI) and the Tompkins Center for History & Culture (TCHC) invites the public to attend an opening reception on Thursday, January 23 (5-7 pm) for the new, “Sisters of Change: Dorothy Cotton and Unsung Sheroes for Racial Justice, Human Rights and the Vote” exhibit at the Tompkins Center for History & Culture, 110 N. Tioga St. (on the Commons) in Ithaca. 

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2019

Tompkins Center for History & Culture Opens to the Public with Community Celebration and Ribbon Cutting – May 10th

The twelve partner organizations of the Tompkins Center for History & Culture invite the people of Tompkins County, the Finger Lakes, and New York to explore this new heritage tourism center on May 10th at a Community Celebration and Ribbon Cutting.

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New Opening of The Tompkins Center for History and Culture

 [Ithaca, NY]—05/13/2019—Tessellate Studio, a business specializing in innovative architectural, exhibit, and experiential design, is excited to announce the new opening of The Tompkins Center for History and Culture this past weekend in Ithaca, NY. It will be the first of its kind in providing in-depth cultural knowledge of Tompkins County’s heritage and impact on the world.

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The History Center in Tompkins County Awarded Prestigious Grant from the National Archives

The National Historical Public Records Commission, a brank of the National Archives & Records Administration, announced the award of a Public Engagement with Historic Records Grant of $132,946 to The History Center in Tompkins County in Support of HistoryForge, a dynamic way to explore local history using census records and historic maps. 

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Hinckley Foundation Press Conference

Board Members of Hinckley Museum Foundation formally gifts remaining assets and archival items of the Hinckley Museum to The History Center in Tompkins County, Historic Ithaca, and Lifelong.

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Part One: An Overview - Part Two: A Field Trip Through Time

Part One: An Overview will include an evening presentation exploring and celebrating the natural and cultural history of the Six Mile Creek Watershed. Using a combination of maps, diagrams, historic photographs, and aerial imagery, we'll interpret the history of how the landscape of the watershed we see today has unfolded through time - from its geologic origins to the impacts of European settlement and modern-day land-use. We'll feature stories from fascinating places throughout the watershed, highlighting ways in which human culture has both shaped the landscape - and been shaped by it. Presenters: Karen Edelstein and Walter Poleman.

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2018

The History Center in Tompkins County Receives $3000 Technology & Digitization Grant

South Central Regional Library Council (SCRLC) has awarded a $3000 Technology and Digitization Grant to the History Center in Tompkins County to digitize historical photographs, maps, and Ithaca city directories from the History Center’s collection in support of HistoryForge. The HistoryForge project combines transcribed census data and historical maps to create a new way to explore the history of the city of Ithaca online. The photographs, maps, and directories digitized as part of this grant award will be used to enhance the HistoryForge website. The digitized items will also be made available online in New York Heritage Digital Collections (nyheritage.org). SCRLC’s Technology and Digitization Grants are funded as part of the Regional Bibliographic Data Bases and Interlibrary Resources Sharing (RBDB) Program.

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Tommy Comes Home Centennial Flight

The Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation (IAHF) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the preservation of the rich aviation heritage of the Ithaca area. In 2009, IAHF acquired an original 1918 Thomas-Morse S-4 Scout advanced high-speed trainer designed for the U.S. Army Air Corps built and manufactured in Ithaca, NY.  The Scout played an enormous role in the early years of aviation and became affectionately known throughout the aviation world as “Tommy.”  Throughout the past 10 years, a team of volunteers has devoted countless hours to restoring our Tommy to flying condition. IAHF’s ‘Tommy Come Home Project’ was conceived more than 15 years ago, and has fulfilled the dream of bringing a Tommy home, restoring it to flying condition and flying it on its 100th birthday.

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Tommy Plane Fundraiser "A Romance of the Air" Screening at Cinemapolis

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Ithaca Heritage's 2nd Annual Tasting & Cocktail Tour

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2017

The History Center in Tompkins County Receives $3000 Women's Suffrage Grant

Grant received from the City Federation of Women's Organizations to digitize scrapbooks from Ithaca's Political Study Club. The scrapbooks, dated between the years of 1899 and 1917, detail assorted items such as organizational histories and meeting minutes, as well as newspaper clippings and photographs. 

Link to Digitized Collection

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Physical Address

Located inside the Tompkins Center for History & Culture

110 North Tioga Street

(On the Ithaca Commons) 

Ithaca NY, 14850 USA

Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫˀ Territory

Hours

Exhibit Hall Wednesday-Saturday 10am-6pm - CLOSED Sun-Tues

Cornell Local History Research Library & Archives - By appointment only. Please contact archives@thehistorycenter.net

Contact                                                 

Email: Refer to Contact page for individual emails, General inquiries to community@thehistorycenter.net

Phone: 607-273-8284

Web: thehistorycenter.net

Find us on social media @tompkinshistory

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