County approves $3K for Cobblestone Museum
Photo by Tom Rivers: The cobblestone school house is part of a museum complex that has been declared a National Historic Landmark.
ALBION – The Cobblestone Museum, which has been shut out of Orleans County budget in recent years, was approved for $3,000 from the county’s contingency fund on Wednesday.
County legislators met for a year-end meeting and unanimously approved the funds for the museum, which operates with two part-time employees, as well as a buildings and grounds laborer.
The museum complex includes seven historic buildings, as well as outhouses and other important community artifacts.
The museum in August was approved for a $23,000 from the Rochester Area Community Foundation. That money will go towards restoring windows on the Cobblestone Church, and repointing on the historic building, as well as work on the next-door Ward House, which was built around 1840. The stairs on the house have been crumbling and will be fixed with the grant funds.
The museum’s Board of Trustees has reached out to the county and other supporters to help with a deficit in the annual operating costs of running the museum, which is the only National Historic Landmark in Orleans County.
