Photos by Tom Rivers: This historical marker dedicated for a Revolutionary War hero was unveiled on April 14, 2021. The marker highlights Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer who provided critical aid to George Washington in securing American independence. The marker notes a farewell tour in 1824-1825 to honor Lafayette, who traveled on the Erie Canal from Lockport to Rochester in June 1825 to great fanfare. This marker is located by the Erie Canal in Albion in between the two lift bridges.

ALBION – The state has given Orleans County $15,000 to help commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026.

The New York State 250^th Commemorative Commission sent Orleans County Historian Catherine Cooper a letter on Nov. 7, thanking the county for partnering with the state Education Department in commemorating the American Revolution and also the “Unfinished Revolution.”

Cooper said she expects to have a committee in Orleans County to help direct how the county will spend the $15,000 and be part of the commemoration.

She has been leading an effort this year for the Orleans County Bicentennial, highlighting important dates, events and citizens since the community’s founding.

None of the Revolutionary battles were fought in Orleans County, but several soldiers from the war settled in Orleans County. Some of those soldiers, who are buried at local cemeteries, will be spotlighted next year, Cooper said.

People interested in being on the committee can reach out to Cooper by email at Catherine.Cooper@orleanscountyny.gov or call her office at (585) 589-4174.

New York State 250^th Commemorative Commission wants to do more than celebration the period of American Revolution and the formation of the United States. That Commission wants to recognize ongoing efforts to reach the goals expressed by the nation’s founders. New York has been a significant force in those movements, including such iconic, historic stories as serving as the routes for the Underground Railroad, the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, the labor movement, and the LGBTQ+ rights movement, Gov. Kathy Hochul said on May 14 last year when the state named members of the Commemorative Commission.

There are numerous existing sites and battlefields associated with New York’s role in the American Revolution, all of which are vital to telling this part of the history of the nation., the Commemorative Commission writes in a guide to observing the 250^th anniversary.

“The Founding Fathers wrote, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,’ as the guiding principles of a new nation,” the Commission states. “New Yorkers continue to lead in efforts to expand these ideals to include everyone. This part of the Revolution continues.”

For more information on the NYS 250^th Commemorative Commission, click here to see a field guide on the commemoration.

The state’s commemoration of the 250^th anniversary of the American Revolution isn’t just based on the country’s founding in 1776. NYS wants to highlight other significant movements, including the push for women’s rights. This photo shows three statues in Seneca Falls of prominent women’s suffrage leaders.

The statues “When Anthony Met Stanton” depict the chance encounter in May 1851 in Seneca Falls that forever altered the struggle for women’s rights. Amelia Jenks Bloomer, depicted in center, introduced Susan B. Anthony, left, to Elizabeth Lady Stanton.

The friendship that was forged between Stanton and Anthony gave direction and momentum to the 72-year struggle for women’s suffrage which was culminated on Aug. 26, 1920 with the passage of the 19th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. Neither woman lived to see women’s suffrage become a reality. When Anthony Met Stanton was gifted to the Seneca Falls community by the Governor’s Commission Honoring the Achievements of Women on July 18, 1998.

Veterans Service Agency Office will be closed for event at Medina VFW

Press Release, Orleans County Veterans Service Office

ALBION – Orleans County Veterans Services is teaming up with GO Health to host a Veterans Health and Benefit Fair on Monday, November 17.

The fair will be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the VFW, located at 216 E. Center Street in Medina.  The Veterans Services Office on Route 31 will be closed Monday as staff will be working this event.

The event is open to all veterans. Representatives from GO Health and Veterans Services will be on hand to discuss healthcare resources and benefits available to veterans. Free food and drink will be provided.

“We are always looking for ways to support our veterans and by teaming up with GO Health for this event, we can offer information on a wide variety of health and benefit programs available to the veteran community,” said Nik Mroz, Director of Veterans Services.  “While we asked for preregistration, any veteran who missed that deadline is still welcome to attend and bring a guest.”

(Left) The book includes a tribute to Melissa Ierlan of Clarendon who has repainted more than 50 of the historic markers, often welcoming local students to help in the process of scraping off paint, and putting on a base coat before Ierlan puts on the final coats of blue and yellow paint and does painstaking process of painting each letter. She delivered one freshly repainted marker on Oct. 29. This was the marker for the Gaines Basin Cobblestone Schoolhouse which was  built in 1832. (Right) Tim Archer, an Albion teacher, praised Ierlan for being “a tireless doer” in taking on so many of the projects.

By Ginny Kropf and Tom Rivers

GAINES – An updated book about historical markers in Orleans County features about 100 of the markers around the county.

Catherine Cooper, the county historian, compiled the book of markers, as well as historical tidbits from each of the 10 towns and four villages. She pushed to get the project done in 2025 as part of the county’s bicentennial.

“Historic Markers of Orleans County New York” is a revised guidebook from the 2001 original. That book, “Historic Markers Erected During the 20th Century in Orleans County New York,” was produced by then Orleans County Historian Bill Lattin and Neil Johnson, the village of Albion historian.

“To date, historic roadside markers document significant events in Orleans County history,” Cooper said. “These blue and yellow signs are easily recognizable, but sometimes difficult to read as we speed by.”

Cooper, during the Oct. 29 book unveiling, told her audience she suggested keeping a copy of the book in the car so the text on these markers – which enriches our connection to our surroundings – can easily be referred to.

The new book has the same design and layout as the first publication, Cooper said. It is organized by towns and has a chronology at the beginning. The signs cover the complete range of Orleans County history. Many of the signs refer to “firsts,” such as “first church,” or “first school,” since these were significant achievements at the time.

Other signs refer to people who made a difference, such as the sign for Col Ezra Brainard of Holley, who is credited with developing the idea of a triangular-shaped truss bridge construction during the early years of Erie Canal construction. Erie Canal bridges still feature truss supports, Cooper said.

Provided photos: Catherine Cooper, the Orleans County historian, holds a copy of a book featuring the historical markers in Orleans County. Cooper did a book launch during a presentation on Oct. 29 at the Gaines Basin Cobblestone Schoolhouse, which is the meeting place for the Orleans County Historical Association. Bill Lattin introduced Cooper and commended her efforts during the Oct. 29 presentation.

The book includes 105 historical markers. The Village of Albion has the most markers with 22, followed by the Town of Gaines with 19. The Village of Lyndonville has the fewest with 2, with the Town of Albion (outside the village), the next fewest with 3.

Here are the numbers in the other municipalities: Barre, 4; Carlton, 7; Clarendon, 7; Holley, 8; Kendall, 4; Medina, 9; Murray, 6; Ridgeway, 7; Shelby, 5; and Yates, 5.

This latest book is dedicated to Melissa Ierlan of Clarendon, who has repainted and repaired 54 of the historic marker signs. Tim Archer, retired Albion Social Service teacher, commended Irelan’s generosity of spirit and the enthusiasm she has passed on to student volunteers.

The back cover of the book features the poster created by Carol Culhane for the Orleans County bicentennial. The 58-page book also has a list of the 36 veterans’ memorials in the county.

Copies of the book are available for $15. They can be purchased at the Cobblestone Museum, Hoag Library, Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina, Murray-Holley Historical Society and Author’s Note in Medina.

Bill Lattin spoke at the Oct. 29 book unveiling. He said historic markers are the “tip of the iceberg” in providing information about some of the important local sites.

“The historic markers are not just an arsenal of facts, but a living continuum through which we may better understand our lace in the world in which we live, much to our ‘tangible benefit,’” Lattin writes in the foreword of the book.

Photo by Tom Rivers: On May 27, 2024, on a rainy Memorial Day, the Holley community dedicated a new historical marker for the 9 “Holley Boys” who were killed during the Vietnam War. Those young men include: John P. Davis, age 30: David Duane Case, 20; Ronald P. Sisson, 23; Howard L. Bowen, 20; Gary E. Bullock, 24; Gary Lee Stymus, 26; George Warren Fischer Jr., 23; Paul Scott Mandracchia, 18; and David States, 21. This marker is much larger than the typical historical markers. It I located in front of the old Holley High School.

Since the 2001 book by Lattin and Johnson, about 30 more markers have been added to the Orleans County landscape.

The oldest marker was installed in 1913 as a tablet erected in front of the County Clerk’s Building in Albion. That marker told how the site previously was home to the Phipps Union Female Seminary led by the school’s founder, Caroline Phipps Achilles.

The early markers in the county were typically funded by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the State Historic Marker Program. More recent markers were spearheaded by local or historical agencies, Cooper said. And since 2012, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation has supported many of the markers.

Cooper thanked local highway departments for installing many of the markers, and volunteers who have repaired and repainted them, notably Melissa Ierlan of Clarendon, Dan Mawn of Holley and Larie Vagg of Albion.

The book of historical markers helps to understand Orleans County, which formed in 1825 after splitting off from Genesee County.

“Two hundred years is a short time in the span of history but a significant period in human terms,” Cooper writes in the foreword of the book. “The landscape is completely different. Lifestyles have changed dramatically in that time. It is the thread of history that connects us through the constant and inevitable change. Historic markers serves as guide marks along the way.”