Meetings are held on 
the 2nd Thursday of
each month at 7 p.m.
at the Wilcox Memorial,
Church St., Mexico, NY.
Click here for schedule
of 2013 Programs.

Contact Information:

Society President - (315)963-3129
Society Treasurer- (315)963-7898

Town Historian - (315)963-7034
 

2013 Programs   

Spring is here and the Mexico Historical Society has scheduled some very interesting programs for this year. Click on the link above to see the schedule.  We have also developed new hours of operation for the Mexico Museum and the Starr Clark Tin Shop and Underground Railroad Museum.  Beginning Friday, May 31, hours of operation will be every Friday, 4-7 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m. -1 p.m.  To make an appointment to visit either of the museums you may call Jim at 315/963-7898 or email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  .

L to R: Madilyn Schmidt, Secfretary, Elsie Farrell, Treasurer, Allie
Proud, President, Marilyn Marks, Vice President

2012 Board of Trustees

Seated: Bonnie Loforte, Brends Hotchkiss, Bonnie Shumway
Standing: Sandra Scott, Jim Hotchkiss, Betty Green, Charlie Marks,
Marie Hartwell. Absent: Louise Meyer, Zenola Beardslee.

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Volunteer are an important element in maintaing any organization,  Especially so with the Historical Society which is the steward of the Mexico Museum and the Starr Clark Tin Shop and Underground Railroad Museum.   Please contact Allie Proud at (315)963-3129 to volunteer for any of our projects. The areas most urgently in need of help are:  Museums visiting hours, and program committee.

Member and Dues

Mexico Historical Society Membership annual dues:  Individual $10, Family $15, Patron $50, Student/Senior $5.   You may make checks payable Mexico Historical Society and mail to:

Mexico Historical Society
 PO Box 331
Mexico, NY  13114

Dues will also be accepted at our meetings.

If you knlow of a friend or someone who is interested in local history, please encourage them to become a member of Mexico Historical Society.

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Do You Remember

Courtesy of the Mexico Independent, July 27, 1933      

That two or three times in this column we have had occasion to mention the name of Mr. Starr Clark as one of the leading men of his time in this village?  Only our oldest residents will recall him or the fact that his store was then located on East Main Street, near where now stands the home of Mr. Carl Simons.  Mr. Clark was not only a thrifty, wide-awake merchant, and a key man in the "Underground Railway" for transporting run-away slaves from the South to Canada, but he was as well a student of nationwide matters, and was then the only subscriber to a daily paper in the village.  Being an ardent supporter of, and an earnest believer in Horace Greeley, it is easy to understand this daily paper was the New York Tribune.

Railroads had not as yet reached the village of Mexico, and the mail was brought from Rome or Syracuse by stage.  It is related that every afternoon, as the time drew near for the arrival of the stage, a gathering of men could be seen in front of Starr Clark's store, looking anxiously up the hill toward Prattham, watching for the first sight of the four horse team and the lumbering bus which was to bring the paper and the news from the outer world.

Those were the days before the railroad, telegraph, telephone, or radio, and about the only means of knowing what might be happening in the great spaces beyond the confines of your own village or town was the advent of the traveling salesman, the occasional letter from some distant friend or relative, and, as in the case of this village, some resident who might be so fortunate or fore-handed as to receive a daily paper.

There was seemingly nothing small, mean, or stingy in the makeup of Starr Clark, and realizing the interest of his fellow residents in the markets, politics, and happenings in general, it became a daily occurence for him to read aloud, to those who had gathered for that purpose, the news contained in the daily sheet, and then followed the inevitable discussion, pro and con, as to its importance or general interest.

And so, in a way, he became a public benefactor to his less fortunate town's people.

More anon

ADAM THE SECOND

The Tin Shop

The Tin Shop

Before 

Renovation

Begins

2010

Phase 1

of the

Tin Shop

Renovation

Complete

2011

Phase 2

of the

Tin Shop

Renovation

2012

The original building has been taken back to its mid-1800 appearance.  The exterior matches a circa 1900 photo that we have of the store.  With the help of Leslie and Richard LaCrosse, the interior has been rebuilit to its 1830's glory.  The original wall planks and ceiling have been exposed and preserved.  The front of the building, the original built in 1927, is now ready to house a working Tin Shop and an Underground Rail Road Interpretive Center.  The rest of the building will be an Annex for the mexico Historical Society Museum. Phase 3 will begin in October 2012.

We are planning a grand opening of the "new" Tin Shop and the Interpretive Center on December 1, 2012 as part of the Christmas in Mexico weekend.  Please join us on that weekend and see what many of us have been anticipating for nearly ten years.

In the meantime, if anyone has, or knows of, any tin ware from the time period, please contact a Historical Society at 963-7034..  We are anxiously looking to add to the display.

Pictured is a tin smith
work table donated to the
Starr Clark Tin Shop by
Pam and Brian Roach
of the Hart & Stone General Store.

Standing with the table are:  Jim Hotchkiss, Chairman of the Starr Clark Tin Shop
Restoration Committee, Joe Maryak, Architec, Committee members Marie and Ed Hartwell and Kenvyn Richards.

Special Opening for the Starr Tin Shop

      During Christmas in Mexico, 2012