historical society of the tonawandas museum

For $25 you can be a yearly member. The current location on Main Street used to be the train stop for the NYC line. Some really nice artifacts and maps.

This is a completely volunteer-run facility. It is also financed only through donations! Yet, for 50 years they have carried on. The main building is jam-packed. The exhibit area is very small but displays artifacts related to the Erie Canal, lumber industry (it was the Lumber Capital of the World in the early 1890s), transportation, etc. The society also runs the Long Homestead which is a very large log home from 1829. It also places exhibits in several other local venues. In my opinion, the most important contribution to history are its archives which are open to the public for historical and genealogical research. I was amazed to find out how many documents and photographs they house. These are indexed and digitized. My favorite "thing," though, is that it is housed in a New York Central Railroad station that was built in 1886. The museum is open all year: Wednesdays 12-4:30pm, Thursdays 10am-^pm, and Saturdays 10am-2pm.