Madison County, NY Historian

Recently the Onondaga Historical Association sent us a series of large photo negatives labeled "Madison County." The images are aerial photos from the mid-20th century. We have scanned them and are working on identifying all of the locations. Our image this week is looking at the Village of DeRuyter, NY. In the foreground you can see the United Church of DeRuyter. In the background you can see the grounds of the DeRuyter Firemen's Fair.

In honor of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we will be telling the story of two Madison County Veterans who were there. Bob Lasher attended local schools and graduated from Chittenango High School in 1940. He enlisted in the Navy in July of 1940 and following training was assigned to Pearl Harbor. He was on the USS West Virginia during the attack on December 7, 1941 and his family received notice that he was killed in action. Less than a week after receiving the first noti...ce a second was received that said the first was erroneous. In the meantime, the family had prepared a memorial that became a thanksgiving for his being alive. Bob returned home, and married Marian Miller in Chittenango on August 28, 1945. He lived his life in Chittenango before passing away in 2018. Bob talked about his experiences in Pearl Harbor and during the remainder of his time in the Navy during a recorded interview with the Madison County Historian in 2013 including opening a letter in which his mother sent his obituary to him while he was still in the service. See more

As part of an ongoing DOT project the New York State Museum is performing an archeological dig in Madison County. They have uncovered the foundation and basement floorboards of a building believed to have been built between 1825 & 1850. Upon completion of the excavation a full report will be completed on the project. Weather permitting we will be interviewing some of the archaeology team next week, stay tuned!!! Please note we do not give the locations of active site.

Our December records of the month are advertisements from the 1869-70 Madison County Gazetteer. The gazetteer was published by Hamilton Child of Syracuse. The company published many gazetteers and county directories. The Madison County edition featured stories, census information a gazetteer of the county and towns, advice, histories and business directories for all the towns which include the name of the person/business, the post office address and what the business or person did.