Civic Center, 2 Park Street
Potsdam, NY 13676
(315) 265-6910

Welcome to Potsdam Public Museum, Potsdam, N.Y.

News

Monday, Jul. 20th, 2020

For several decades the Village of Potsdam has held a summer festival sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce with music,replica watches food, dancing, arts and crafts, a car show and much more. This year it was cancelled because of Covid-19. We have posted a number of pictures from summer festivals of yesteryear on our facebook page.

 Untitled Document

Due to an uptick in cases of COVID-19
the Museum is again closed!

We are happy to take your genealogy requests and inquiries on-line at:
museum@vi.potsdam.ny.us

 
If we do research for you... the first hour is free and
 
after that it is $15/hr.
 
 Cutting ICE  in Ives Park 1880!
 

 Feeling cooler already? In the 1880s residents of Potsdam relied upon  'ice boxes" for refrigeration. The ice was cut in January and February when it was the coldest and dense. It was stored in big warehouses along the river where Ives Park is now. As shown in this picture, the ice was scored by a horse drawn gadget designed just for this purpose.It was then hand cut and loaded into wagons. It was stored between layers of sawdust. (In ancient Rome, the ice was brought down from the Alps and stored in deep cellars packed in straw!) In Potsdam, the ice was then delivered by wagon in the spring summer and fall to keep food cool. Children would gather at the wagon and the driver would shave ice off for the kids to suck on to cool off in the dog days of summer. Early type of snow cone?
 

 
To view our exhibit on ICE and see more images - click on:
 
http://www.potsdampublicmuseum.org/pages/61/10/ice-cold-potsdam
 



    For more updated posts about the museum, please visit our Facebook page
 
 
      CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? 
 
A History of Telecommunications!
 



 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
  


RESEARCHERS: UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: email us for help at: museum@vi.potsdam.ny.us
 If you are traveling to the museum to do research, please call ahead and make an appointment so the staff can locate the appropriate files. Sometimes a family file contains just one obituary from a newspaper, other files may contain dozens of folders and personal letters.
This Museum is handicap accessible. 
 

2 Park Street . Civic Center . Potsdam . NY . 13676
315.265.6910