History

For nearly ninety years, the Cortland County Historical Society has been driving in the past lane. Since its 1925 founding, the CCHS has engaged the community as a cultural partner providing perspective and context for understanding our unique past. Driven by its mission to inspire, the CCHS collects, preserves, and interprets the history of our community through a dynamic series of public programs, exhibits, tours, publications and outreach efforts.

Located in the historic 1882 James Suggett House, CCHS showcases curated selections from its rich collection of artifacts highlighting more than two centuries of Cortland stories. Adjacent to the museum, the Kellogg Memorial Research Center opens its irreplaceable archive of diaries, manuscripts, maps, photographs and ephemera to researchers and genealogists. Professional staff aids researchers in navigating public and private resources including indexed federal and state census records, vital statistics, cemetery and surname files and its extensive clipping files.

Organized as a non-profit corporation and sustained by its members and through contributions, the Society welcomes your support and enthusiasm for Cortland’s past. Consider a membership and hitch a ride in the past lane!

Jeanette Benton Sherwood, along with the help of state historian Dr. A.C. Flick, was the founder and first president of the Cortland County Historical Society. She also helped organize the YWCA , the Twentieth Century Club, and the Tioughnioga Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was involved in many other local organizations: the board of the Cortland County Hospital, Home Bureau of Cortland County, Central New York Historians, and a Sunday School teacher at the First Presbyterian Church.