The Russell Memorial Hall, built as an addition to the Public
Library was completed in 1993, with doors opening to the public
June 4,1994. It was called Russell Memorial Hall, The nesting place
of the Knox Eagles.
In the fall of 2008 we moved to the new building which is located
at the rear of the new Russell Library. Construction began on the
former St. Rene Goupil Church in 2008 and it soon became the new
home of the Russell Library. An addition to the former Church now
houses a Common room and the Museum. The Common room, which is between
the Library and Museum, has a complete kitchen and plenty of room
for meetings and is available for public use.
We have at one end of the room the framed pictures of the graduating
classes from Knox Memorial Central School. The Memorial Hall also
houses two statues, replicas of the Lorenzo and General Leano (Guiliano)
Medici statues. Lorenzo stands for the contemplative man or the
"thinker". Guiliano stands for the active man. When sculpted, these
statues were symbols of the struggle man faced with the unity of
God. Placing these statues in doorways or at the foot of double
staircases symbolized you having a choice of your lifestyle. Many
of the graduates of Knox School will remember the statues at the
base of the stairways in the school.
As the Museum grows we are adding displays, including one on
one room schools, complete with many pictures of the old school
buildings, teachers and students, as well as textbooks from that
time. We are working on adding additional material on the Old Arsenal
which was built for the War of 1812. We have a picture of the massive,
30 X 50 foot three story building surrounded by a high stone fence
bristling with spikes. The lower floor was designed for artillery,
the second floor housed small arms and the third held the supply
of ammunition. Althought the town had several scares it was never
the site of an invasion. In 1850, there being no further need for
it, the arsenal was sold at auction to Benjamin Smith for $525.
In 1865 Mr. Smith sold the "Old Arsenal" to the school district
for school purposes.
We also have the histories on all the cemeteries, early settlements
and many, many photographs. There is much to see. |
|
|
The year 2009 saw many events happening in the new Museum. The
grand opening was held on May 17 with a large attendence. Since
that time we have had more people coming in every month. Some come
to see the pictures of the graduates and yearbooks from the Knox
School, others are interested in looking up some genealogy on their
families or looking at the many photographs of the old buildings,
stores, saw mills and at the history in general of Russell.
We and the Library now offer for sale a DVD of the Grasse River
Waterfalls, as well as matted photographs taken by George Grant,
Wildlife and Nature Photographer. We also offer a few postcards
of some of the old buildings in Russell.
As the museum continues to grow we are happy to accept photographs
and memorabilia from people willing to share. Also we are accepting
family histories for our files if you have them. On June 5,
2012 our dear friend and historian, Marie Rocca, passed away. This
was a great loss for the museum and friends and family. Marie will
be missed. We all love you Marie. |
Colleen Friot, Historian
russellmuseum@yahoo.com
315-244-7916
Vice President, Brenda L. Hale
Advisors: June Jenne, Janet Butler, Judy
Tupper |
|
|
