Unlocking the past: Old Jail Museum reopens its doors
SMETHPORT — This weekend, the heavy wooden doors of the Old Jail Museum swung open once again to welcome visitors eager to step back in time. Excitement filled the air as about 50 locals gathered on the lawn for a ceremony to celebrate the grand reopening of the museum. After months of renovation and careful curation, the society invites visitors to come and take a new look at local history.
The museum has been shuttered for several months while volunteers finished up a number of projects — the remodel of the sheriff’s apartment, revamping of the Prospect Hill Fire Tower and a new sign. In addition, volunteers have rearranged and reimagined every display within the multi-story museum.
The celebration featured several speakers, a ribbon cutting and refreshments made by members of the society themselves.
These projects have taken decades to complete. Lu Vandermark, executive director of the museum, recalled that there were discussions of renovating the sheriff’s apartment when she first took the job in 2000.
“We have definitely been talking about it for a long time and we had great ideas but the money wasn’t there,” said Vandermark. “We had such great ideas but couldn’t afford to follow through.”
The museum received several grants — from the Lumber Heritage Region and Collins Companies Foundation — which allowed the work to continue. Since then, dedicated volunteers have been painting, hammering, hanging wallpaper and gathering antiques to fill the apartment.
Attached to the old jail, the apartment housed the sheriff and his family for the duration of his appointment. Twenty-four sheriffs and their families lived in the apartment from 1876 to 1974 and the restored living room, kitchen, dining room and bedroom provide a glimpse into their lives.
In addition to the responsibilities of her husband, the sheriff’s wife was expected to fulfill several essential roles in the jail.
“When her husband was elected sheriff, the wife would take a job too,” said Vandermark. “She was expected to look after the women prisoners and children prisoners.”
In the past, without Children and Youth Services, children were often brought into the jail to spend a few days while domestic situations were worked out between their parents. This was especially true during the holiday season.
Ruth Covert, historical society member, recalled that one of the sheriff’s wives would go out of her way to make sure that every child staying at the jail always received a Christmas present. Years later, her daughter would remark that she wasn’t sure how her mother managed it because some of the children were dropped off that very morning.
“She must have been a very kind lady to go out of her way to make those children feel welcome,” said Covert.
In addition to the more domestic displays, there is a medical room filled with antiques from local doctors and hospitals. Many of the artifacts come from the county’s Poor Farm. In fact, many records show inmates having been taken to the Poor Farm when they needed medical attention.
The Prospect Hill Fire Tower is another project that has been in the works for many years. The dedicated volunteers never gave up on believing that they would eventually find money to bring the projects to a conclusion.
“We never could have done this without our volunteers and especially the hard work of the ladies who wrote these grants that helped us get the money we needed,” said Bart Barton, member of the society, during a speech held before the ribbon cutting.
Barton also recognized two people who weren’t able to be there for the party, longtime members Florence Carter and Greg Bell, who both recently passed away.
“I hope they’re looking down on this right now because it is their party too,” said Barton.
Barton took time to remember just how far the museum has come. It started in 1926 in a room in the Carnegie Library, which is now Beefeaters Restaurant. It was moved to the basement of the old Smethport Courthouse before moving over to the Old Jail in 1998.
“The building was unfortunately in a bad state of repair at that time,” said Barton. “The roof leaked so bad we couldn’t even save the old iron cells because they had rusted through.”
He said it was due to the vision and dedication of their volunteers that the society is what it is today.
“Likewise, the Prospect Hill Fire Tower was taken down and waited almost seven years until we had enough money to bring it into the yard and keep working on it,” Barton said. “Now today it is the only handicapped accessible fire tower we know of on the East Coast.”
Vandermark said, for her part, she is proud and ready for a few days of rest.
“After this we all decided we have earned a few days off,” said Vandermark. “But we will be open next week ready for visitors to come see everything we have been working so hard on.”
Era photo by Savannah Barr
