The History Center of Tompkins County

Located in the renovated Gateway Center in Ithaca, just walking distance from the Commons, the History Center in Tompkins County maintains an extensive collection and provides a variety of unique exhibitions and programs on local history.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsH4BQal1JIThe center's main goal is to give community members access to the tools needed to study the past in order to illuminate the present. To accomplish this mission the museum offers educational programs, workshops, resource programs, and walking tours -- each designed to accommodate students and adults of all ages.Research materials include an extensive collection of books, manuscripts, ledgers, maps and photographs. The museum also house genealogy resources including thousands of local family files, cemetery listings, census records and directories.In addition to its facility in Ithaca, the History Center owns a fully restored one-room schoolhouse in the Town of Dryden. Built in 1827, and currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the "Eight Square Schoolhouse" is the only surviving octagonal brick schoolhouse in New York State.The History Center in Tompkins County is also member of the Discovery Trail, a partnership of eight educational organizations promoting the connections between science, nature and culture. In Ithaca, the Discovery Trail runs right along New York's Path Through History.Photos Courtesy of:The History Center of Tompkins County