Finding Us
The Herman Melville House is the headquarters of the Lansingburgh Historical Society. The first floor contains two connected parlors which are used for meeting and display. They are furnished with pieces from local historic homes. There is a doll house, a box which once held letters exchanged between the Melville and Gansevoort family members, a book collection, and items (photos, art works, models, tin ware, etc.) related to Lansingburgh people and industries. The third floor has a collection of artifacts from the brick, brush, and rope making industries along with street signs, toys, tools, and various other items from Lansingburgh’s past. Across First Avenue is Melville Park, once the site of ship building and a carpenter shop. (Detailed Directions HERE)
The "Old House"
(see below for a brief history of this Lansingburgh gem)
Welcome to our new website. All Historical Society Events will be posted in the Events section, in the top menu bar. Please note that all the archival content of the old website can be accessed HERE. We are in the process of bringing all of our archives onto this new site. That material will appear in the “About Us” and the two alphabetized "“Archives” dropdowns at the top of this page. This is a work in progress, so not all the archive links have been made. We are looking at nearly 600 files that are richly cross-linked. (As of 5/24/25 all the pages may be viewed, though there are still missing links and formatting. The “In The News” blog section is complete, but not completely formatted.)
The Old House (pictured above) Michael Barrett provides this bit of history. “580 First Avenue. Identified as “the old house” on Lansing’s original map, this c. 1720 building is the oldest known building in Lansingburgh. Noted for it’s Dutch gambrel roof over 1 1/2 stories, rather than the 2 1/2 story style of the later 18th century."
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this photo is of One of our neighbors on 114th street
Who is Who at the Society
OFFICERS
President – John Ward
Vice President – Mary Ellen Ward
Treasurer – Beth Roy
Assistant Treasurer – Sue Busta
Recording Secretary – Kathy Fomuk
Corresponding Secretary – Kathy Fomuk
TRUSTEES
Elected 2015
Michael Barrett
Sue Busta
Pat Dorow
Byron Moak
John Ward
Mary Ellen Ward
Elected 2016
Kathy Fomuk
Elected 2017
Heidi Klinowski
Elected 2018
Mary Ellen Kelleher
Elected 2019
Beth Roy
Elected 2023
Kay Derosa