It’s now located in Recreation building
There will be some familiar faces in new places as the Town of Cornwall makes some changes this summer. The most notable of the transformations is the Historical Society’s move from the second floor of Town Hall into the Recreation Department building. The recreation director and assistant director will be taking a trip across the pond to their new office in Munger Cottage.
Supervisor Richard Randazzo said the Town Board considered moving the Recreation Department into Munger Cottage three years ago, but instead opted to make some internal changes. With Senior Program Director Valerie Cordero retiring (see story on page 7), now seemed like a good time to make the move.
“It gives them more room, and the parking is better for those who want information on programs,” Randazzo said. “It makes it more convenient to sign up for programs with many being held at Munger Cottage.”
The Historical Society is also excited about the move into a slightly bigger space.
“I feel like a college student moving from the dorm to their first apartment,” said Historical Society President Susan Kamlet. “I think it will be good for all of us. We’ve been in Town Hall for about 20 years. It will be exciting to have our own space with entrances and exits and not having to worry about who has the key to the elevator when we have our meetings. Our trustees meetings are often held in our room, now we’ll have our own building.”
During the pre-planning stage, Kamlet said she measured the exterior of the recreation building and estimated about 10 feet of additional space to display artifacts representing the town, the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, and Mountainville.
On the inside, the configuration will be slightly different as the space has a bathroom on the right and a fuel tank, hot water heater, and furnace to the left. Kamlet requested the counter, which separates the visiting public from the recreation employees, be removed.
Like the museum in Town Hall, the new space will be divided into three sections: a museum section, an archival/storage section, and a space dedicated as an office/work area.
The exact layout is still to be determined, but Kamlet has been using graph paper to draw the space and furniture to scale.
“We’ll manipulate paper before we manipulate shelving units, but fortunately most of them are on wheels,” said Kamlet.
The ultimate goal will be to capture the attention of visitors and make the space look more like a museum than a closet or an office.
While the new space will allow the Historical Society flexibility when it comes to displaying more artifacts, it also gives them more room to hold programs. When students are invited for a class, they generally walk through the display room in small groups and then gather in the hallway for an activity. With an outdoor space available, pop-up tents can be erected to hold programs. The only limit, Kamlet said, is time, volunteer availability, and the creativity of the Historical Society members.
By vacating the space on the second floor, Town Historian Renita McGuinness will be able to move her tiny, third-floor office to the larger room. Her office will then be converted into a filing space for the Building Department.
McGuinness isn’t sure what she’ll do with the new space, but imagines it will be similar to the historian’s office in the village. She said there are a lot of files and artifacts which need to be gone through and sorted before a display can be arranged.
Kamlet isn’t sure what the Historical Society hours will be once the move is complete, but for now, the Town Hall location will remain open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Appointments aren’t necessary, but they are encouraged. Donations are still being accepted as well.
