Established 1976

In 1976 the Town of Alabama formed a Historical Society. It was the town's 150th anniversary. The society held a large Sesqui-Centennial event. They also began receiving items from the town residents with no place to put them. The Society approached the Town Board and asked for a room in the Town Hall in which to put a museum. Their request was granted. The town Hall is Alabama's original "one room" school house #12, built in the late 1800's.

An addition was added to the front in 1916 which created two new class rooms. The back portion, the original structure, was then used as a recreation room. If you look in the photograph above in the bottom right corner you will see a photograph of the school before the addition. It is this portion of the building which now houses the Alabama Museum.

Our small museum contains a fine collection of artifacts. We have a large number of photographs such as the one show at right. Taken in 1927 which shows some of the students of District #12 school. The museum also has school minute ledgers for some of the districts back to 1839. There are several other items of interest for the lovers of history. A dulcimer, which is a musical

instrument, was manufactured in South Alabama by Perry Wight Sr. in the late 1800's. A collection of old wooden farm implements, turn of the century kitchen utensils, and articles of clothing from the 19th and 20th century. We even have a wreath made of human hair! Hair weaving was quite popular for personal mementos. For the genealogist, there are diaries, voter records, and property assessment logs. These are quite handy when trying to find an ancestor between census years. A gentleman named William Toulson kept a daily account of the goings on about town, on a daily basis, from 1880 - 1887 and 1910 -1921. Written in seven ledgers, Mr. Toulson's accounts make for interesting and useful reading.

The museum is located in the Alabama Town Hall 2218 Judge Road, Route 63 in South Alabama. The museum is open the first and third Sunday's of every month from noon to 3 p.m. (except holidays) For more information on the Alabama museum, contact: Museum Director Ellen Bachorski 7162 Alleghany Road Basom, NY 14013 or call: (716) 948-9773

There is also an Alabama Cookbook, GBC bound, hard cover, 5 1/2" by 8 1/2", 70 pages. It contains useful cooking tips, recipes from our current residents, and some from the 1895 Alabama Cookbook. Cookbooks are $8.50 plus $2.00 shipping and handling. Proceeds for the sale of both books go to benefit the Town of Alabama Museum. If you care to order either of these books, yes you guessed it, mail your order to Ellen Bachorski at the address above. The Alabama Historical Society does not do genealogy requests. Their sole purpose is to maintain and preserve the artifacts of the Town's Museum.