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House Museums in Cortland County

1890 House and Center for the Victorian Arts

37 Tompkins St. (Rt. 13)

Cortland, NY 13045

607-756-7551

 

Hours:

Mon. - Fri., 10 am - 5 pm

Sat. 9 am - 5 pm

Call ahead for group tours

  

This is the former home of Chester Franklin Wickwire, who made his fortune manufacturing a new product--wire mesh--on looms and turning the mess into window screens, corn poppers, flour and meal sieves, and dish covers. This lead to an entire industrial art form during the Victorian era wire planters, plant stands, and other indoor and outdoor items made of wire mesh.

Suggett House Museum

25 Homer Ave.

Cortland, NY 13045

607-756-6071

Period: 1850-1899

Focus: Home of the Cortland County Historical Society, the 1882 Italianate former residence of James Suggett, inventor and real estate developer, houses a wide variety of collections documenting the county's 200-year history, including textiles, military memorabilia, toys, and business and industry artifacts. The house is decorated in the style typical of the 19th century, including a late-1800s kitchen.

 

Suggett is best known for a U.S. Supreme Court case in which he was indirectly involved. To condense a 30-page decision, Suggett held a patent for boring (water) wells dated March 29, 1864. Nelson W. Green of Massachusetts devised another way of boring wells and wanted to patent it. The majority of justices ruled that boring is boring no matter how it was done and refused to allow him a patent. (The Driven Wells Cases, 122 U.S. 40 (1887))

 

 

  

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