Announcing New Website for Montezuma Historical Society

It's time for a change!  The Montezuma Historical Society has just launched a new website, and this blog will now be housed on that site. This has been a huge effort to combine resources in an easy to find area on the Internet. I'm looking forward to being able to post more regularly as we bring you all the latest information from our community. 

Visit Us at:

 http://www.montezumahistoricalsociety.org/

2014 Erie Canalway Grants Boost Education and Preservation for Montezuma

The Montezuma Historical Society is the recipient of one of ten innovative education and preservation projects that will get off the ground this year with funding support from Erie Canalway Grants. This project was made possible in part with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor is investing $65,530 in grants, which will be matched by an additional $478,000 in private and public project funding raised by grant recipients. The grants are aimed at inspiring people to learn more about New York's legendary canals and further explore the National Heritage Corridor.

Funding was received by the Montezuma group for organizational planning to chart a course for organizational development and sustainability. The purpose of this project is to facilitate the continued preservation, interpretation, and enhancement of significant canal sites and historic properties in the Town of Montezuma. The Society has been working with an independent museum  consultant, Sally Treanor from Buffalo. Treanor is the former Senior Director of Administration & Operations at Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, and brings a variety of experience working with both large and small scale groups.

Formed in 2006, Montezuma Historical Society has focused its attention on the Town’s rich Erie Canal heritage and development of a Heritage Park because of its potential for the community and visitors. It has sponsored historic walking tours and created a “Friends of the Montezuma Heritage Park” group to promote and develop a recreational nature park and to preserve the park’s historic resources.  Most recently it has supported the town to create a yearly 5K Run/Walk and Kids’ Fun Run to invest in the park’s development. In order for the Society to sustain and continue its investment in the community it needs to plan for future growth.

Park Plans to be Unveiled at Public Presentation on December 5, 2013

Doug Gerber, LA, with EDR Companies, discusses plans being designed for Montezuma Heritage Park at the August 2013 Canal Splash community picnic

The public is invited to a presentation on the final schematic design and phasing plans for the Montezuma Heritage Park on Thursday, December 5th, 7 PM at the Town Hall, 8102 Dock Street.

Doug Gerber, LA, with EDR Companies, a landscape architect firm well known for development of park master plans that integrates landscape architecture, community planning, environmental and visual assessment for communities, will give the presentation. He will show the results of a year-long planning project teaming with the Town of Montezuma Heritage Park Committee, the Center for Community Design and Research and students from the SUNY College of ESF School of Landscape Architecture.

The project was funded by an EPF Grant awarded the Town of Montezuma through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The Heritage Park Design Committee chose EDR Companies because of their experience and community-centered approach. The project has involved cultural, social, safety, economic, ecological and aesthetic impacts. EDR's understanding of the importance of community participation has opened the door for citizen ownership and long-term success for the Town of Montezuma.

EDR has worked very closely with the Heritage Park Design Committee applying a natural resource-based approach toward development to help realize the vision of creating lasting amenities for the community that include:

• Providing places for people to play, exercise, and relax and a place for plants and wildlife to thrive. 
• Imparts enduring benefits on a community through environmental and natural history education, and respite
• Preserves historic landscapes, protects and promotes regional and state history
• Offers open space, preservation, safe accessible, affordable outdoor recreation and linkages to the communities and waterways.

An important component of the design is that the park must connect to the hamlet and bring users to the river. The December 5th presentation will unveil a vision showing how we've accomplished this, and are very excited to present to the community. Please join us for this important meeting.

Aqueduct 5K Run/Walk a Success!

 

A beautiful fall picture was painted in the park with 121 runners/walkers for the historic first annual Montezuma Aqueduct 5K held October 12, 2013. As runners and walkers entered the park from Chapman Road, they stepped back in time glancing at of pieces of history along five different trails nestled in wooded areas along the scenic Seneca River/Erie Canal.

Almost a year of planning went into the event with a tremendous amount of team effort to benefit the Montezuma Heritage Park.  Volunteers also spent countless hours grooming the trails and making sure the course was marked and safe as possible.  My husband Stan, built this bridge with supplies donated by 84 Lumber and Banner Doors, across a small brook on the Seneca River Trail, and installed it with the help of Dave Calvin and John Potter.

 

-->

Our MC for the day was Bryan Rubenau from Baldwinsville announcing the kick off of the race and cheering the participants as they returned to the finish line along the Byron Lapp Memorial Trail.

 

 

-->

The overall top winner was Tyler McDevitt of Syracuse in 20:26 minutes. 

 

-->

We also want to recognize that the small business community is what came through for us to make this event possible. Small business is what helps keep a community alive and growing. By their willingness to partner and invest with us, they contributed to enriching the life of our community to bring about this event. Below are the major sponsors of the event.

Of course, the shining star of the day was Jacob, a miniature donkey on loan to us by his owners, Sally and Cam Stuart of Throop. We all fell in love with Jacob. He played Sal the Mule for the day, representing the mules that pulled the boats along the towpath He seemed to know how to make everyone smile and when to let out a bellow just at the right time – even at the start of the race. 

 
-->

To set the tone for the race, we had two local bands that donated their time to entertain us and cheer the participants on. Lock 52 Band, led by Dave Thomas started the race off. 

 

-->

As the last of the adults came in, the Kids Fun Race was kicked off by Director, Angie Hargreaves, Athletics teacher at Port Byron Central School. 

 

 

-->

A couple of our young finishers are cheered onto crossing the finish line!

Later on, we were able to celebrate the finish of the race following the Awards Ceremony with a delicious Chicken BBQ Dinner made by the VFW while listening to the Flock of Free Range Children led by Ron VanNostrand. Co-Director, Margaret Sullivan relaxes and joins the band for a song as the day's festivities wind down.

-->

To round out the day as a fun family event, the kids enjoyed a Bouncie House provided by Funtastic Inflatables. Volunteer PBCS students gave their artistic talents for face painting.

 

-->

Probably the youngest person at the event was Co-Race Director Kristen Decker's new granddaughter, Zuri Alexandra poses for the camera. Later on the whole Decker family, Jim, Kathy, Brendan and Mason, who where all involved as volunteers, gathered for a family photo, while Zuri napped from enjoying the all that wonderful fresh air. 

 

-->

Helping to relax and loosen up those tired, aching muscles following the race, Rose Borza, Rose M Massage works her magic by offering massages.

  

-->

Our neighbors from out on Route 20, the Montezuma Winery joined us for the day.

 

 

-->

Grandson, Ben #96 and his friends enjoying some time together.

 

 

-->

Under the tent supplied for the day by Auburn Party Rental are Bunny Baker and Barb Black at the Montezuma Historical Society Table.

A BIG THANKS goes out to the Montezuma Fire Department, Assistant Fire Chief Steve and wife, Kelly Thurston, Fire Chief Mike Dailey, June Smith, and the Port Byron Rescue volunteers, Bob and Lucy Ware.  They helped manage and coordinate the traffic, parking, and most importantly were there on hand to handle any emergencies. Also, to all the volunteers who were out on the trails, helping runners stay on course, and ready to give a hand if needed, A BIG THANKS!

 

-->

Relaxing after the race are Jeff Dawson, Highway Superintendent, and Town Board member, Tom Fitzsimmons. 

And, me -- I enjoyed getting lots of lots of hugs and seeing smiling faces as we celebrated watching it all come together; months of planning and praying for a beautiful sunny day with everyone having a safe, and fun time -- that's what makes this job so special. 

And, we gratefully appreciate our volunteer photographer of the day, Beth Thackrah, Beth of all trades. You can check out the rest of her 5K photo album at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/106053605@N04/

or visit her website at:

http://ccwarchicky7114.wix.com/beth-of-all-trades 

 

Montezuma Aqueduct 5K Run/Walk - October 12th

The Montezuma Aqueduct 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, October 12, 2013, was created as a fun family, community event and to further develop the Montezuma Heritage Park. Whether joining the race to run, for a leisurely nature walk or just cheering the participants on, there will be something for everyone to enjoy at this event.

The race is named for the famous Richmond Aqueduct built in 1849 that carried the Erie Canal waters over the Seneca River. It was the second largest aqueduct on the Enlarged Erie with 31 arches, 894 feet long. When New York State changed the route of the canal to the Barge Canal System in 1917, it was dismantled. Seven beautifully preserved arches remain on Montezuma’s east side of the river, and three on the west side in the Town of Tyre as a testament to this engineering marvel.

The course for the race begins at 9:30 AM near the firehouse on High Street, and continue from High Street to Chapman Road before entering the Park. Trails consist of natural covered nature trails under development including cleared earthy path surfaces within wooded areas and along the Seneca River. It also includes areas of varying drumlin elevations along the trail paths.

In addition to the 5K Run/Walk there will be a Free Kids Fun Race starting at 10:30 AM directed by Angie Hargreaves, Port Byron Central School athletic coach and teacher. Youth five to eleven years will enjoy running a one-mile race along the towpath and everyone will receive a participant ribbon.
MC for the event will be Brian Rubenau, with local bands, Lock 52 and Flock of Free Range Children. Following the race the Montezuma Winery will have a wine tasting booth and there will be a Chicken BBQ sponsored by the VFW; the Montezuma Fireman’s Auxiliary will have breakfast pizza, beverages and a cake sale. Funtastic Inflatables will provide a bouncing inflatable fun house and there will be face painting for the kids.

The Race Mascot for the event is none other than a guest appearance of the famous Erie Canal, Sal the Mule’s lineage.

The 5K Committee has been planning the event for almost a year and has asked local businesses to join in sponsoring the event. The local business community has responded with their generous help to make this event possible, and they are listed on the Aqueduct 5K website. For online registration visit: www.montezumarun.com

Hope to see you at the 5K on the Erie Canal October 12th!

It's  Time

  mark your calendar....

 

 Enjoy History, Beauty and Culture of 19th Century Sites of the Original Erie

and Enlarged Canals, the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, Featuring Locks,

Drydock, and the Second Largest Aqueduct on the Enlarged Erie Canal

Followed by Dish to Pass Picnic

Entertainment by the Muckland Crooners Band

Special Presentation on Montezuma Heritage Park

Development Plans & Volunteer Recognition

Starts at 9:00 AM 

Byron Lapp Memorial Trail, High Street off Route 90 in Montezuma

(next to the firehouse)

Picnic to Follow in Pavilion Next to Town Hall, Dock Street

For More Information about Mike Riley's Cayuga County Canal Tours Visit:

http://canalsplash.blogspot.com/search/label/Canal%20Splash

Sponsored by:

  

Montezuma Historical Society

Town of Montezuma

New York State Canal Corporation

A Special Heritage Park Community Presentation

THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2013 - 3-5 PM

Montezuma Town Hall 

The Heritage Design Committee has been very busy the last few months meeting several times with 
edr Companies, the Landscape Architectural firm hired by the Town through funding from an Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) Planning Grant.  Doug Gerber, Landscape Architect, from edr has been working with Maren King, Director of the Community Center for Design Research and SUNY-ESF students Olivia Bennett, Peng Xu, and Kiva VanDerGeest who have quizzed us on our vision for the park.

It's been an exciting time as we discussed treating the hamlet as the central focus with a strong visual and physical connection to the park. One of the main considerations was to develop a Town of Montezuma identity that would include the historic Erie Canal and aspects of human development of land use to compliment the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge's environmental development land use.  Their work up to this point has been to perform an inventory and analysis, develop project goals, and program options, develop alternative conceptual approaches, and prepare a conceptual master plan.  There have also been to onsite visits to the park to identify important historic resources, and ideas for the plan. Now that the first phase of this project is completed, the edr and CCDR Project Design Team are ready to present their ideas to the Community.
 

 

Kiva VanDerGeest presents conceptual ideas to the Montezuma Heritage Park Design Committee.

 

Peng Xu, SUNY-ESF student show drawing of a turn around area near the Richmond Aqueduct and the Seneca River.

PARK APPRECIATION DAY

AN INVITATION TO ATTEND

Montezuma Heritage Park Appreciation Day

Dedication of the Historic Mural, Historic Markers and Park Enhancements

 

Guest Speaker, Mark DeCracker, MuralMania

with a Special Walk in the Park by Tour Guide Mike Riley

 

SATURDAY,  MAY 4, 2013 AT 2 PM

Off Route 90, High Street North of Firehouse 

sponsored by Montezuma Historical Society and

Cayuga County Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work and Play

 

Park Appreciation Day is being created to recognize and thank

 Muralist, Dawn Jordan, the funders and volunteers that have enhanced the park.

Thank you for the support the Town of Montezuma has received to make the Park a great place to visit and enjoy nature, walking trails and historic Erie and Cayuga-Seneca Canal sites. 

 

 

 

 

EMBARKING ON THE NEXT STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT

The Town of Montezuma has entered into a contract with the Office of State, Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for an EPF  planning and development grant. We are happy to announce the acceptance of EDR Companies proposal to assist in the preparation of a master plan for the Montezuma Heritage Park.  Douglas Gerber, RLA, registered Landscape Architect with more than 13 years of professional experience, will be responsible for the project management and design.

We welcome the opportunity for EDR and Doug Gerber to support the Town in discovering the unique potential the park holds for our community. EDR is highly qualified for this type of work having planned and designed dozens of parks and hundreds of miles of multi-use trail environments in their 32-year history. Their multi-disciplinary, research based approach to these types of projects integrates landscape architecture, community planning, site/civil engineering, archeology, environmental and visual assessment. We look forward to involving the community in applying this very holistic approach to our project that will result in cultural, social, economic, ecological and aesthetic impacts.

It's exciting that EDR will be teaming with the Center for Community Design & Research (CCDR), and students from the State University College of Environmental Science & Forestry School of Landscape Architecture. CCDR's mission is to educate students, community leaders and citizens about the value of place and, through the shared practices of planning and design empower them to manage and direct change that will lead to sustainable communities. CCDR will be assisting EDR in continuing in the process of the community visioning started in Montezuma in 2010. This partnership will help continue the positive momentum, community involvement and fresh ideas for our community.

EDR in concert with CCDR will provide consulting services to perform an inventory and analysis, develop project goals, and program options, develop alternative conceptual approaches, prepare a conceptual master plan and prepare a schematic design with a cost estimate for a preferred first phase project area.

Now that's a recipe for success!

CELEBRATING: ART = TRAILS = PARK

Dawn Jordan put the finishing touches on our mural today! What a fantastic job she did, and what a pleasure it was to work with her on this project.  She worked under some pretty difficult weather conditions with the extreme heat we had this summer, but we both were smiling as you put her name and the year on the bottom right corner.

Look for an announcement in the spring for a special dedication and celebration of closing the gap of murals along the Erie Canalway. This completes Phase I of this project....now on to the next. Anyone know where we can find craftsmen boat builders? We're looking for volunteers who will help us build the boat deck that the mural will set on. Below is a model made by Design Committee member, Dan Randolph from plans designed by Town Supervisor John Malenick.

CELEBRATING PROGRESS!!!!

I started this blog over three years ago when the Montezuma Historical Society began making plans for an archaeological dig near the Lock 62 site on Clinton's Ditch. I remember the walk back from the site when Dave Babson, archaeologist and my friend, Margaret Sullivan, suggested a blog could be started to document the dig. "Hum, a blog?" I said. "I guess I better find out what one is." This marks my 100th post, and we now have had over 10,800 views. I've enjoyed keeping readers up-to-date on the progress that has been made over that time. Like any development of this scope, there have been plenty of ups and downs, and what at times seems like slow progress, or even no progress.  Looking back, I can see how far we've come. I've been privileged to work with wonderful dedicated volunteers, and the Highway Department that have made the difference in what you see here, and that's what keeps me motivated and inspired to carry on. There has also been wonderful support from Parks and Trails, New York;  the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor;  Mural Mania; Cayuga Community College; SUNY, ESF; and the County Planning Department. With the financial help of the Montezuma VFW,  Cayuga Community Foundation, A-Verdi Containers, Cayuga County Creating Healthy Places Grant, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and Parks and Trails, New York, we've come a long way.

WOW -- what progress! THANKS EVERYONE!

March 2011

Last weekend was one of our  scheduled Fall trail work days in the park. Heavy winds and rain were predicted. A handful of workers came out to help: Mike Riley, Town Councilman Tom Fitzsimmons, Jim Decker, Stan and myself. With the sky threatening to open up any time, we decided to stay close to our cars in case we needed to take shelter quickly. Mike suggested we work on clearing in the Enlarged Erie Canal site on High Street next to the fire house. So off the guys went with chain saws and weed wackers into the canal bed. We ended up with a huge pile of brush, garbage, and stacked wood. It was amazing what a small group can do in a short time. It started raining late morning, but they made great progress in clearing the area. Denny and Dustin from the Highway Department brought the chipper down and cleared the pile of brush on Monday. We put a "free" sign on the stacked wood, which someone claimed this week.

April 2011

The "before" and "after" photos show how much this site has changed in a year and a half. Gone are the two old trailers, old shed, and piles of junk, since the Town Board voted to buy this historic site. Now we have a nearly completed mural, kiosk, memorial marker for the Byron Lapp Memorial Trail, and a historic roadside marker that honors this very important historic site in our community.

March 2011

Clean Sweep 2011

Our next scheduled Fall Trail Work Date:

Saturday, October 13th, starting at 9 AM 

at this High Street Trailhead near the firehouse.

August 2012

September 2012

September 8, 2012

September 2012

September 2012

Assemblyman Oaks Visits Montezuma

NYS Assemblyman Robert Oaks visited the Montezuma Heritage Park for a walk on the Richmond Aqueduct Trail yesterday. He recently took on Montezuma, Aurelius and Sennett from Cayuga County as part of the state redistricting.

Mike Riley, Canal Historian and Trail Boss for the Heritage Park, explained the importance of the historic sites in Montezuma that tell the dynamic story of the evolution of the New York State Canal System.

Along for the walk were  Park Design Committee members Paul Baker, Dan Randolph, and Stan Longyear, Town Board member, Tom Fitzsimmons, the Assemblyman's  Communications Coordinator, Louise Hoffman Broach, and myself.