Berne Museum

From Berne, NY - a Helderberg Hilltown
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The Berne Museum with "ten rooms of history" operated by the Berne Historical Society is located on the second floor of the Town Hall in what had |once been hotel rooms when the building was the Upper Hotel.

From Our Heritage:

Since receiving its absolute charter, members, officers, and trustees have managed to collect, catalogue, and preserve items of the Town's history and recreate 10 rooms of history, located on the upper floor of the Berne Town Hall. The Center rooms have been arranged by Mrs. Earl Williamson and her committee.

One bedroom boasts of a bed of Jacob Weidman, circa 1790, which has been loaned to the Society by his descendant, Harold Lendrum.

A second bedroom has been recreated with19th century furnishings. Both rooms were worked on by Joseph and Bertha Matuck.

The Agricultural room worked on by Mary Shultes, Oliver Wright, and Ed Pitcher, is a room that resembles the interior of a barn, in which they used original beams, held together by handmade pegs. Old farm implements are on display in this room.

The Parlor at the Center, which is assembled by Agnes Pangburn and Ginny Mann, is known as "The Agnes Pangburn Parlor" as a tribute to one of the original trustees of the Society, who passed on in 1973.

Nettie Filkins, chief cataloguer, and Hazel Willsie, arranged the Center's kitchen. One of the other rooms arranged at the Center is where wedding dresses and clothes of an era gone by are on display, done by Elvena Williamson.

Mr. & Mrs. John Kocsis have recreated a school classroom of yesteryear, where children of today, may observe how children long ago studied.

In the Church, done by Raymond and Alberta Wright, one is able to view a collection of pews - one from the churches in each of the Bernes.

Jean Wright and Jan Wright Salzer have put together a children's room which includes toys, furniture and some clothes of days gone by. A corner of the room has been reserved for displays from the Boys and Girls Scouts of the town.

The tenth room of the Society's Center is the room done by the Yorker Club, and is known as The Yorker Room.

The Society's photographer, Tony Yarmchuk has taken pictures of old buildings and sites that will be made into slides to eventually be placed in a room at the Center for all visitors to view.