In the center of the Hopkinton Village is a charming, Victorian house on the Village Green.  The land upon which this house sits was deeded to Samuel Wilson from Roswell Hopkins himself, founder of the Town of Hopkinton, on January 20, 1817, and it was here that Samuel built his house and a small building which he used as a store.  The property was later sold to Ebenezer Hurlburd and Zoraster Culver in 1827.  In 1838 or 1839 Mr. Culver tore down the front house section, but the rear store portion was saved.  This is where the Hopkinton Library is now located.  Shortly thereafter, the current front section was built and it is here that the Hopkinton Museum welcomes people to visit and research the History of Hopkinton.  

Through the next 150 years, the property was sold a number of times.  One of the most noteworthy owners was Fred Leroy Trask, a butter and cheesemaker who ran the Lyd Brook Creamery in a small building which stood behind where Miller Farms Adirondack Market is today, and his wife, Hattie May Kimpton.  Fred and Hattie, along with their children LeRoy and Ruth, lived on the property from the turn of the 20th Century up until 1946, with Fred being listed as the owner when Carlton Sanford’s History of Hopkinton was written in 1902.  Therefore, the property has often been referred to as “The Trask House”.  

After the property was sold by the Trasks, Charlie and Margaret Perry raised their family here.  Charlie was a milk truck driver and Margaret was related to the very earliest settlers of Hopkinton.  After the Perrys, it was owned by Gene Rawson and it was during this time that the building suffered a fire and had some remodeling, changing the layout a bit from the home’s earlier years.  

In 1976, the Hopkinton Historical Group was formed under the guidance of Sarah Beecher Powers, the Town Historian.  Since this time, the Group, along with support from the local communities, has held events such as the Annual Pancake Breakfast, Holly Berry Craft Sale, a Children’s Christmas Party, and countless others.

In 1985 the Hopkinton Historical Group and the Hopkinton Town Board bought what is now the Hopkinton Historical Museum with a grant from “America the Beautiful”.  Over the last twenty years, the Group has made many “updates” to make the house as close to what an 1850 house might have been like.  The Museum currently includes exhibits on early home life, the local military history, and Sara’s Store (a general store exhibit) along with an early classroom and an extensive collection of items, heirlooms and other treasures connected to Hopkinton’s history.  

Highlights include a tea set, furniture and other things which belonged to the town’s founder, Roswell Hopkins, and his family; a small steamer trunk brought to Hopkinton from Vermont in 1817 by the Chittenden Family; a Chickering Piano donated by Carol Cutter, some lovely old linen table clothes, and many other items too numerous to mention.  The Hopkinton Historical Group and Museum is constantly adding to their collection and updating exhibits and displays.

The Museum is also the perfect place to go to research your family’s history and genealogy.  You can explore local family history books, old ledgers, letters, manuscripts, family pictures and albums, and other items related to the history of Hopkinton, or simply ask a member of the Hopkinton Historical Group who would be happy to provide insight and advice on how to begin or further your family history research. 

Since 2005, the Hopkinton Historical Group has also published a newsletter entitled, Hopkinton: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.  The newsletter is published twice each year, in the Spring and Fall, and consists entirely of anecdotes, stories, pictures, reports and other items detailing various portions of the history of Hopkinton, all contributed by Hopkinton residents and their descendants.  

If you would like to contribute to an upcoming newsletter, purchase a current or past issue, or become a member of our mailing list, please contact:

Dale Burnett, Editor
315-328-4653
daleburnett1@yahoo.com

Additionally, you can find our newsletters available for sale at the following local businesses:

Ø  Adirondack Growers - Hopkinton, NY
Ø  Twin Pines/Lucas Motor Sports - Nicholville, NY
Ø  Any Olde Thing Antiques - Fort Jackson, NY
Ø  Mallard Bay Enterprises - Lake Ozonia, NY 
Ø  Parishville Town Clerk’s Office - Parishville, NY
Ø  Hopkinton Town Clerk’s Office - Hopkinton, NY

In addition to all the incredible collections you’ll find at our Museum, we also have a number of items that honor, depict and share bits of our community’s incredible history for sale as well! These items are also available for sale at our various events (just look for the HHG table!), and we are constantly looking for new items and projects to preserve and commemorate Hopkinton’s history and that of our surrounding area. Some of our latest projects include the reprint of a booklet at Adirondack Ozonia Water from the early 1900s detailing the water operation out of Lake Ozonia, an any-year calendar featuring various unique historical images and blurbs that can be used to keep track of your special dates and events, and we are also currently working on reprinting the immensely popular Lake Ozonia: An Informal History by William McLoughlin. If you would like to pre-order one of these books, or would be interested in any of our merchandise, just let us know using our email (hopkintonhistoricalgroup@gmail.com) or via our Facebook Page!

Would you like to join the Hopkinton Historical Group?  Simply stop by one of our meetings!  We meet in the Museum the first Tuesday of each month, excepting January.  Anyone and everyone is welcome!  Dues are only $5 for the year and, no matter what your forte is, whether you enjoy local/family history, cooking, organization, cleaning, decorating, or whether you just want to spend some time with a friendly group of people and have some great conversation, this group is for you!  

The Hopkinton Historical Group and Museum is available by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, simply email us at hopkintonhistoricalgroup@gmail.com or connect with us via our Facebook page! Our Museum and its collections will also be open and available to the public during each of our “Upcoming Events” listed above!

If you would like to hear more about what we do and how we do it, would like to become a member or get involved in some other way, would like to schedule a visit, have an inquiry about local history or genealogy, would like to contribute to one of our family history projects, or would like make a donation, we want to hear from you!  For this or any other information contact:

Michael G. Draper, President
Email: hopkintonhistoricalgroup@gmail.com