• SLCCHC September Brown Bag Presentation: Utilizing Canadian Databases for Genealogical Research

    SLCCHC September Brown Bag Presentation: Utilizing Canadian Databases for Genealogical Research

    Join us Thursday, September 25, at 2:00 PM for our September Brown Bag Presentation!

    Details:
    Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025
    Time: 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
    Location: In-person at 3 E. Main St., Canton, NY 13617 or virtually on Zoom (link will be e-mailed at registration)
    Pricing: Cost of attendance is a $5 suggested donation, members are free.
    Pre-registration is recommended.
    Register online, call the main office at 315-386-8133, or e-mail carlene@slcha.org

    As St. Lawrence County is just across the river from Canada, it is not surprising that families here have Canadian ancestors. For the past 7 years, Pamela Brant Wright has been researching the Wright family, who came to St. Lawrence County in 1815 from Canada. In the process, she has become very familiar with the resources available for genealogical research in Canada, particularly from 1770 to 1830.

    In this Brown Bag Presentation, Pamela will discuss her experience utilizing sources like Canadian databases for genealogical research and original Canadian land documents. She will also go over some of the challenges associated with using Canadian sources and detail how to navigate two useful databases for finding Canadian ancestors.

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  • SLCCHC 2025 Summer Appeal Campaign

    SLCCHC 2025 Summer Appeal Campaign

    Dear friends,

    Thank you for your continued support of the St. Lawrence County Center for History and Culture, including the Silas Wright House and Museum in Canton, New York. As a non-profit organization that receives limited funding from state and local governments and outside agencies, we greatly depend on your kindness and generosity to sustain our facilities and provide innovative programming to the residents of St. Lawrence County and beyond.

    To that end, the board of directors of SLCCHC has been carefully monitoring a couple of serious issues with the condition of our buildings. It has been determined that action must be taken, and taken as quickly as possible.

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  • Become a Garden Sponsor Today

    Become a Garden Sponsor Today

    Join us in nurturing history and community by becoming a garden sponsor. Your support helps us maintain and care for our gardens, creating a vibrant space for everyone to enjoy. Choose from the five levels below and help our garden grow!

    For more information, please contact engagement@slcha.org or call (315) 386-8133.

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  • St. Lawrence County Center for History and Culture Awarded a Technical Assistance Grant from the Preservation League of NYS

    St. Lawrence County Center for History and Culture Awarded a Technical Assistance Grant from the Preservation League of NYS

    St. Lawrence County Center for History and Culture Awarded a Technical Assistance Grant from the Preservation League of NYS

    This grant will fund the completion of a Limited Condition Assessment for the Silas Wright House.

    Contact:

    Carlene Bermann, Executive Director, St. Lawrence County Center for History & Culture
    carlene@slcha.org

    Katy Peace, Director of Communications, Preservation League of NYS
    kpeace@preservenys.org

    CANTON, NY, 08/28/25 — The St. Lawrence County Center for History & Culture is one of this year’s Technical Assistance grantees. Their grant of $7,500 will fund a Limited Condition Assessment for the Silas Wright House. The Preservation League of NYS and their program partners at the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) are thrilled to help fund this important work. At its 2025 meeting, an independent panel selected 31 applicants in 20 counties to receive support totaling $347,500. Grants represent both of the League’s signature NYSCA regrants – Preserve New York (PNY) and Technical Assistance Grants (TAG).

    “We are so grateful to the New York State Council on the Arts and to the Preservation League of NYS for this unique opportunity to lay the groundwork as we plan to tackle some deferred maintenance and much-needed updates on our historic property, listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Carlene Bermann, SLCCHC Executive Director.

    The TAG grant will be used as support for costs associated with the completion of a Limited Condition Building Assessment for the Silas Wright House. The work will be completed by Crawford & Stearns, who will serve as the consultant to the St. Lawrence County Center for History & Culture (SLCCHC). The assessment will determine the necessary building components that are most in need of repair. It will also provide the documentation necessary for the SLCCHC to prioritize and budget for future capital improvements. The TAG grant will help the SLCCHC maintain the architectural integrity of one of the most significant historic structures in St. Lawrence County, benefiting the organization as well as visitors and residents of this underrepresented community.

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  • Be Part of the Silas Wright House Memorial Walkway

    Be Part of the Silas Wright House Memorial Walkway

    As we continue restoring and developing our historic garden, SLCCHC would like to offer you an opportunity to showcase your commitment to our heritage by purchasing a brick engraving in the Silas Wright House Memorial Walkway.

    Your purchased brick will have words chosen by you engraved directly onto the newly installed brick pathway in the historic garden. This engraving opportunity is a wonderful way to commemorate special milestones and remember loved ones.

    The second batch of engravings for the memorial walkway is planned for Fall 2025.

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To explore more about occupied Indigenous land, visit: https://native-land.ca.

The St. Lawrence County Center for History and Culture occupies the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee (the People of the Longhouse)/Iroquois Confederacy including, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka “the People of the Flint”/Mohawk, Onyota’a:ka “the People of the Upright Stone”/Oneida, Onondagaono “the Hill Place People”/Onondaga, Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ “the People of the Great Swamp”/Cayuga, Onongawaga “the People of the Great Hill”/Seneca, and Skarureh “the People of the Hemp”/Tuscarora who have stewarded this land through generations. This acknowledgment is not enough to honor the people and the land, but we hope that it raises awareness about suppressed Indigenous histories and promotes the visibility of Indigenous peoples.