Local History

Postcards and Photos from Our Early Days: Cuba, New York 1822-2022

Postcards and Photos from Our Early Days: Cuba, New York 1822-2022 is a collection of images compiled by Tom Taylor to commemorate the town’s bicentennial. An oversized hardcover edition of the book was donated to the library and added to the local history collection, while smaller paperback editions were made available for sale through the Palmer Opera House.

102 YEARS OF LOCAL HISTORY, A COLLECTION OF MEMORABLE ADVERTISEMENTS FROM THE CUBA PATRIOT AND FREE PRESS (From PANDEMIC To PANDEMIC 1918 – 2020)

102 YEARS OF LOCAL HISTORY, A COLLECTION OF MEMORABLE ADVERTISEMENTS FROM THE CUBA PATRIOT AND FREE PRESS (From PANDEMIC To PANDEMIC 1918 – 2020), co-authored by Tom Taylor and Dave Crowley is a new history book dealing with the last 102 years of Cuba’s history as seen via the study of local newspaper archives. The 211-page book is available locally for lovers of local history. The books are available at the Palmer Opera House or at By the Light of the Moon Gift Shop for $30. For mail orders, please call the Palmer Opera House at 585.209.5512 and leave your name and contact number. There will be an additional shipping and handling fee of $5.

102 YEARS OF LOCAL HISTORY book cover

The book was written on the premise that community weekly newspapers have told the story of average American daily lives more thoroughly, and in a more personal manner, than any other newspaper in a larger, more metropolitan area. Co-authors, Tom Taylor and Dave Crowley, believe that in essence, the weekly newspaper publisher-editor served as author of the community’s life story. For many years, both men have been active in local civic activities and come from families that have been involved in local businesses.

Both Taylor and Crowley, Cuba history enthusiasts, have collaborated on the book, using reprints of advertisements and announcements from decades of local businesses and organizations in Cuba. Hundreds of reproduced ads, along with interspersed news articles relating primarily to the pandemics of 1918 and 2020, provide an historical record of what our forbearers’ lives were like.

 

Farm Map of Cuba, NY 1901

PDF scan of historic farm map of Cuba NY 1901

click this link to open PDF: Farm Map PDF (scanned PDF 925 KB)

Farm Map of Cuba, NY 1901

Past Issues of Cuba Patriot Now Available Online

Past issues of the Cuba Patriot are freely available online at NYS Historic Newspapers, found at nyshistoricnewspapers.org. The New York State Historic Newspapers project exists to digitize and make freely available for research significant runs of historic newspapers for every county in the state. The site currently has available the Cuba Daily News, Cuba Evening Review, and Cuba Patriot spanning the years 1875 to 1945. The years 1946-1991, currently being scanned and digitized, are projected to be available on the site later this year. The website makes the newspapers searchable, which is helpful for those interested in local history.

This project was made possible through an $8,000 Technology and Digitization Grant to Southern Tier Library System from South Central Regional Library Council. If you would like assistance in learning how to navigate the site, you may schedule a tech tutoring appoint at the Cuba Library.

NYS Historic Newspapers
The NYS Historic Newspapers project provides free online access to a wide range of newspapers chosen to reflect New York’s unique history. Digitized historic newspapers can be browsed by county or by title, and are fully searchable. The website uses the same software as the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America Project. This is created and administered by the Northern New York Library Network in partnership with the Empire State Library Network. Cuba, NY newspapers available on the site include the Amateur Courier (1877 – 1878), Cuba Daily News (1880 – 1881), Cuba Evening Review (Aug 1881 – 1882), Cuba True Patriot (1862-1872), Cuba Patriot 1875-1908, Cuba Patriot Free Press 1909-1914, Cuba Patriot 1914-1920, Cuba Patriot Free Press 1920-1962.

New York Heritage
New York Heritage is a portal for learning more about the people, places and events that contributed to the making of New York State. New York Heritage Digital Collections features a broad range of materials that present a glimpse into New York state’s history and culture. Over 350 libraries, museums, archives, and other cultural institutions make their collections available in the repository. These primary source materials span the range of New York State’s history, from the colonial era to present. Stories are told through photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, books, and more. Collections can be browsed by topic, material type, time period, and contributing organization. There are also special exhibits on popular topics like women’s voting rights, the Erie canal, and immigration featured on the website. New York Heritage is a collaborative project of eight of the nine Empire State Library Network library councils: Capital District Library Council, Central New York Library Resources Council, Long Island Library Resources Council, Northern New York Library Network, Rochester Regional Library Council, Southeastern New York Library Resources Council, South Central Regional Library Council, and Western New York Library Resources Council.

Local History Resources

The Library has a collection of local history and genealogy materials for use in the Library.  Included are several town and county histories, local cemetery records and Cuba & Cuba-Rushford Central School yearbooks.

Issues (1866 to 2019) of the Cuba Patriot are available on microfilm.

A spreadsheet listing of obituaries from the Cuba Patriot for the years of 1875 – 1941 can be found here.

Physical copies of Cuba Central School & Cuba-Rushford Central School Yearbooks for 1950 – 2014, except for 2012, are available to view upon request.
DVDs with these yearbooks in PDF format are also available to view in the library upon request.

The following is a list of titles in the Local History Section. Some titles have a “dummy” book on shelf that can be brought to the circulation desk to exchange for books and DVDs kept in the library office.

TITLE /AUTHOR

• 102 Years of Local History a collection of Memorable Advertisements From the Cuba Patriot and Free Press (From PANDEMIC To PANDEMIC 1918 – 2020)/ Taylor, Tom & Crowley, David
• 1855 Cuba, Allegany County, N. Y. with family notes / Masser, Marcia Z.
• 10,000 vital records of central New York, 1813-1850 / Bowman, Fred Q.
• 10,000 vital records of western New York, 1809-1850 / Bowman, Fred Q.
• The 200th Anniversary of the Black Creek Baptist Church / Wolfram, Pamela Ed.
• Allegany County and its people : a centennial memorial History of Allegany County, New York … / Merrill, Georgia, ed
• Allegany County and its people : a centennial memorial History of Allegany County, New York … Pt 1 & 2/ Minard, John Stearns,
• Allegany County in the twentieth century : stories of change / Braack, Craig R.
• Allegany County response to the NYS Low-Level Siting Commission / Allegany County Technical Committee
• Allegany County, New York a great place to live DVD/ Allegany County Marketing Consortium
• Allegany’s uncommon folk / Phelan, Helene C.
• American and English genealogies in the Library of Congress./ Library of Congress.
• American genealogies / Higginson Book Company
• Ancestors of American presidents / Roberts, Gary Boyd.
• And a white vest for Sam’l : an account of rural life in western New York, from the diaries of Maria Langworthy Whitford of Alfred Station, New York, 1857-1861 / Whitford, Maria Langworthy,
• And why not every man? : an account of slavery, the Underground Railroad, and the road to freedom in New York’s Southern Tier./ Phelan, Helene C.
• Angelica at 200 / Angelica Bicentennial Book Committee
• Angelica Collectanea
• Annual report.1992-1993/ Cuba Community Development Corporation.
• Annual report. 1996-1997/ Cuba Community Development Corporation.
• Barns of the Genesee Country, 1790-1915 : including an account of settlement and changes in agricultural practices / Fink, Daniel,
• Belfast Riverside Cemetery
• A Bibliography of ship passenger lists, 1538-1825; being a guide to published lists of early immigrants to North America./ Lancour, Harold,
• Birds of Cattaraugus County, New York / Eaton, Stephen W.
• Black Creek Cemetery Records
• Brown ancestry : being one line of descent from George Brown (1586-1633) of Salisby Patricia Brown Darling./ Darling, Patricia Brown.
• Browns / Drake, Patricia K. Brown.
• Cattaraugus County archives : inventory of the county archives of New York State : exclusive of the five counties of New York City / Historical Records Survey (N.Y.)
• Cattaraugus county genealogical society : Cattaraugus county genealogy news./
• Cattaraugus County history : the sages of the ages./ Kysor, Kenneth.
• Cemetery listings of the towns of Hinsdale, Ischua, Lyndon./
• Chautauqua County archives : inventory of the county archives of New York State (exclusive of the five counties of New York City) / Historical Records Survey (N.Y.)
• Civic history and illustrated progress of Cuba, Allegany Co., N.Y. : 1822-1910 / by John Stearns Minard./ Minard, John Stearns,
• Civil War veterans in and around Allegany County, New York / Matteson, Calvin.
• Cole / Eldridge / Nash : English emmigrants establish our American family / Carleson, Betty Nash
• Compete [sic.] name index to the 1896 Allegany County and its people :a centennial memorial History of Allegany County, New York … / Hoy, Francis.
• Comprehensive economic development plan : Town & village of Cuba /
• The Coudersport & Port Allegany and the New York & Pennsylvania / Pietrak, Paul.
• Country salt : a historical novel / Drake, Howard Babcock.
• County courthouse book / Bentley, Elizabeth Petty.
• The crucifixion of Philip Strong. / Sheldon, Charles Monroe,
• Cuba : incorporated as a village for a century, 1850-1950 / Cuba Centennial Committee
• Cuba 150 : the sesquicentennial of Cuba Village, Cuba, NY./ Cuba Patriot, Cuba Historical Society
• Cuba cemeteries /
• Cuba then and now DVD/ Cuba Friends of Architecture
• Cuba, New York and Cuba Lake. DVD/
• The Davenport diaries, 1887-1891-1894 / Davenport, Hannah
• The Demolition of the Prospect Street Bridge : May 31, 2007./
• Descendants of Henry Ingalls./
• The development of central and western New York, from the arrival of the white man to the eve of the Civil War, as portrayed chronologically in contemporary accounts./ Mau, Clayton C.
• A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames, with special American instances./ Bardsley, Charles Wareing Endell,
• A dictionary of Scottish emigrants to the U.S.A./ Whyte, Donald.
• Dutch New York / Singleton, Esther,
• The early architecture of the Genesee Valley / Schmidt, Carl Frederick,
• Early days of oil; a pictorial history of the beginnings of the industry in Pennsylvania,/ Giddens, Paul Henry,
• An Early History of Wellsville, NY : with later highlights, events, and people / Duke, Oak.
• The Early history of Whitesville : on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the formation of the Township of Independence, 1821 – 1971 / Historical Committee of Whitesville
• Echoes of a haunting revisited : a house in the country / Miller, Clara M.
• Enchanted land, 1776-1976 / Olean Bicentennial Book Committee.
• Encyclopedia of New York. Vol 1 & 2/ Somerset Publishers
• Executions in Allegany County, New York / Dorsey, Robert
• Fairbairn’s Book of crests of the families of Great Britain and Ireland./ Fairbairn, James.
• Farm plat book and directory : Allegany County, New York / Allegany County Farm and Home Bureau Assoc.
• Final environmental impact statement : Allegany County Transfer Station System,/ Terrestrial Environmental Specialists, Inc.
• The first hundred years of Allegany County : a short history with maps & illustrations/ Wildman, Jennifer.
• Gazetteer and business directory of Allegany County, N. Y. for 1875 / Child, Hamilton,
• A genealogical dictionary of the first settlers of New England : showing three generations of those who came before May, 1692, on the basis of the Farmer’s Register Vol 1 – 4/ Savage, James,
• Genealogical gleanings from newspapers of Cuba, Allegany County, New York 1866 through 1882 / Masser, Marcia Z.
• Genealogies of New Jersey families : from the genealogical magazine of New Jersey Vol 1 & 2/
• The Genealogist’s address book./
• Genealogy of Jordans / Ostrander, Gertrude A. Jordan.
• Genesee echoes; the upper gorge and falls area from the days of the pioneers./ Anderson, Mildred Lee Hills,
• The Genesee Region : 1790 to the present : a guide to its history / Folts, James D.
• The Genesee Valley Canal / Anderson, Mildred Lee Hills,
• The Genesee Valley Canal / Holton, Gladys Reid.
• Governmental and special interests response to the potential siting of a low level radioactive waste disposal facility in Allegany County, New York / Office of Adm. Assistant
• Grandpapa’s letter to his children / Van Valkenburgh, Franklin Butler,
• The great historic families of Scotland / Taylor, James,
• Guide to historical resources in Cattaraugus County, New York, repositories./ Cornell University. New York Historical Resources Center.
• A guide to local historical material in the libraries of south central New York State / South Central Research Library Council. Local History Committee.
• Guide to records in the New York State Archives./ New York State Archives.
• Haskell Community Church : church and community history 1892-1992 / Centennial Committee Haskell Community Church
• The Henry Hendryx murder case : a true happening in Cuba, New York, 1876 / Hendryx, Louise.
• Hinsdale, N.Y. : 175th celebration, 1820-1995/
• The historic annals of southwestern New York Vol 1 – 3/ Doty, William J. (William Joseph),
• Historical register of Virginians in the Revolution: soldiers, sailors, marines, 1775-1783./ Gwathmey, John Hastings,
• Historical sketch of the First Baptist Church, Cuba, New York : published on its centennial anniversary, May 31-June 3, 1934 / Conrath, Elmer E.
• Historical survey report, village of Cuba, New York / Howe, Kathleen A.
• The History & memories of West Almond, N.Y. & it’s people /
• A History of Allegany County/
• History of Allegany County, N.Y., 1806-1879 : with illustrations descriptive of scenery, private residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories … and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents./
• The history of Ceres and its near vicinity : from its early settlement in 1798 / King, Maria.
• The history of Cuba and New Hudson (with name index) : compiled from Allegany and its People, a centennial memorial History 1795-1895./
• A History of Cuba Cheese / Moses, Edwin & Velma.
• The history of Ischua, N.Y. / Pettengill, Sally Squire.
• The history of Otto Township: people, places and events from 1854-2004 / Zetler, Geraldine Baker.
• A history of that branch of the Morgan Family beginning with James of New London and continued through the line of Col. Samuel and Sybil Huntington Morgan of Weathersfield, Vermont and their descendents to the present day April 1911./ Morgan, Clara W.
• History of the Genesee country (western New York) : comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates. Vol 1 – 4/ Doty, Lockwood R. (Lockwood Richard),
• History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps & Gorham’s Purchase, and Morris’ Reserve. Turner, O. (Orsamus)
• A History of the public libraries served by the Southern Tier Library System /
• A horse haven in the wilderness./ Dibble, William G.
• If our earthly house dissolve : a story of the Wetherby-Hagadorn family of Almond, New York, told from their diaries and papers / Phelan, Helene C.
• Images of America : Angelica, Belmont, and Wellsville./ Bogan, Robert V.
• Images of America : Angelica, Belmont, and Wellsville./ Bogan, Robert V.
• Index of awards of claims of the soldiers of the War of 1812./ New York (State). Adjutant General’s Office.
• Keller (Palmer) Opera House : grant project #PKS-06-AL001, storefront history report./ Cuba Friends of Architecture ; Cuba Historical Society
• The Kellers of Hamilton Township : a study in democracy / Keller, David Henry.
• The keyhole : through which may be obtained a glimpse of what is going on behind the doors of Cuba High School./ Cuba High School (Cuba, N.Y.)
• Land of the Senecas / Merrill, Arch.
• Letters of Stephen Tippet Andrews of the 85th New York Volunteers, Company F, to Miss Margaret Little, Franklinville, New York, August 28, 1961 [sic] to March 28, 1965 [sic], during the Civil War / Andrews, Stephen Tippet,
• Library catalog – Daughters of the American Revolution Library/ Daughters of the American Revolution.
• Life work of Mrs. Cora L.V. Richmond/
• Listen for a Lonesome Drum: a York state chronicle / Carmer, Carl Lamsen
• Lists of inhabitants of colonial New York : excerpted from the Documentary history of the State of New-York/ O’Callaghan, E. B. (Edmund Bailey),
• The Lockwood family of Southwestern New York State./
• The making of a minister / Parkhurst, Frederick S. (Frederick Shrewsbury),
• The man who owned the pistols : John Barker Church and his family / Phelan, Helene C.
• Maplehurst Baptist Church : founded on the rock, 1827-2002 / Whittaker, Barbara.
• Maryland marriages, 1634-1777/ Barnes, Robert William.
• Maryland marriages, 1778-1800 / Barnes, Robert William.
• Memories / Unger, Milton M.,
• Mouth of the Creek 150 years later, 1850-2000 : the history of Fillmore, N.Y. / Fillmore Sesquicentennial Committee
• The name and family of Straight./
• Narrative technical and socioeconomic response to the potential siting of a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Allegany County, New York ./ Allegany County Board of Legislators
• New England marriages prior to 1700 / Torrey, Clarence Almon,
• New York : a guide to the Empire state / Federal Writers’ Project.
• New York colonial muster rolls, 1664-1775 : report of the State Historian of the State of New York ; Vol 1 & 2/
• New York marriages previous to 1784./ New York (State)
• New York State and the Civil War – Issue January 1962
• New York State Newspaper Project : Allegany County (N.Y.) newspapers./
• New York State scrip and private issues / Harris, Gordon L.
• New York State’s Route 17 : guide to records, 2001-2002 / Chemung County Historical Society
• Northfield on the Genesee : early times in Monroe County, N.Y., with town minutes and highway records, 1796-1814 of Dr. John Ray and Samuel Kempton, town clerks, and biographies of nearly 500 early families / MacNab, Margaret Schmitt.
• NYS legislative reference guide 2011./
• Olean bicentennial : a pictorial celebration of 200 years ; 1804-2004 / Olean Times Herald
• Olean-Salamanca-Wellsville, New York and vicinity: Hill-Donnelly cross reference directory. 2003/ Hill-Donnelly Corporation
• Olean-Salamanca-Wellsville, New York and vicinity: Hill-Donnelly cross reference directory. 2007/ Hill-Donnelly Corporation
• Palmer-Keller Opera House : items from the Cuba Patriot & Cuba Historical Society, 1888-1938./ Cuba Friends of Architecture
• Pennsylvania genealogical research / Schweitzer, George Keene,
• The Pennsylvania-German in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 / Richards, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg,
• A Pictorial salute to Allegany County veterans/ Wellsville Daily Reporter
• The pioneers of Massachusetts : a descriptive list, drawn from records of the colonies, towns, and churches, and other contemporaneous documents./ Pope, Charles Henry,
• The Plymouth Pilgrims : a history of the Eighty-fifth New York Infantry in the Civil War Mahood, Wayne.
• Portrait of a small town Cuba, NY 2009 DVD/ Cuba Friends of Architecture
• Proceedings of the Board of Legislators of Allegany County, New York./ Allegany County (N.Y.). Board of Legislators.
• Postcards and Photos from Cuba’s Early Days, Volume 2
• Postcards and Photos from Our Early Days: Cuba, New York 1822-2022
• Products made in Allegany County : a directory of Allegany County produced products /
• Rawson Freewill Baptist Church records (1830-1916) : Town of Lyndon Cattaraugus County, New York /
• Reflections: a pictorial history of Allegany County/ Wellsville Daily Reporter
• Report on potential siting identification : Appendix A: Allegany candidate area, document control no. NYS-RP-89-G-WSEA-3159 / New York State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Commission.
• A river ramble : saga of the Genessee Valley; the lakes country; The ridge./ Merrill, Arch.
• The Rushford centennial, August 16-21, 1908, with data and reminiscences./
• Scio sesqui-centennial, Scio, N. Y. : 150th year, 1823-1973/ Scio Sesquicentennial Committee
• Sesquicentennial : a collected history of a town & its people, Town of Amity, 1830-1980 / Amity Sesquicentennial Inc
• Six Swift sisters and related families : a Swift family history / Bell, George E. (George Edward),
• Sketches of border adventures in the life and times of Major Moses Van Campen / Hubbard, John Niles,
• The source : a guidebook of American genealogy / Szucs, Loretto Dennis.
• South Carolina genealogical research / Schweitzer, George Keene,
• South Street Historic District : 20-88 and 17-89 South Street, Cuba, New York … / National Park Service
• Southern tier / Merrill, Arch.
• Southern Tier./ Merrill, Arch.
• St. Helena, ghost town of the Genesee, 1797-1954./ Anderson, Mildred Lee Hills,
• Stagecoach towns / Merrill, Arch.
• The story of the old Indian council-house in Letchworth’s state park / Minard, John Stearns,
• A study of Olean, past and present : Social Studies ; Fourth grade./ Bradley, Katherine Eaton.
• The surnames of Ireland./ MacLysaght, Edward.
• Thrice three times told tales / Soper, Mary Waller Shepherd,
• The underground, freedom’s road, and other upstate tales./ Merrill, Arch.
• Upstairs over the ice cream./ Micros, Marianne.
• Upstate echoes : being an assemblage of stories about unusual people, places and events in the upstate New York of long ago and of only yesterday / Merrill, Arch.
• Village of Cuba : strategic plan for downtown revitalization 2006/
• VILLAGE OF CUBA,STRATEGIC PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION/ Stuart I. Brown Associates, Inc.
• The Wadsworths of the Genesee./ Hatch, Alden,
• The Wellsville story ; The willing story ; The Alma story / Shear, Hazel M.,
• Wellsville, Addison and Galeton Railroad : “sole leather line” / Lewis, Edward A.
• West Clarksville 1835-1985 sesquicentennial./
• Western New York land transactions, 1804-1824 : extracted from the Archives of the Holland Land Company / Livsey, Karen E.
• Western New York land transactions, 1825-1835 : extracted from the archives of the Holland Land Company / Livsey, Karen E.
• The white woman and her valley / Merrill, Arch.
• Who only stand and wait : Civil War letters of David and Ann Smith, 1863-1865 / Phelan, Helene C.
• The Wild Apple Press./ Friendship Landmark Society
• The Word on women : a direcory of historical records collections documenting women in history in Upstate New York /
• Wreaths Across America/ Taylor, Tom
• The Writings of David Gage Totten /
• The Writings of Donald J. Totten, Sr. /
• The Writings of Mary Anne Totten/
• Ye Old log chool house tymes and pioneer sketches/ Minard, John Stearns,
• You know they’re here / Kenyon, Paul J.
• Zoning, Chapter 200 : from the Code of the Village of Cuba Village, County of Allegany, State of New York./ Cuba (N.Y.).