GOHS Receives Historical Marker Grant

ONEONTA—The Greater Oneonta Historical Society announced this week that it has been awarded a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for five New York State historical markers. The markers commemorate the Oneonta Armory, 4 Academy Street, built in 1905; Damaschke Field in Neahwa Park, 15 Georgeson Avenue, which opened in 1906; the D&H Train Station, built in 1892 at the former site of Stella Luna Ristorante, 58-60 Market Street; the Huntington Home, today the Huntington Memorial Library and Park at 62 Chestnut Street; and the Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Avenue, built in 1875 and now home to the Community Arts Network of Oneonta.

According to GOHS officials, each of these fully-funded markers is a testament to Oneonta’s history of innovation, evolution, and enduring sense of community. The Oneonta Armory marker commemorates one of the city’s premier architectural structures and station for the New York State National Guard since 1905. The marker at Damaschke Field honors one of the oldest active ballparks in America, now the home to Oneonta’s minor league baseball teams. The D&H Train Station marker commemorates more than 70 years of passenger train service on the Delaware & Hudson train line.

The marker at the Huntington Home memorializes railroad executive Henry Huntington’s donation of his family land to the city for a library and park in 1917, and the Wilber Mansion marker commemorates the erection of Wilber Bank President (1890-1922) George I. Wilber’s home in 1875.

The new markers will be installed early this summer, with unveiling ceremonies to be announced in the coming months.

“GOHS is thrilled to announce the funding of these five historical markers, commemorating what we consider to be five of Oneonta’s most prominent and treasured homes, buildings, and municipal landmarks in the city,” said GOHS Executive Director Dr. Marcela Micucci.

In a press release, GOHS thanked its partners, Mayor Mark Drnek and the City of Oneonta, for supporting the historical marker project; GOHS Collections Assistant Andrew Kendall for his work on the grant applications; and their friends and colleagues at Huntington Memorial Library, CANO, Stella Luna, and Damaschke Field “for helping to make this round of historical markers a success.”

All five markers are fully funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation’s New York State historical marker grant program. The Pomeroy Foundation has awarded more than 2,300 grants for markers and bronze plaques in 48 states and Washington, D.C.

The Pomeroy Foundation’s New York State program provides fully-funded grants for historical markers commemorating historic people, places, things, and events in the Empire State. The program also fills a gap, GOHS officials pointed out, as New York State stopped funding their roadside markers in 1939. Information about the program is available on the Pomeroy Foundation’s website, wgpfoundation.org.