Good News You May Have Missed from Fenimore Art Museum

Good News You May Have Missed: Hancock House, Endowment Transferred

Fenimore Art Museum is pleased to share that in summer 2025, the ownership of the Hancock House in Ticonderoga, New York was transferred to the Lower Adirondack Regional Center for History, formerly known as the Ticonderoga Historical Society.

In 1924, an agreement was made between Ticonderoga-born industrialist Horace A. Moses and the New York State Historical Association in which Moses would give NYSHA the necessary funding to erect a building in Ticonderoga, New York that would be used as the association’s headquarters and would set up an endowment to maintain the building. The official dedication of the Hancock House was held in 1926 and from 1926-1939, NYSHA (currently known as Fenimore Art Museum) operated out of the Hancock House in Ticonderoga. In 1939, with the blessing of Horace A. Moses, NYSHA moved its headquarters to Cooperstown, New York, with the understanding that the endowment gifted would remain with the Hancock House.

In 1975, NYSHA and the Ticonderoga Historical Society entered a lease agreement whereby THS would operate Hancock House with NYSHA providing funds from the Moses endowment as well as lending objects. The transfer, in accordance with all laws for collections items, will formalize the LARCH stewardship of the property and artifacts for which they have cared for decades.

“We will be forever grateful to the community of Ticonderoga and to Horace A. Moses for their part in the origin story of the New York State Historical Association,” commented Paul D’Ambrosio, president and chief executive officer of Fenimore Art Museum (formerly NYSHA). Ticonderoga Historical Society, and now LARCH, have been dutiful stewards, and we know that the building and objects will remain in good hands with them at the helm; we are happy to gift them this important part of Ticonderoga’s history.”

LARCH Past President Virginia LaPointe (1975) and current President William G. Dolback (2025) stated: “On behalf of those past and current trustees and those members of The Lower Adirondack Regional Center for History (successor of THS, founded in 1897) who have dedicated their energy and devotion for the past 50 years to the stewardship of the Hancock House, its collections and endowment are deeply honored to receive this ownership transfer.”

Presidents LaPointe and Dolback further expressed: “This act represents a significant milestone for not only our organization and the Ticonderoga community but for our greater regional service area. We are grateful to the officers and the board of the Fenimore Art Museum for their trust as we continue advancing Horace A. Moses’ original vision of preserving and promoting our unique regional historical past.

“As we look to the future, be assured that we will continue to keep our focus on the historic, scientific, and social aspects of the Adirondack Mountains and the Lake Champlain and Lake George regions as we showcase the contributions of our region to the history of New York State and the United States while preserving and promoting our unique cultural history,” they said.