This Year's Project: Exterior Siding Improvement
About Our Organization
In October 2023, we celebrated our grand re-opening at the Cortland Museum. We purchased the Museum in December of 2022 before it and all the contents went on sale at an auction.
We are located at 340 West 4th Street (main street) and the three-story building is the oldest business building in Cortland, built in 1884. The extensive museum collection of items, books and paper records represents the history of the Cortland area, its people, businesses, schools, railroad, agriculture and military veterans. Most of these items were donated by community members. The Cortland Museum was established in 2003 by Norval and Lila Papke.
We have three rooms open on the first floor and we are working on two more, the research/library room and the kitchen.
The museum is run by the Cortland Museum Board of Directors and is under the umbrella of the Cortland Improvement Association (CIA), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Current Project: Exterior Siding Improvement
The Cortland Museum Board of Directors is excited to continue our improvements to the Cortland Museum. The building, built in 1884, has had a history of not holding paint for a long period of time. It has been painted many times and the paint starts to peel off within months.
We are looking to add vinyl siding, fascia, soffit and window wrapping that mimics the original wood exterior. We will keep the original decorative wood on the front first-story of the building (under the overhang), which is still in good condition and has been repainted by a board member.
Vinyl siding would cut down on the cost of having to re-paint the building every other year. The contractor we plan to use is from Cortland and is giving us a discount.
Update on Last Year’s Big Give Gage Project: Research/Library Room
An electrician finished the electrical wiring in the room, added a larger ceiling light and outlets for the computer equipment. Board members and volunteers patched the ceiling and walls, stripped the wallpaper, and installed shelves in the built-in wardrobes to hold our large collection of research books. Soon, we will be adding the ceiling tiles, adding vintage wallpaper and refinishing the floors.
Research Room
Project Details
The Cortland Museum Board of Directors is raising money to remodel and establish a research room at the Cortland Museum.
An existing room (previously used for storage) needs modern electrical wiring, the drywall redone and the original wood floor refurnished. Some of the vintage wallpaper in good condition will be kept intact. The finished research room will be available during museum hours for people to research their connection to Cortland using the Museum's collection of Cortland historical books and paper records. The Museum's Board of Directors has already received bids from different contractors for the electrical work, drywalling and floor refurnishing.
The photos show the room in its current state.
"Lila and Norval Papke, who established the Cortland Museum in 2003, wanted to transform this room into a research library. With your help, this goal can finally be achieved, making local history accessible to the community," says Sheila Day, president of the Cortland Museum Board of Directors.