On November 3rd, 2021, a fire destroyed a laundromat in the village of Palmyra. Left in the wake of the fire was the Alling Coverlet Museum.
“So much has happened since that day, it’s hard to believe it has been a year. To walk through the museum today, you would never know that there was a fire next door. Historic Palmyra will forever be grateful to the many, many fire departments and fire personnel that came out that day and saved our building,” said Director Tracy Here is a renewed look at what a priceless collection this building holds. Built in 1903, the original building was used as a laundry by the Jackman Bros., then from the 1920’s-1970’s housed a printing business called the Palmyra Courier- Journal newspaper. The building would be the first of many “gifts” to be bestowed to Historic Palmyra by Agnes Griffith. Their first collection of Coverlets was a donation from Mrs. Merle Alling, a donation that consisted of 230 coverlets.
Perhaps you’d like to know what a coverlet is? A coverlet is woven of cotton, wool or linen on a device called a loom. They are quite heavy, and some are quite decorative. They had many uses and were often found on a bed. Two of the best-known weavers of Jacquard coverlets came from right here in Palmyra. Ira Hadsell and James Van Ness. Their coverlets can be seen hanging in our coverlet museum as well as many others.
“Looking to the future, the future looks bright,” said Tracy. “We are excited to be able to showcase our coverlets not only in our “summer” months, but all year round and will be selecting coverlets for our “winter” months to display as well. We have many plans for our museums, and we can’t wait to be able to show them off as the plans get approved and implemented. “
Historic Palmyra’s 5 museums are a vital part of the village.
Stop in as they start decorating for the upcoming
holidays and continue to hold events. Historic Palmyra will be open (starting Nov.1st) Tuesdays-Thursday’s 11:00am-4:00pm. and Saturdays by appointment only. Watch theirFB page( https://www.facebook. com/historicpalmyra) and website (www.historicpalmyrany.com) for any and all upcoming events!
