Museums at the fair

They’re often overlooked, but certainly worth your while: the museums at the fair. I’m talking about the Daniel P. Witter Agriculture Museum and the Wagoner Carriage Museum.

The Agriculture Museum is full of demonstrations, all day long! Inside, you can watch weaving in the textile section, basket making, you can watch woodwork in progress (they were making chairs both times I visited), and even dulcimer making. There’s a lot going on!

Plus, you can take a look inside the Witter Museum’s log cabin! There’s a lot of historical information available, and you can read about the German immigrants who built the first log cabins in provincial New York. It’s cool to see what would have been inside the late 19th century cabin. It had a bed, table, a cradle and hearth area with several windows so visitors can view it from different angles.

There’s a little General Store set up in the museum, where you can buy things like state fair posters and wooden tops. In the dairy section, there are dozens of New York State milk bottles on display and antique farm sets.

The Carriage Museum is nearby, and it is full of interesting cutters (sleighs) and carriages that were once used for transportation. You can check out some artifacts at the 1800s cattle drive camp setup, and see several antique stoves. One thing that is not to be missed at the Carriage Museum is the 1876 Harris Brothers blacksmith shop! You can watch a blacksmith at work during your visit.