Friends of Historic Rochester (Ulster County, NY)

Friends of Historic Rochester (FHR) is an all-volunteer organization which is dedicated to preserving and promoting the historic heritage of the Town of Rochester. The Museum at 12 Main Street, Accord, NY, is the center of our activities. The Museum is open at other times during spring, summer, and fall for programs, research, genealogical consultations, etc.

The hours for genealogical research are Wednesdays from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Richard Rider is there to assist in the research with access to extensive resources including the Eleanor Rosakranse Genealogical Collection, many family reports compiled from the internet, and ongoing internet access. For an appointment with Richard Rider, please call him at 845-339-6666.

Anyone is welcome as a member of FHR. Basic annual dues are $20 which includes a subscription to our quarterly publication on local history, The Accordian. FHR sponsors two annual events; History Day on the second Saturday in May, and Fall Festival Tours on the first Saturday in October. For more information, please call 626-7104 or 687-9998, e-mail to FriendsHistRoch@aol.com, or write to

The beginning of the Museum and library of local history and genealogy in the Town of Rochester goes back almost twenty years, when a small group of volunteers banded together to preserve the historic heritage of the Town. Friends of Historic Rochester was incorporated in 1988 and the group began collecting historical data and artifacts at that time.

The Museum and library building, located at 12 Main Street, Accord, NY, is named for two of the original prime movers of Friends who strongly promoted the establishment of a museum for the Town: Percy W. Gazlay and Eleanor S. Rosakranse. In 2005, the Museum acquired the extensive Eleanor Rosakranse Genealogical Research Collection which is comprised of hundreds of books and documents. Mrs. Rosakranse spent nearly fifty years in genealogical research and bequeathed her collection to the Museum upon her death.

Also featured at the Museum is a “picture wall” covered with 8”x10” prints of old-time local postcards and photographs of buildings, people, and events; about 300 pictures so far and we are still soliciting more. We can scan and immediately return the originals to their owners, although we do have originals that were donated directly. Additionally, other items of interest at the Museum include: oral histories recounting the “Old Days and Ways; copies of the Cemetery Book, an inventory of the more than 70 cemeteries in the Town; full sets of The Accordian which has been published quarterly since 1989; numerous volumes on local history; and, notebooks with photographs and written material on many historic assets of the Town – stone, frame and brick houses, barns and other outbuildings, railroad stations, churches, and one- and two-room schoolhouses.

The Museum itself can be open by special appointment. Please call 845-626-7104 or 845-687-9998