Family Fun Summer Challenges in Albion! Dear Parents, Your children have been learning about fun facts that make Albion AMAZING! This booklet shares the facts with you along with some interesting challenges. The summer is a great time to get outside and explore! Albion has many great places to visit, and your children will have fun finding new places and getting some extra reading in! Here s an extra idea: As you find the special locations, why not take a picture and post it on your Facebook page, or Instagram? You can challenge your friends or family too! You can even make an Albion rock with a positive message and leave it for others to find! Then, send your selfies to the Albion Rocks Facebook page. We hope you have fun, get exercise, and enjoy all of what Albion has to offer!! Enjoy your summer! From your teachers at the Albion Elementary School
Albion Facts: (Answers and addresses on the last page) What is so amazing about living in Albion? 1. Cobblestone Museum Did you know that Albion has the only Cobblestone Museum in the world? It is located on Ridge Rd. in the town of Childs, NY. It has the oldest of only 26 Cobblestone churches in North America! The one room school house, the Ward House, and the Cobblestone Church are designated as National Historic Landmarks! Now that is amazing! Challenge: This summer, visit the Cobblestone Museum with your family! Kids get in for free! There are many cool events going on and you can even find a few real life outhouses! Go back in time and see how life was lived! Other challenge: When visiting the Cobblestone Museum, ask about Horace Greeley and find out why this Albion man was so famous. Hint: Find out about his job, a famous quote he said that became well known and his work with Frederick Douglass. 2. Grace Bedell Did you know that there was a young girl that at age of 11 wrote to President Abraham Lincoln telling him to grow a beard? It is true! Her name is Grace Bedell and she lived in Albion at 350 West State St. before her family moved to Westfield, NY in 1859. (She wrote the letter and met President Lincoln when she lived in Westfield in 1861). Grace and her family moved back to Albion in 1861, where she graduated and later married and settled in Kansas. She lived until she was 87 years old, and had one son. The fact that President Abe Lincoln listened to Grace and grew out his beard is pretty amazing! Challenge: Go find Grace s house on West State St. and locate the sign out front. (This is a private residence, so please only locate the sign and be respectful to the home owners and their land). Other challenges: Read the books, Lincoln & Grace. By, Steve Metzger and Mr. Lincoln s Whiskers. By, Karen B. Winnick. If you have extra time this summer, visit Westfield, NY and find the statue of Grace and President Lincoln. Also, see if you can find a copy of their letters on the internet.
3. Charles Howard Have you ever heard of Charles Howard? How about Santa Claus? If you heard of Santa Claus, then you should know who Charles Howard is! Charles was the first nationally televised (Department Store Santa Claus in the Macy s Day Thanksgiving Parade, and continued with that job for 17 years! In 1937, Charles established the world famous Santa Claus school at his farmhouse in Albion. It was the only school of its kind, and people from all over the world came to it to learn how to become professional Santas to work as Santa s helpers in department stores. In 1953, he opened up Christmas Park at his farmhouse, and it became a huge attraction for tourists! Charles also offered technical advice for the original movie, Miracle on 34 th Street. Now that is pretty amazing! Challenge: Look for the historic sign at the farm house on Phipps Rd. (across from Walmart), and look for Santas that visit Albion each summer to learn more about Charles & the Santa Claus School. We hope soon a museum will be made! Other challenges: Find the cut-out of Santa in the Village of Albion, and the big Charles Howard display in Mt. Albion Cemetery. Look him up on the internet he was truly amazing! Charles Willis "Charlie" Howard (June 15, 1896 May 1, 1966) was an American actor and teacher most famous for portraying Santa Claus in department stores and parades. In 1937, he established the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School which today is the oldest continuously-run Santa school in the world. [1][2] 4. George Pullman Ever hear about the Pullman Railroad car? Did you know who was responsible for manufacturing it? It was Albion Native, George Pullman who also built the Universalist Church in Albion in 1894 to honor his parents memory. The Universalist Church is located in the famous Courthouse Square and has famous Tiffany windows in it. The Church is also built from Medina Sandstone which is a common stone used in towns near the Erie Canal. Medina Sandstone is made from streams depositing sand, and becoming solid under pressure. All pretty amazing! Challenge: Locate the Universalist Church and find the Tiffany windows. Look up Pullman Railroad Cars and research more about them.
Other challenges: 1.) Notice the top of the Courthouse, see the unique 1858 Greek Revival style dome. 2.) Look for the tallest building in all of Orleans County (located on Courthouse Square). 3.) There are many buildings in downtown Albion, try to find the fake one! Hint: It was built in 1882. 5. Kum Bah Yah Have you ever heard of the song Kum Bah Yah? Well, it is pretty famous! It was written by Reverend Marvin V. Frey when he was only 17 years old, and he is buried in the West Barre Cemetery. He also wrote many other spiritual songs and music. It is amazing that this song was written by someone who was local to Albion that makes us famous too! Challenge: Have your family take a journey to Barre to find the gravesite of Reverend Frey it is easy to find just travel west on Root Rd. You will find the historic marker near the road. On your way, or while you are at his gravesite, play or sing the song Kum Bah Yah
6. Erie Canal Albion is not the only town to claim the Erie Canal. It obviously runs from Buffalo to Albany, and is used by a lot of people who like to boat, bike, walk and run the length of it each summer! However, did you know that the Northern-most point of the Erie Canal is in the town of Gaines? That spot is located on the path of the Erie Canal and is marked with a historic sign! So Amazing! Challenge: Find the Northern-most spot on the Erie Canal you will have to get some exercise in and walk the north side of the canal. Other challenges: Also did you know a crazy tragic event happened in Albion involving the main bridge in the Village of Albion on September 28, 1859? Read about it on the historic sign located near the Main Street Bridge in the Village. 7. Lighthouse Did you know that the only lighthouse in Orleans County was the Oak Orchard Harbor Lighthouse? It was built in 1871 and was located at the mouth of the Oak Orchard River. In December 1916, it was swept away in a violent storm. There is now a replica of the lighthouse near the pier in Point Breeze. That is an amazing place to visit! Challenge: Go visit the Lighthouse and check out their website. Other challenges: People from all over the world come to our area to fish for trout, salmon, and steelhead. It is recommended that people who fish respect the rules of catch and release in order to keep the sport of fishing alive in our area and to help bring people to our county. Try fishing one day with your family; there are many places to drop a line and enjoy nature!
8. Mt. Albion Cemetery Did you know that the Mt. Albion Cemetery was meant to look park-like on purpose? It has 70 acres and is home to many rare trees. It is terraced to allow for more gravesites. The cemetery is meant to be enjoyed which is why it has many areas to visit such as the 58 foot Soldiers and Sailors Monument (the tower), the natural spring pond, the Ingersoll Memorial Fountain, and the medina sandstone chapel. The Tower was built as a monument for the Civil War veterans and has a 360 degree view of the surrounding area with a spiral staircase all the way to the top! Some say on a clear day you can see Lake Ontario from the top of the tower! Now that screams AMAZING! The Cemetery is so well known, there is a lot to discover there. Challenge: Go to Mt. Albion and climb to the top of the tower! What do you see? Bring a picnic and eat at one of the picnic tables you find, or beneath the gazebo. Also look for: Charles Brown s gravesite (Minor League Baseball Player) 2 life-sized dog stones on 2 different family plots, Charles Howard s gravesite, & look for a gravesite shaped like a table. What does that represent?
Challenges Hints/Answers and other Goodies: 1. Horace Greeley was known as saying Go west young man and Common sense isn t very common. He was known for being the founder and editor of the New York Tribune Newspaper, and was an active abolitionist who worked with Frederick Douglass and others to free slaves and helped black men get the right to vote. 2. Grace Bedell: Address in Albion is 350 West State Street. Still a residential home, with a Historic Marker out front. Westfield, New York is located in Chautauqua County, the westernmost county in the state, and is easily accessible from Exit 60 of the New York State Thruway. Chautauqua Lake and the Chautauqua Institution are located just 8 miles southeast of Westfield along New York Route 394. Directions from Buffalo Take the New York State Thruway/Interstate 90 west towards Pennsylvania to Exit 60. Turn left on New York State Route 394 for approximately 1 mile to reach the village center. 3. Charles Howard: Location of the Santa Claus school is at the corner of Phipps Road and County House Rd. in Albion. (Across from Walmart). Historic Marker is on the site, but it is still a residential home. 4. Universalist Church: Located in on the corner of Main St. and East Park Street. Notice the historic marker, the Tiffany Windows and the Medina Sandstone. Tallest Building in Orleans County: Presbyterian Church in Albion Located on the corner of Main Street and East State Street Fake Sandstone Building: Pratt Building: 114-120 Main Street, Albion Can you tell the difference? 5. Kum Ba Yah: Find Rev. Frey s gravesite in the West Barre Cemetery at the end of West Barre Rd. (Root Rd.), near the Eagle Harbor Intersection. Plot # 53474104
6. Erie Canal: Northern-most point of the Erie Canal: The historic sign is accessible from the tow path on the North bank, not seen from the road. Park on the north side of the canal, along Gaines Basin Road and follow the gravel path west for several hundred feet until you see the marker. Canal Bridge Sign: Located in the Village of Albion next to the Main Street Bridge on the South- West side. 7. Oak Orchard Lighthouse: Located near the pier at Point Breeze http://www.oakorchardlighthouse.org/ 8. Mt. Albion Cemetery: Table Top Gravesite: Go up Mountain Road, near the Tower in the woods. It is a Table Top because the family didn t want people to walk on the gravesite. Charles Howard: Find the historic sign of Santa. (In the area of the White Pergola) Near Charles Howard, is Charles Nelson Brown (Minor League Baseball Player) This one is hard to find, it is a smaller stone but has the teams he played for written on the stone. Find 2 Dog Markers: These are not gravesites they represent guarding the occupant of the grave. 1 is near the Amos Clift (near the monument of the Black soldiers) 2 is on the Northeast side of the cemetery near a tree. Almost to the fence outlying the cemetery. This one is difficult to find as well. While you are there, find some other things. There is a stone that has Abe Lincoln s face on it, because the family liked President Lincoln. (Near Amos Clift as well). Look for the tallest memorial etc. Good Luck as you explore and have fun!