Delaware County Historical Association (DCHA) planners announce the resumption of the popular fundraising bus trips. This year’s trip is scheduled for Thursday, July 25 and one of the highlights is the first stop, the Wickwire Mansion, also known as the 1890 House, in Cortland.
The Wickwire Brothers factory in Cortland was renowned as a wire-weaving business. By the 1870s it was producing products such as barbed wire, window screens, dish strainers and horse muzzles. The company gained such a reputation that their wire was utilized in the building of the Panama Canal. The Wickwires were the largest employers in Cortland in 1910, employing 170 men and 35 women.
The family mansion was completed in 1890 and several generations considered it home. Marion Wickwire was its last resident, dying in 1973 at the age of 85. Her love of cherubs is reflected in a cherub-filled chandelier, and elsewhere throughout the second floor.
The house itself was designed by architect Samuel B. Reed and the stained glass throughout the house is by Henry F. Belcher. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
After the guided tour of the house, the group will lunch on the patio of the Historic Glen Haven Inn and Restaurant overlooking Skaneateles Lake. Lunch will be followed by a short trip along the lake to the village of Skaneateles and a leisurely cruise aboard the Judge Ben Wiles.
The cost is $150 for DCHA members and $175 for non-members; the price includes transportation, admissions and lunch plus a donation to DCHA. For further information or reservations call 607-746-3849 or email dchadelhi@gmail.com Reservations required by July 10.
Passengers may board the motor coach in Oneonta at 7 a.m. and in Delhi at 7:30 a.m. Estimated return time approximately 6:30 to 7 p.m.
