Museum

The Lyons Falls History Association opened their museum May 21, 2010 in the rear of the Falls Pharmacy. The collection of photographs, artifacts and books continues to grow and many of these items are on display. The museum is open to the public every Tuesday during the summer between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Last year the museum received an old Bible to put on display in the museum. This, along with numerous other items, is a unique part of Lyons Falls history. The museum also has a piece of the old water pipe that supplied water to the Village back in the early 1900s. Recently, the History Association received 67 letters from a Civil War engineer to his wife in Rome. Copies of these letters are also on display in the museum. There are many other items for viewing in the museum, as well. Some of these items include a wedding dress, a soldier's uniform from World War I, an old secretary desk from a prominent family of the 1800s, and a dictionary from the 1700s. All of these items have a connection to Lyons Falls and remain a prominent part of Lyons Falls' history.

The Storms-Bailey Home Museum.


The new museum is located on Laura Street in Lyons Falls. The home was donated to the Association by the Storms-Bailey family in the fall of 2013. Since this time, the Association has been hard at work transforming the 1940s style home to a museum that preserves the memory of the Storms-Bailey family, Laura Street and the history of Lyons Falls.

The Storms-Bailey family began with Theresa Romanelli. Theresa graduated from Friendship High School in 1924, became a certified teacher, and then settled in Lyons Falls with her husband Edward Storms. Her daughter, Margaret Storms, grew up in Lyons Falls and graduated as valedictorian of the Lyons Falls High School class of 1945.

The location of the commemorative museum is in the home Margaret Storms built with her father, Edward, in the 1940s. The home was reconstructed after being dismantled at its original location on Kotary Road in the Town of Lewis. The construction on the home was not completed when Edward suffered from a stroke in 1958. As a result, until the home was completed in the 1990s, the house had tar paper siding an cinderblock steps. In 1993, the porch that is on the home today was constructed by Andrew and Anthony Bailey, with the help of many friends. Later that year, their sister, Victoria, hired Hurilla Construction to complete the siding and the first floor interior. Since that time, the home was used as a vacation place and storage of family treasures.

Margaret Storms lived with her parents in the home on Laura Street while working for the Gould Paper Company from 1945 until 1960. It was here that she met Edmund Bailey. They married in 1955. After, they settled in Boonville. Here they raised six children: Victoria, Virginia, Andrew, Anthony, Vera, and Bernard. The Bailey children graduated from Adirondack Central High School.

Theresa Romanelli Storms was known as "Gramma Storms" to family, friends, and the children living on Laura Street. The home that "Gramma" Storms lived in was kept in the Storms-Bailey family for over 20 years after Theresa died in 1991. The home passed from Margaret to her children before coming to the Lyons Falls History Association last year.

In 2012, the Storms-Bailey family met with Shirley VanNest of the Lyons Falls History Association to donate many photographs and artifacts from the family's collection. It was during this time that Anthony Bailey unexpectedly passed away, stunning the family. While visiting historic homes and museums around the country, Victoria noticed that many of the items on display existed in "Grammas's" house The idea that emerged was to donate the home to the Lyons Falls History Association. The family agreed and the museum at this location is dedicated to Theresa Storms, Margaret Storms Bailey, and Anthony Bailey.

In honor of the family, the Lyons Falls History Association is hosting a dedication ceremony and an Open House on September 1st, 2014 at 10:00 am at the museum at 6929 Laura Street in Lyons Falls. The public is invited to attend to help celebrate the memories of Lyons Falls as well as the Bailey Storms family.

In early July of 2015 the Bailey Storms family made a visit to the museum in which they saw for the first time the completed museum home including the upstairs which has been finish due to a grant received and the hard work of the volunteers and the intern. They were so pleased with how it turned out and the association is so thankful for the home and all the family does to help out.