THE 1884 SUITER HOUSE MUSEUM
A Queen Anne-style building located at 400 North Main Street in Herkimer. This building was the legacy of Dr. A. Walter Suiter, a prominent citizen, and physician, to the Herkimer County Historical Society in 1925. It was named in memory of Dr. Suiter’s father, Col. James A. Suiter, a noted Civil War veteran.
The massive doors that Dr. Suiter ordered for the entrance to his mansion are built of mahogany. The griffin is one of two which grace the ornately carved front doors. The interior architectural elements are fashionable for the 1880s and include decorative hinges, burl veneer door panels, rectilinear banisters, and newel posts with incised decoration.
One room in the Suiter building depicts Dr. Suiter’s library with his record books and other artifacts that would have been in a library in 1884. The library style is Eastlake with a beautiful tiled fireplace with etchings of Greek gods and goddesses and a mahogany mantel. An interesting fact is that the house was never lived in. It was used by Dr. Suiter as his doctor’s office, waiting room, and his library. Housed in this building is an exhibit designed to be self-guided or you can ask for a guided tour.
THE 1870 ECKLER HOUSE
The 1870 Eckler House is Italianate style and is next to the Suiter building. The Society’s offices, Resource Center/Library, and Gift Shop are located here. This building was named after the Eckler family who were major contributors to our capital campaign project when we purchased and refurbished it in the late 1980s.
Snell Cabinet
The Snell cabinet showcases a variety of artifacts from the Society’s collection, currently, there is a display featuring the findings from an archaeological dig we conducted in 2015 on our property searching for any remnants of Fort Dayton, what we found was an old well that dates back to the early 1800s. There were many treasures inside that well such as; medical instruments, pharmaceutical bottles, many intact and some with the medicine still in them, a pristine jug, and a unique liquid soap dispenser – all dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s. Around the property we discovered pipe stems with a few dating to the late 1700s.