The Hancock House was a gift to The New York State Historical Association (NYSHA) from native son and philanthropist Horace Moses. He built the house as a repository for the purpose of perpetuating "American Traditions in History and the Fine Arts," and it served in this capacity for many years as the NYSHA "Headquarters House," although it can no longer claim this title. This imposing Georgian mansion is a replica of Thomas Hancock's (uncle to John Hancock) Beacon Hill residence built in 1737 and 1741, and demolished in 1863.
Horace Augustus Moses learned the paper industry from the ground up, eventually building and purchasing mills which he consolidated into the Strathmore Paper Company. Never forgetting his rural beginnings, he began to make considerable donations to many Ticonderoga charitable and educational enterprises, including Valley View Cemetery Chapel, Liberty Monument, Moses-Ludington Hospital, the Community Building, and the Hancock House. In building the Hancock House he achieved one of his earliest lifetime ambitions to establish a museum with a library that would make Ticonderoga a focal point for public interest in the region's fascinating and nationally significant history.
The Hancock House Museum and Research Library was dedicated in 1926. The Ticonderoga Historical Society today manages this elegant structure as a regional museum and reference library. There are interesting and exciting exhibits on all four floors of the Hancock House. The modern library houses a large collection of regional material on civic, social and economic elements and also has one of the largest collections of genealogical resource materials in the region.
Our main interests are in the collection and safe-keeping of manuscripts, which give first hand excellent information of past events; of early newspapers, for they reflect much of the social and business life of their period; of clothing and household or craft implements or furniture, for they tell the tale of our forefathers homes.
We maintain this elegant Georgian mansion, augmenting our collections and promoting them through programs, events and community outreach. It is imperative to us to share our rich heritage and diverse history with a new generation. We open our doors for discovery and awareness at every opportunity.
The Museum is open year round Wednesday through Saturday, 10AM to 4PM and by appointment. The parking lot is on the north side of the Museum.
