Buffalo History Museum to hold ‘Presidential Palooza’

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — In honor of President’s Day, News 4 took a walk through the Buffalo History Museum to learn some of the presidential ties to our community.

“I think in Buffalo, we have a very strong sense of pride of being Buffalonians, and I think when you learn the history behind what has happened in this city, you become even more proud of being from this area,” said Lauren Kausner, Education Coordinator of Buffalo History Museum.

This week, they will hold their first “Presidential Palooza” on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, where they will have additional activities and artifacts on display that represent local ties with some of the United States Presidents.

“You would be hard pressed to find another American city outside of the nation’s capitol with as rich as a presidential history as Buffalo’s. It’s something for us to be very proud of,” said Brian Hayden, Director of Communications with the Buffalo History Museum said.

He told News 4 more about Grover Cleveland, who was Mayor of Buffalo and the Erie County Sheriff, before he took the seat of president–how Millard Fillmore was a young attorney in Western New York, and how his house still stands in East Aurora–and more about McKinley’s assignation and Roosevelt’s inauguration.

“It was a dark and tumultuous period in American history but it happened right here, and so it’s important to kind of share that history and make people aware of this really significant moment that took place right in our neighborhood here,” said Hayden. “You figure in the course of American history, there have only been several times where a very sort of tumultuous transition of power took place when a presidential assassination happened and only a few times too where the U.S. president took the Oath of Office outside of the nation’s capitol.”

Their collection has been growing since 1862, and have artifacts that are not on display. Later this year, they said they’re planning on bringing back their behind the scenes tours for Buffalo History Museum members.

For more information on the Buffalo History Museum visit their website here.

Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.

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