Fifty years preserving the Morgan-Manning House for the community
The Morgan-Manning House is the stately mansion at the corner of Brockport’s Main and South Streets. In 1964 it was damaged by a disastrous fire. Volunteers who restored the home in 1965 organized as the Western Monroe Historical Society that year. The year 2015 is the 50th anniversary of the Western Monroe Historical Society which has preserved the handsome structure as Brockport’s landmark jewel and a center of community activity.
The home was built in 1854. Purchased in 1867 by Dayton S. Morgan, he willed it to his daughter, Sara Morgan Manning. It remained the Morgan homestead for almost 100 years, until the 1964 fire took the life of Sara Manning, a 96-year-old widow who was the last of the seven Morgan children.
The fate of the damaged home was not immediately clear after the fire, according to WMHS historian emerita Eunice Chesnut. Competition was keen to acquire Sara Manning’s house, including two churches, the YMCA, and the College at Brockport desiring a faculty club. It was Wilbur “Doc” Hiler who saved the historic structure for posterity, fulfilling the wishes of Sara Morgan Manning stated in her will: That her home “would stand forever as a monument to the fine old traditions that are so important to our heritage.”
A devoted history buff himself, Hiler approached a number of people he thought would be interested in forming a historical society to restore and preserve the fire-damaged home. He requested support from the Brockport Lions Club. The club president appointed Harry Sentiff chairman of a committee to work with Hiler in establishing the historical society. Sentiff was the first president of the Western Monroe Historical Society which received a provisional charter on April 23, 1965. The final charter was granted in 1968 by the University of New York Education Department Board of Regents.
Hiler also worked with the Landmark Society of Western New York which determined the home was worth preserving and agreed to advise on its restoration. With the completed restoration and a board of trustees established for the Western Monroe Historical Society, the Landmark Society granted Landmark status to the home which had become the headquarters for the historical society.*
For all of its austere presence on Main Street, the home and its grounds are a year-round thriving center of community activity sponsored by the Western Monroe Historical Society. The spacious treed lawn comes alive each year with The Old Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration and The Peddler’s Market in September. In December the house is brilliantly decorated for The Candlelight Christmas Sale, the Open House for members, and photos with Santa. Guest speakers on local history and other interests visit monthly September through April. Various local organizations hold regular meetings in the Morgan-Manning House: The Quilters, Spinners, Antiques, Gardening, Preservation and History Clubs. Supporting the local history curriculum of local schools, tours are provided for school children who learn of family life in the home and village history of the Victorian era. An extensive collection of local history records is available for research, the work of Eunice Chesnut who was the society’s historian for over 37 years and retired in September 2014.
The Western Monroe Historical Society has supported the Morgan-Manning House for decades with fundraisers, dues paid by approximately 400 members, and donations from about 30 local business sponsors. Since the new board of trustees restored the home in 1965, under President Harry Sentiff, the subsequent boards have devoted volunteer time to preservation of the home and providing educational and entertaining programs and events. Local citizens who have provided leadership as board president since Harry Sentiff are: Betty Nibbelink, Wayne Dedman, Margaret Bush, Ann Terry, Ken Dickinson, Shirley Donaher, Jeanne Redman, Connie Drdek, Jean Warner, Tom and Mary Halpin, Dorris and Frank Clune, Bob Brooks, Ara Zulalian, Anne O’Toole, Tony Zappone, Gary Skoog, George Rich, Merritt Ackles, Mary Duryea, Tom Nesbitt, Kathy Goetz, Colleen Donaldson, and Fred Porter. The current president is Alicia Fink.
“The fiftieth anniversary of the Western Monroe Historical Society marks half a century of dedicated work by people from the community who believe in the historical worth of the Morgan-Manning House,” Fink said. “These community members have dedicated their time, their energy, their know-how, and their money to help restore and maintain this beautiful community jewel, an important part of the history of Brockport. We can only guess what the destiny of this beautiful house would have been without the volunteers who worked hard and invested money to organize the Western Monroe Historical Society. The subsequent volunteers who keep the House going year after year, with no financial support other than donations and fundraising activities, deserve the thanks of the community.”
For other information: www.morganmanninghouse.org.
*The paragraph on Doc Hiler is adapted from a WMHS July-August 1978 newsletter with an extensive eulogy upon his death July 3, 1978.
