“Out of the Ashes” is the theme of the Western Monroe Historical Society’s 50th anniversary in 2015. On Wednesday, February 11, Gary Skoog and Anne O’Toole will present a brief history of how the Morgan-Manning House was restored after fire damage and how the historical society was formed. A slide presentation and distributed literature are included in the program sponsored by the WMHS. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Victorian home located at 151 Main Street, Brockport. Free refreshments will be served.
In 1964, a fire severely damaged the home and caused the death of 96-year-old Sara Manning, the sole remaining member of the family that had lived there for 100 years. Volunteers who restored the home formed the Western Monroe Historical Society, after winning out over competing forces for the property on the northeast corner of Main and South Streets. O’Toole and Skoog, the 15th and 17th presidents of WMHS, respectively, will give the backgrounds and personalities involved in the struggle to own the property.
“It is the people who worked to restore the Morgan Manning House and to create the Western Monroe Historical Society that make the story most interesting,” Skoog said. “The variety of backgrounds including professors, housewives, local business owners, school teachers, historians, preservationists, skilled craftsmen, lawyers, farmers, and industrialists, provide a sampling of the mix of folks who came together to build this organization which has matured to middle adulthood with plans for the next fifty years and beyond.” O’Toole added, “These pioneers could see the value of saving this architectural gem by forming the Western Monroe Historical Society in 1965. We want to celebrate these ambitious and dedicated citizens who saw the long term value to the community of the stately mansion and the organization that would preserve it.”
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