Mary Anne Braunbach, president of the Cobblestone Society, Childs, has announced that the Cobblestone Society is the recipient of a substantial bequest from the estate of Abigail Van Wagenen, a former member of the society.

Originally the purpose of the Cobblestone Society was to acquire and preserve the rapidly deteriorating 1834 Cobblestone Church in Childs, the first cobblestone church built in North America. Since 1960, the museum has grown to eight major buildings, three of cobblestone. All reflect life in rural America's past.

The Van Wagenen bequest will be used by the society to help it fulfill its purposes of acquiring, preserving and disseminating information about cobblestone buildings and related topics from America's Cobblestone Era (1825-1860).