The Cattaraugus County Museum and Research Library is pleased to announce that there are new displays in place for public viewing.

Our primary exhibit is "Remembering the Presbyterian Church of Franklinville."The Franklinville Presbyterian Church, before it closed its doors for good a few months ago, donated several items of historic interest to the Cattaraugus County Museum and the Ischua Valley Historical Society. Some of these items include documents dating to the building of the original First Presbyterian Church on Main Street in 1832, the church's first communion set dating to 1829 and a coal foot warmer. We wanted to feature these items, and others, in a display commemorating the two centuries of history of the Presbyterian church - actually three churches - in Franklinville.

In a related display, the museum is for the first time exhibiting its collection of historic Bibles. These include a Methodist circuit rider Bible from 1844, a family Bible from 1790 and an 1857 Welsh Bible from Farmersville, among several others.

Finally, the museum is pleased to host large pioneer loomon loan from the Leon Historical Society. The loom, which measures about six feet tall, is constructed of hand-hewn timbers and likely dates from the middle of the 19th century.

The Cattaraugus County Museum is located in the Stone House, 9824 Route 16 in Machias. Our hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. We have additional hours on the third Saturday of the month, May through October, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission to the museum is free. For more information, call (716) 353-8200 or visit cattco.org/museum.