Amaris Elliott-Engel / The Citizen
Reid Silverman / The Citizen
Auburn natives Edith and Bill Drennen take some time away from their tour to read the translation of the "Firman of the Sultan of Turkey" that is addressed to Seward in the upstairs hallway. This was Drennen's third time taking a tour of the museum.
AUBURN - While all visitors to the Seward House during its 50th year are welcome, the Auburn museum is especially looking for a visitor from North Dakota.
The memorial to Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State, New York governor and senator William H. Seward has been viewed by 10,950 guests from 49 states - all but North Dakota. Last year, the museum welcomed its first South Dakota visitor. And now, the museum's staff of five and volunteer core of 50 are looking to the north.
It could happen. Executive director Peter Wisbey said the museum is poised to attract even more visitors than last year's record attendance, because of several special events in 2005 commemorating the museum's five golden decades.
"I've been walking by here for about 50 years, and it's the first time I've been here," said Joe Donofrio, of Throop, during a visit to the Seward House this week. Sondra Donofrio said her husband decided Wednesday - even though he had the flu - was the day to finally walk in, instead of walk by, the Seward House.
The most interesting thing the Donofrios learned during their visit was that Auburn streets like William and Janet were named after Seward family members.
Wisbey said there are many area residents like the Donofrios who don't know much more about the progressive politician beyond his purchase of Alaska for the United States in the 1860s, which spawned the description "Seward's Folly."
Seward was a man who advocated for prison reform, abolition and social justice. He helped to form the Republican Party as a U.S. Senator and worked to introduce California into the Union as a free state.
He helped Harriet Tubman settle in Auburn, and his home was a station on the Underground Railroad. Seward was also stabbed in his Washington home on the same night Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth.
Seward lived in the South Street house until his death in 1872. The house was passed down to his son, Civil War general William Seward, Jr., and then to grandson William Seward III, a lawyer and banker.
Seward III died in 1951 and left the house and its contents to be used as a memorial museum. The museum officially opened in October 1955.
The Seward House's 50th anniversary celebration will include an Alaska cruise with museum staff in July and free admission for people with variations of Seward family first names on March 30, Alaska's public holiday commemorating Seward's purchase of the state from Russia.
Museum staff will also reenact the pageantry of Seward's 1872 Victorian-era funeral in October.
Because of a thorough scrapbook full of memorial notices and numerous photographs, museum staff know the exact route mourners took through the house, know the shape of flower arrangements, and even the position of Seward's corpse.
The museum will also have a spring opening of a special exhibit in the back of the house representing Seward's interest in the American West and frontier. Numerous curios Seward brought back from trips to California, Alaska, Mexico and a 14-month world tour will be included in the exhibit. Many items in the exhibit have been off display for several years and will include one of the golden spikes used in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.
And the staff at the house is always looking for more information.
"We meet a lot of people ... whose parents, relatives, had some kind of relationship with the Seward family. They might have worked in the house or worked in the Seward Bank," Wisbey said.
During his visit Wednesday, Auburn resident Bill Drennen, 85, recalled his days as a fresh-faced, 18-year-old graduate of the Auburn Business School who started as a gopher at the Seward Bank.
He was scolded by William Seward III for whistling while filling ink wells and emptying the garbage bins, and that prompted Drennen to quit the bank.
Ironically, researchers know more about the house's past than its more recent history, thanks to the comprehensive Seward papers.
"We don't have a lot of information about how the house functioned in the 20th century," Wisbey said.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
The memorial to Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State, New York governor and senator William H. Seward has been viewed by 10,950 guests from 49 states - all but North Dakota. Last year, the museum welcomed its first South Dakota visitor. And now, the museum's staff of five and volunteer core of 50 are looking to the north.
It could happen. Executive director Peter Wisbey said the museum is poised to attract even more visitors than last year's record attendance, because of several special events in 2005 commemorating the museum's five golden decades.
"I've been walking by here for about 50 years, and it's the first time I've been here," said Joe Donofrio, of Throop, during a visit to the Seward House this week. Sondra Donofrio said her husband decided Wednesday - even though he had the flu - was the day to finally walk in, instead of walk by, the Seward House.
The most interesting thing the Donofrios learned during their visit was that Auburn streets like William and Janet were named after Seward family members.
Wisbey said there are many area residents like the Donofrios who don't know much more about the progressive politician beyond his purchase of Alaska for the United States in the 1860s, which spawned the description "Seward's Folly."
Seward was a man who advocated for prison reform, abolition and social justice. He helped to form the Republican Party as a U.S. Senator and worked to introduce California into the Union as a free state.
He helped Harriet Tubman settle in Auburn, and his home was a station on the Underground Railroad. Seward was also stabbed in his Washington home on the same night Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth.
Seward lived in the South Street house until his death in 1872. The house was passed down to his son, Civil War general William Seward, Jr., and then to grandson William Seward III, a lawyer and banker.
Seward III died in 1951 and left the house and its contents to be used as a memorial museum. The museum officially opened in October 1955.
The Seward House's 50th anniversary celebration will include an Alaska cruise with museum staff in July and free admission for people with variations of Seward family first names on March 30, Alaska's public holiday commemorating Seward's purchase of the state from Russia.
Museum staff will also reenact the pageantry of Seward's 1872 Victorian-era funeral in October.
Because of a thorough scrapbook full of memorial notices and numerous photographs, museum staff know the exact route mourners took through the house, know the shape of flower arrangements, and even the position of Seward's corpse.
The museum will also have a spring opening of a special exhibit in the back of the house representing Seward's interest in the American West and frontier. Numerous curios Seward brought back from trips to California, Alaska, Mexico and a 14-month world tour will be included in the exhibit. Many items in the exhibit have been off display for several years and will include one of the golden spikes used in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.
And the staff at the house is always looking for more information.
"We meet a lot of people ... whose parents, relatives, had some kind of relationship with the Seward family. They might have worked in the house or worked in the Seward Bank," Wisbey said.
During his visit Wednesday, Auburn resident Bill Drennen, 85, recalled his days as a fresh-faced, 18-year-old graduate of the Auburn Business School who started as a gopher at the Seward Bank.
He was scolded by William Seward III for whistling while filling ink wells and emptying the garbage bins, and that prompted Drennen to quit the bank.
Ironically, researchers know more about the house's past than its more recent history, thanks to the comprehensive Seward papers.
"We don't have a lot of information about how the house functioned in the 20th century," Wisbey said.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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