The 1890 House Museum

The 1890 House Museum is a historic house museum in Cortland that tells the story of the Wickwire family and the home they lived in. Marian Wickwire O’Connor, the last Wickwire to live there, died at home in 1973, and the house passed from private residence to public landmark soon after.

After the family’s remaining belongings were cataloged and sold at auction, a group of Cortland County leaders, including members of the Wickwire family, campaigned to secure the house, and it became a museum in 1975. It anchors the Historic Tompkins Street District’s 1974 entry on the National Register of Historic Places.

What to Know

• The house was the Wickwire family residence.
• It opened as a museum in 1975 after local leaders, including Wickwire family members, secured it.
• It anchored the Historic Tompkins Street District’s National Register entry in 1974.
• The state granted its charter as a historic house museum in 1984.
• The museum is a member of the Cortland Area Chamber of Commerce and is featured by Experience Cortland.