Madrid museum will feature ‘Hometown Heroes’ exhibit

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012

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MADRID – The Walker House Museum, 191 County Route 31, is celebrating the season’s end with its sixth annual Fall Fun Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Hometown Heroes Display, an exhibit honoring Medal of Honor recipients from St. Lawrence, Jefferson, and Lewis counties, will be on exhibition.

Madrid-Waddington resident and Civil War Veteran Brevet Major John T. Rutherford will be featured in the exhibit.

“He was one of our postmasters from Madrid, and a businessman who raised cattle from Scotland,” Historical Museum Secretary Carrie E. Rutherford said. “He went into the civil war in his 40s, after he already had his family. He believed in it so much. Almost immediately after he joined, he climbed up the ranks quickly because of his leadership skills.”

Maj. Rutherford received the Medal of Honor for a successful charge at Yellow Tavern, VA, May 11, 1894. The charge led to the capture of 90 prisoners. The Major was also recognized for his “gallant dash of a superior force of the enemy and in a personal encounter” and capturing his opponent on May 27, 1864, according to historical records.

“It’s a big thing to have the exhibit on display and to educate the public on some of the soldiers that fought for us and those that we may have forgotten,” she said.

For the children, the Madrid Historical Society will sponsor apple cider-making and corn shelling demonstrations. The Lisbon Central School Model Train Club will feature its train display. The Madrid Fire Department will also have a fire engine on hand.

Visitors can also tour the museum free of charge and handle antique farm equipment.

“Madrid used to have quite a few businesses in its heyday,” said Mrs. Rutherford. “We have a business section that visitors can tour. We also have pictures of the old school house, a wedding dress display and plenty of tools to demonstrate how things used to operate in homesteads and towns back in the 1800s, including an old woodshed and loom.”

Admission is free. For more information, contact Sara Schulz 322-0605 or Mrs. Rutherford at 322-4293.