Charles Dawson History Center

Charles Dawson was a Harrison High School art teacher who devoted himself after retirement to preserving Harrison’s history. He founded the Harrison History Preservation Board in 1971 and in 1980, Dawson set up a center in the local library. Upon his death, his large collection was sorted and cataloged to a new center, named in his honor. [1] A great deal of information provided in this tour is from this center. More than forty years after Dawson’s death, volunteers are still going through his collection.

Current Historian, Greg Ricci, can show you the various artifacts he has collected, and prepared from past historians, like stone arrowheads, maps, plaques and business signs.

[1] Historian. harrisonny. (n.d.). https://www.harrison-ny.gov/historian

If you are truly interested in the history of this town, you will make an appointment to visit the Charles Dawson History Center. Dedicated to past historian, Charles Dawson in 1981, there is so much to see and read in this center. Over three hundred years of newspaper articles about the residents and the town give a solid picture of what was like through the decades.