Even if it weren't located so close to home, the Alice T. Miner Museum in Chazy would rank as a personal favorite.

The collection is eclectic, to say the least. Well-narrated guided tours always include items I've overlooked before. A visit now also offered the chance to see an unusual exhibit of Japanese wood block prints.

Assistant curator Stephanie Pfaff outlined a brief history of William and Alice Miner as our small group sat in the meeting room. William (1862-1930), born in Wisconsin, was orphaned by age 10 and sent to live with his uncle in Chazy. He worked hard on the farm that had been in his family for two generations but looked forward to the time when he could move away.

Initially, he thought he might seek employment in the mills of Lowell, Mass. Instead, he took a job in Indiana, then another in Minnesota. Combining on-the-job learning with formal course work, he thrived as a draftsman.

Upon moving to Chicago, Miner took on the challenges of railroad produce cars. He invented and patented a tandem spring draft gear that prevented cars from colliding. This success formed the foundation for his new company, W.H. Miner Inc., a firm still doing business today.

A STAFF OF 800

Alice Treanor likewise was orphaned as a child. Her family moved her from Ontario to Chicago, where she met Miner. They married in 1895.

In 1902, an infant son died after only two weeks. At about the same time, William's uncle had died, leaving him the Chazy farm. He planned to put the land up for sale but for some reason, perhaps the baby's death, he changed his mind. He and Alice moved east for the first of many summers in the North Country.

Miner sought to establish a state-of-the-art farming operation. Heart's Delight Farm grew to 15,000 acres, with more than 100 buildings and a staff of 800. He adopted the most modern advances. Cows in his barn enjoyed the benefits of electricity before the governor did in his Albany mansion.

The couple's generosity to the community began to take shape. William hired a Chicago architect to design the Chazy Central Rural School and Plattsburgh's newly planned Physicians Hospital. Alice began buying Christmas presents for Chazy's younger generation, keeping careful records so that she'd never give the same gift twice. And she worked to assemble a museum to enhance the area's cultural wealth.

To house the museum, she selected a stone structure built in 1810, with two more stories added in 1824 largely to house a Masonic Temple.

Also previously used as a general store and a casket maker's workshop, the Federal-style building was remodeled to simulate residential use. Opened as the Alice T. Miner Colonial Collection in 1924, it has been greeting visitors ever since.

TIME FOR QUESTIONS

During a one-hour guided tour, Stephanie sought to point out a few highlights in each room. She proved to be a relaxed guide, allowing time for questions as we noted other interesting items along the way.

We learned about artifacts with local origins, including Plattsburgh founder Zephaniah Platt's dining room table; his family Bible sits inside a 1705 wooden box.