Penfield Homestead Museum — Attraction in Town of Crown Point

The Penfield Museum is an excellent history museum located in the hamlet of Ironville, NY. The museum displays several historic buildings and is also home to some nice nature trails. It was at this site in 1829 that the electromagnet was invented by Joseph Henry. This marks the first use of electricity for commercial purposes. In the early 1800’s this site was home to dozens of different buildings involved in the iron industry. Allen Penfield ran nearly all of the iron industry in this area and built his home here. The Penfield home at the museum is well maintained and has nice displays about life in the home since it was first built. Rooms in the house have interesting exhibits and furnishings that tell the stories of various generations of Penfields who lived in the home. There are also nice exhibits about life in the region. War uniforms and artifacts from local veterans are on display as well. Farming tools and household appliances going back over a 100 years can also be seen. A replica of the electromagnet that Joseph Henry invented can be seen in the house. If you take a tour of the entire property you can see the Penfield Church which was built in 1842. The barns in the back of the property have farm equipment. The most interesting display in the barns is a Ford Model-T. The museum has also acquired a building from the former Frontier Town amusement park called the Pioneer Forge. The building features a large trip hammer powered by a water wheel. There are some short nature trails here located behind the church. Only a few hundred yards from the museum there are also trails that go along the other side of the pond from the museum and feature the remnants of the old buildings that were once here. The Penfield Museum is an excellent small museum that demonstrates the major impact of the Ironville region. It’s hard to find a museum that offers so much for a low admission price. Check the museum’s website or call ahead for hours. A tour can be about one to two hours in length. Take the opportunity to visit...

Not open yet, but the grounds, trails, and pond are open. Self guided tour in historic ironville along Putnam creek. Ice fishing on the pond for pike, snow shoeing trails in winter. Museum, when open is small and very enjoyable. Great 2-4...

We stand on the shoulders of giants. Visit the Penfield Museum to learn how applying the ideas of Joseph Henry, one of those giants, resulted in the first industrial use of electric current. The unit for inductance, the Henry, honors his...