The village of Fayetteville is located in the town of Manlius, which is an eastern suburb of Syracuse in Onondaga County. The village is named after the Marquis de Lafayette, who was considered a national hero in both the United States and France. Throughout the history of Fayetteville, waterways have been important for the village's economy. Limestone Creek and the man-made Ledyard Dyke served as power sources for mills. The Erie Canal, which passes just north of the village, also had an important impact on the development of Fayetteville by tying the region into a larger regional economy. Fayetteville was the site of Stickley furniture company's original factory--a building which currently serves as the home of the Fayetteville Free Library, as well as the Stickley Museum.

Helen E. Davis, known to one and all as Betty, was born in Fayetteville and lived there for all of her 75 years. Her home was at 210 South Manlius Street, near the center of the village. She worked as a crossing guard at the Salt Spring, and Manlius Streets intersections in Fayetteville. Betty also was interested in the history of her community. For several years she researched and wrote an occasional column for the Eagle Bulletin called Sidelights on History. Many of her columns were based on her own recollections. Betty was also a collector, particularly of postcards. Her collection focused on the villages in the immediate vicinity, including Fayetteville, Manlius, Minoa, and Chittenango. She was also interested in the local canals and octagon houses. At her death her postcard collection contained several thousand items, all gleaned from house sales, flea markets, and exchanges with other collectors. Betty was married to Byron Davis and had six children. After her death in 1989 her daughter Deborah, with the assistance of her husband, scanned Betty's postcards of Fayetteville and donated the disk to the Fayetteville Library. The images have been printed, indexed, and annotated for the use of the community and as a memorial tribute to Betty. She is buried in Fayetteville Cemetery.

The Fay Scrapbooks were assembled by Julie Fay, daughter of William Fay. William Fay was a pioneer radio broadcaster and executive. He became President of the WHAM radio network of Rochester, New York during the mid-20th century and under his leadership WHAM won several awards for excellence and public service.

Maurice Farrington (1837-1914) was a Delhi, NY businessman and photographer. His son Frank (1872-1955) ran Farrington’s Drug Store in Delhi and later became the author of several publications and numerous articles related to business practices.

The Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society was founded in 1964. It established a permanent collection of historical materials that includes but is not limited to documents, artifacts, memorabilia, maps, and books that cover the history of the town of Farmingdale.

Farmingdale became an incorporated village in 1904. The Farmingdale Public Library has been a staple of the town since 1923 and since then, has done its best to collect and preserve the history of the town. Since 1904, Farmingdale as a town has seen many changes and not all are documented in print form that are available to the public.

The Farmingdale Free Library was founded in 1923. It has served as a cultural, recreational, and educational institute since then.

Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. The first European settler in the area was Thomas Powell, who arrived in 1687. On October 18, 1695, he purchased a 15-square-mile tract of land from three Native American tribes. This is known as the Bethpage Purchase and includes what is now Farmingdale, as well as Bethpage, Melville, North Massapequa, Old Bethpage, Plainedge, and Plainview. When the LIRR started service to the area in October 1841,it used the name Farmingdale for its latest stop, here, on the line it was building to Greenport. Stagecoaches took people from the Farmingdale station to Islip, Babylon, Patchogue, Oyster Bay South, and West Neck (Huntington area). In 1886 a fire department was organized. The Village of Farmingdale was incorporated in 1904. In 1912, the State Agricultural and Technical school was established. Later, Farmingdale became a locus for the aircraft industry, notably Republic Aviation Company.

Schoharie County was originally part of Albany county during the eighteenth century. During the Revolutionary War, the county had both families who were Loyalists and families who were Patriots. Many Loyalist families fled to Canada during the war. After the war ended and treaties were signed, Albany County broke off into smaller counties.

This collection encourages local families to share their family photographs with the larger community.