Jordan Historical Society

There was a time, not so long ago, when the stories of Jordan were still being told firsthand—shared on front porches, passed across kitchen tables, and remembered by those who had lived them.

In the early 1950s, Mrs. Jessica Bramlet recognized how quickly those moments could fade.  With quiet determination, she began gathering the pieces of Jordan and the surrounding areas past—photographs, documents, and cherished keepsakes—given by neighbors who understood the importance of remembering.  From those humble beginnings, the Jordan Historical Society was born.

Much of what fills our museum today came from those early gifts—items once held in family homes, now preserved so their stories would not be lost to time.  

Today, we walk in Mrs. Bramley's footsteps.  

Our volunteers continue her work with the same care and devotion—saving the history of Jordan not just in objects, but in the memories and spirit they carry.  Each item tells a story.  Each story brings us closer to the people who built this community.

Our main museum, located in the Horace W. Whiteley Community Center at 15 Mechanic Street, welcomes visitors into that shared past.  Within those walls, alongside the Jordan Bramley Library, the echoes of earlier days are never far away.

And along the old canal route, our mini museum stands in the original Enlarged Erie Canal lock tender's house originally operated at Lock #51.  There, you can almost imagine the sound of water moving through the lock, the steady work of the tender, and the life that once flowed through Jordan when the canal was its heartbeat.

Both museums are open and always free—because these stories belong to everyone.

Whether you come on your own or with others, for a guided tour or to quietly take it all in, you are stepping into something larger than yourself—a living connection to Jordan's past.

And in doing so, you help ensure those memories are never forgotten.