Gift Shop; History Publications and Traditional Gifts

Our shop has many traditional gift items for sale but also included are local history publications, postcards, framed pictures and maps both framed and unframed.

Perinton-Fairport Trilogy

Read and see the history of this fascinating community in western New York. The Perinton Historical Society has published, through Arcadia Press, three pictorial books describing the village of Fairport and the town of Perinton in images and captions from 1859 to the present.
You can buy each book individually or buy the complete set of three for $50, a discount of almost $10 from the full retail price. Over 600 different pictures, total, of Fairport and Perinton are in these three publications.

All Three Books (see below for descriptions) - $50.00

NEW!--Fairport and Perinton: Then and Now

The trilogy concludes with a book that has vintage pictures, some over 100 years old, and pairs them with pictures of the same site or building taken today. This unique perspective shows changes over time in the community of Fairport and Perinton.

You will see the rehabilitation and reuse of factory and commercial buildings, residential houses, and one room school houses. There is a chapter on urban renewal where you will see the buildings in Fairport's central business district before and after the federal project in the 1970's.

Also included is a special chapter on the rebuilding of the Erie Canal from 1910 to 1918. See rare pictures of construction almost 100 years ago on the Erie Canal and the famous Main Street Lift Bridge sited in Ripley's Believe It or Not. Published by Arcadia Press in 2009.

96 pages, Then and Now Series - $21.99

Perinton and Fairport in the 20th Century

The second book emphasizes transportation, services, and people in Fairport and Perinton. There are chapters on the Rochester Syracuse and Eastern Electric Railroad which ran from 1906 to 1931 through the town of Perinton, trolley neighborhoods, water power and light, fire departments, sports, and inventors from the community.

There is a special chapter which shows how the village of Fairport looked before urban renewal destroyed over 40 buildings, some dating from the 1850's. Signed copies available at no extra charge. Published by Arcadia Press in 2004.

128 pages, Images of America Series - $19.99

Perinton, Fairport, and the Erie Canal

This is the first book in the trilogy. The book gives the reader a general look at the community of Fairport and Perinton. You'll see pictures of the Erie Canal which spurred the growth of Fairport beginning in 1825, early industries such as the DeLand Chemical Co. makers of saleratus, Cobb's Preserving and American Can makers of the solderless can, Certo pectin products, and Crystal Springs Water Company.

Communities within the town are described; the Town of Perinton, the Hamlets of Bushnell's Basin and Egypt, and the Villages of Fairport, Despatch and East Rochester.
A special chapter is included on the 1908 Old Home Week celebration in Fairport, a festival which swept through many communities in the Northeast United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Published by Arcadia Press in 2001.

128 Pages, Images of America Series - $18.99

Fairport Knick Knack Box

Wondering what to do with those small little objects that seem to accumulate in your pockets or on your desk? A Fairport Knick Knack box is an ideal place to put small items you just can't part with, jewelry, loose pocket change, paper clips, etc.

Made of American cherry wood this unique box has a laser carved image of a packet boat floating down the Erie Canal and the name Fairport N.Y. on the cover. Each box has a different grain pattern and is protected with a mat finish. The inside is lined with a black cushion in the bottom of the box and in the top of the cover. A unique Fairport gift item.

5.25” long x 4” wide x 1.5” high - $20.00

Go Green!! Waste Not Want Not: The Art of Make-Do
by Donald P. Naetzker

Reusing discarded items to save money and energy is not a new concept. People have been reusing items and making useful objects from scraps for centuries.

Don Naetzker, author and local Fairport antique dealer, illustrates some of these early American objects made from used and discarded objects. Pin cushions from lamp parts, a brace and bit from deer antler, basic ceramic repairs and more can be found in this generously illustrated book.

113 Pages Published in 1986 - $2.00.