By Rachel Riley
If you’ve never visited www.gouverneurmuseum.org now would be a good time to do it. The website is newly refurbished with highlights of tons of local history for everyone to enjoy. The museum itself has a multitude of things to see in person, which sparked the idea of Sylvia Lake website designer Shari Barnhart to showcase some of the many great artifacts online.
It started as an idea for a donation and grew from there. The Gouverneur Historical Society decided to hire Ms. Barnhart to give a much needed boost to the entire website’s contents. The website was first designed by a group of BOCES students almost 10 years ago and needed updating. It now contains over 300 pages of information and in-depth tour of each room in the museum.
“The BOCES students , while they did a great job with the website then, have long since graduated and no one knew the passwords anymore and the whole site was really kind of dated.”
Ms. Barnhart’s company, Rainbowtech Designs, has specialized in many area websites including the DeKalb Museum and the Chamber of Commerce.
“I had so much fun doing the Gouverneur Museum website,” she said. “It was much more collection-oriented and I wanted it to reflect the community. The under-lying theme is connecting the people that live in the community now to the artifacts that have roots with the residents.”
Of course, the legacy of Edward John Noble is a peak highlight. Did you know that E.J. Noble once owned Bolt Castle in Alexandria Bay? He also was hugely responsible for three hospitals built in the North Country; the Gouverneur hospital that bears his name, the former Canton Hospital that now houses doctor’s offices and labs, and the River Hospital in Alexandria Bay. To learn more about Edward John Noble, his influence in Gouverneur and why there is a giant Lifesavers statue in the park, visit the museum and it’s website.
“I was sort of disappointed when I was finished,” said Ms. Barnhart. “I could have just gone on and on. I bet anyone who grew up here would really enjoy it. It’s very cool what’s in the museum.”