The Alexandria Township Historical Society's museum in the old Cornwall Brothers store on Market Street in Alexandria Bay is closed until further notice.

Severe thunderstorms Wednesday night ripped the roof off the historic landmark.

"We had seen a roof fly off the building from the downstairs. We weren't even sure whose it was," said Cornwall Brothers Store and Museum manager Julie Hunter, who was waiting out the storm on the first floor of the museum along with her mother. "Then, when we felt the draft and we went back upstairs and saw the daylight, it was just unbelievable."

"I am still in shock," said Martha Grimes, Secretary of the Alexandria Township Historical Society.

"I see that we have a long road ahead of us," she said.

For now, everyone is just glad that things are not worse. None of artifacts in the museum's collection were damaged by the storm.

That's thanks, in large part, to 40 or 50 volunteers who jumped into action to move items out of harms way.

"People that were out on the streets, in the shops, in the grocery store, anyone who was out and around, we just said, 'Hey, come help!' And they dropped what they were doing and came down," Hunter said.

And for that, the historical society is extremely grateful.

"There's quite a bit of material inside, and the welfare of it--it's irreplaceable," Hunter said.

The museum's collection of historical items (which includes documents, maps, photographs, antique furniture, clothing, and skiffs donated by or on loan from community members) is worth a couple million dollars at least, according to Hunter.

But, while the artifacts were spared, the nearly 150 year old building housing them was not.

When the roof blew off the building, it took quite a bit of the building with it.

"There's no wood there. There's nothing. The framework is pretty much still there, but the planks--everything is laying in the yard next door," Hunter said.

Architect Stephen Yaussi described the damage as "extensive".

"The whole membrane roof is gone, and a substantial part of the roof deck is gone," Yaussi said. "There's some masonry damage at the top; the chimney is partially blown off; there's been some compromising movement in the exterior masonry walls that needs to be stabilized."

A temporary roof will be installed as soon as possible to stabilize the area and keep the elements out. But that's just a Band-Aid type of solution on a serious problem.
 
At the very least, the roof, a few windows, and the water-damaged flooring on the second story will need to be replaced. All must be done following the specifications required for construction on a historic landmark.

The historical society will not know how much the repairs will cost until at least Friday morning, when an insurance adjuster is expected to come and assess the damage.

There is no doubt, however, that restoring the Cornwall Building will be expensive.

"We do have a grant at this time that was devoted to the restoration and replacement of the windows," Grimes said. "Now we're looking at a much larger picture, and we'll see what type of assistance we can get to complete the whole project now."

The historical society is counting on the community to get the Cornwall Brothers Store and Museum back up and running.

They'll need help putting the museum back together down the road. Right now, they're looking for any help they can get to pay for the repairs to the building.

"I'm sure we'll pull together and do what we have to do to make it work," Hunter said.

If you would like to make a donation to help restore the Cornwall Brothers Store and Museum, the Alexandria Township Historical Society is asking that you send a check, payable to "ATHS" to P.O. Box 695, Alexandria Bay, NY, 13607. Community members can also support the historical society by becoming members.