MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP FORM – Click on link below to print off membership form
https://villageofcortland.com/wp-content/uploads/CORTLAND-MUSEUM-membership-form.pdf
The Museum is a 501 (c) (3). FREE admission – Donations appreciated!
Hours: We are open the first Saturday of the month from 9am-2pm or by appointment.
Please contact us at cortlandmuseum@yahoo.com or Sheila at 402-540-2579 or Donelle at 402-429-2480.
The Cortland Museum building was built in 1883 and started as an Oddfellows Hall and Modern Woodman of American Hall. It was also used as a boarding house for a short time.
In 1907 William & Martha Rohe bought the building and turned the bottom floor into living quarters and the top floor as spaces for businesses. The upstairs has been a Millinery Shop, Photo Studio, Paint and Wallpaper business, electric fan shop and the Isis Theatre. The Cortland Post Office was also located there for several years when the Rohe’s daughter, Emma, was the postmaster of Cortland.
The building belonged to the Rohe family until 1994, when Emma Rohe Burke Miller passed away. It was then bought by Lila and Norval Papke to be a museum and library, those were the wishes of Emma. The Cortland Museum opened in 2003. It had not been opened for several years when a group of citizens from the area purchased it to re-open it to the public and save the donated items that are in the museum. It re-opened in October of 2023.
Board members: Donelle Moormeier, Sheila Day, Pam Wollenberg and Susan Young opening the new Lila and Norval Papke Research/Library.
Emma Rohe when she lived in the house
The museum has information on the people, businesses, buildings, and military information of those that served from the community. Since re-opening, two more rooms have been opended to the public, the kitchen and the Library/Research room.
The Board of the Cortland Museum is:
President: Sheila Day
Vice President: Lindsey Oelling
Treasurer: Susan Young
Secretary: Donelle Moormeier
Board Members: Tim Young, Pam Wollenberg, and Steve Doolittle