Post History

History of American Legion Post 974 Whitney Point, NY

Built in 1897.......The Legion Hall on 119th Street was originally the home of a well-off WP man, Jesse Ames. The 1897 fire destroyed his impressive home at the same location. He hired G. W. Aldrich, a contractor from Norwich, to built a majestic home with brick in the summer of the same year. The house was expected to be done in six weeks. They did not rebuild from the old shell after the fire....it was an all new house. This was the same contractor that built the Reporter Building that also went up fast. By late August Jesse moved in as the final interior touches were being made. Jesse was a sucessful farmer of Upper Lisle on Ames's Hill. He kept the farm and helped out until his most final years. He died in Oct. 1908 at 88 years old. The brick house was his residence as well as often taking boarders in.

The WP Legion was founded Jan. 26, 1926 with 14 founders. The name George Riordan was in Memory of the man who was killed in France a few days before WWI ended. He lived on Owen Hill in Lisle.

In September 1945 the Legion voted to buy the Ames's house that was then owned by the Costello family for a cost not to exceed $6000. They wanted a place for WWII veteran’s coming back from the war's end. They removed partition’s, replaced the furnace and made general improvements.

Affiliated Organizations

A Women's Auxiliary of American Legion Post ____ was formed on _______. The Legion has every reason to be proud of it's Auxiliary. Auxiliary members are always anxious and willing to co-operate in every Legion activity.

A Sons of the Legion for American Legion Post ____ was formed on _______. The Legion has every reason to be proud of it's Sons of Legion unit, which gained statewide recognition because of it's programs of service.

Patriotic Days

MEMORIAL DAY has always been an outstanding occasion in this community. In addition to memorial events throughout the Whitney Point community, the goal of every Veteran to it's last man is to keep MEMORIAL DAY sacred to the memory of our war dead of all of the wars of the country; and all graves are decorated on this National Holiday.

ARMISTICE DAY, now called VETERANS' DAY, originally marked the end of fighting in World War I. It is an important holiday on the calendar of Legionnaires everywhere and in the hearts of all Veterans. An important tradition was established when the Post led in the memorial exercises at 11 o'clock on the morning of November 11, marking the exact hour of the cessation of hostility on the war fronts.

Registration Of Graves

Since it's inception American Legion Post 974 has been a leader in this community in the area of graves registration; which has been incorporated by all the American Legion Posts in Broome County. Grave Registration enables all interested parties to locate the site of the grave of each Veteran. Each year, active members place a flag on each Veteran's grave.

Scholarships and Community Projects

American LegionPost 974 sponsors various scholarships for the further education of our children. We also sponsor and financially assist many worthy community projects and programs initiated by the National American Legion.

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