The Afton Historical Society Works to Preserve American History

The Afton Museum might be a small venue but the history to which it is dedicated to preserving is an important part of the history of the United States as a whole. The small New York town was home to one of the world’s most famous religious figures whose legacy lives on to this day.

Afton, New York was, for a time, the home of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter Day Saints and the religious movement known as Mormonism. This was the city in which he began to author the Mormon Bible, guided by “visions” he claimed to have had. From these humble beginnings he founded the church which eventually engaged in a pilgrimage westward, establishing Salt Lake City in Utah and becoming a large religious and political force in the American West.

Relics from the age of Smith are held at the Afton Historical Society’s Afton Museum, which is open seasonally. The Historical Society also engages in many community activities that are fun for the whole family and is available to open the museum on appointment with interested visitors to this historic town.