In early May 1973, the heist of what The Warrensburg-Lake George News described as a collection of “valuable historical items” from the Richards Library on Elm Street in Warrensburg, NY, shocked local residents.
With the Bicentennial of the American Revolution (1775–1783) then only a couple of years away, the relics from the 18th and 19th centuries were highly prized.
The burglars got away with some notable artifacts. Among them was a Revolutionary War musket whose silver plate on the stock was inscribed: “Presented to Ensign Stephen Griffing, 4th Reg. by a Hessian soldier at Surrender of Gen. Burgoyne Oct. 17, 1777.”
Mrs. Lee F. Stockton and Marguerite Leland, two descendants of Stephen Griffing, donated the musket to the library in 1958. Stephen Griffing was born in 1754 and died in 1841. Griffing served five years in the military during the American Revolution. He was from Dutchess County, New York, but in 1800 he moved to the Adirondacks.
Also purloined was a second early muzzle-loading musket. Another antique stolen from the Richards Library was a Revolutionary War sword inscribed with the name Stephen Griffing. The robbers also carted off a carved powder horn from the American Revolution that depicted a naval scene with decorative motifs. The horn was reportedly etched with the name “Augustus Sounder’s.”
Furthermore, there was a Civil War (1861–1865) weapon that was taken. It was an officer’s sword with a straight blade and scabbard.
It was not reported in the news at the time if all the historic items were on loan to the library or were the property of the institution. The library’s leadership believed that professional thieves must have perpetrated the theft to fence the military antiques.
Two sisters, Clara Richards and Mary Richards Kellogg, started the library in a Warrensburg church in the late 1890s. In 1901, the present library was built. In 1911, an addition was constructed that housed the facility’s museum. The library burned in 1914, but was soon rebuilt.
Richards Library had a long history of exhibiting historical artifacts with local significance. In 1931, the athenaeum displayed two Revolutionary War artifacts on loan from Earl C. Austin. They reportedly were carried by Seneca Smith, Austin’s great grandfather.
One heirloom was a powder horn with etchings of vessels, other figures, and the date 1777. The other valuable object was a knife inscribed with the insignia of a New York regiment.
Following the 1973 overnight robbery, the library’s board of directors offered a $500 reward for information that would lead to the return of any of the relics.
Several weeks after the crime, the July 5, 1973 issue of The Warrensburg-Lake George News reported that the missing antiques had not been recovered. The break-in was a catalyst for the library directorate to seek funds to improve the facility’s storage.
Library officials valued the collection in 1973 at $2,000. To many, the pilfered property was priceless.
A version of this article first appeared on the Lake George Mirror, America’s oldest resort paper, covering Lake George and its surrounding environs. You can subscribe to the Mirror HERE.
Illustrations, from above: An old postcard of Richards Library, also known as “The Richards Free Library in Warrensburgh” (courtesy Warrensburgh Heritage Trail); A DAR document related to Stephen Griffing (courtesy DAR).
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