A historical photo of the area of the town line between North Harmony and Sherman, known as Little America, where a historical marker is set to be placed on April 6. Submitted photo

NORTH HARMONY — A historical marker is set to be placed on the town line between the towns of North Harmony and Sherman, a place known as Little America.

The marker is set to be placed at 7175 Sherman-Stedman Road on April 6 at 1 p.m. This area became known as Little America due to a snowstorm that happened in 1935 and 1936, according to the late North Harmony historian, Floyd Darrow, who documented the story of the place in “The History of the Town of North Harmony”, published in 1970. In the book, Darrow described the snowstorm as stranding snow plows a quarter mile east of the four corners and the same distance to the north. A rotary plow broke down about a half a mile to the west on the highway leading to Sherman and the men operating the plows had to stay three or four nights at the local gas station. The plow drivers came up with the Little America name, as it resembled the American base in Antarctica that was set up in 1928 as the headquarters for the polar explorations of Richard E. Byrd.

Current historian for the town of North Harmony, Pam Brown, said that funding for the historical marker is provided through the William G Pomeroy Foundation. The William G. Pomeroy Foundation is committed to supporting the celebration and preservation of community history and working to improve the probability of finding appropriate donor matches or other life-saving treatments for blood cancer patients. Established by Trustee Bill Pomeroy in 2005 to bring together his two greatest passions, the Pomeroy Foundation is a private, philanthropic organization located in Syracuse. As the nation’s leading funder of historical roadside markers, the Pomeroy Foundation has awarded more than 2,300 grants for markers and bronze plaques in 48 states and Washington, D.C. To learn more about the Pomeroy Foundation, visit wgpfoundation.org.

Brown said the Foundation offers six different categories of historical markers, all with specific qualifying requirements.

“The Little America marker is for ‘Legends and Lore’,” Brown said. “These markers are designed to promote cultural tourism and commemorate legends and folklore as part of our heritage, according to the website.”

Additionally, Brown said it is important for people to know that Little America is not only a unique part of the history of the North Harmony and Sherman area, but also recognized throughout the local area of the county. She said people should be interested in coming out to the unveiling of the marker at the beginning of April to learn more about it.

“People should be interested in attending the unveiling because, if they don’t already know, they will find out why it’s called Little America,” Brown said. “Experiences and memories associated with Little America will also be shared. There are many folks involved in our application process and we believe this is attributed to our success.”

No other historic markers are currently scheduled for the Harmony, North Harmony or Panama areas in the near future, but some applications are in the works. Brown thanked the William G Pomeroy Foundation for their generosity and funding the cost of the marker, also noting that this was a community effort.

The following people and organizations are involved with the project: the William G. Pomeroy Foundation provided the marker; Ron Moore of Findley Lake; Pam Brown, North Harmony historian; Annette Swan, Sherman historian; the Harmony Historical Society, the Sherman Historical Society; Darlene Robinson Barney who supplied photos and primary information; Cindy Sears of the Minerva Library; Wayne Miller who is permitting the marker to be placed on his property and Chester Byler for encouraging him to do so; Benny Karlson, North Harmony Highway Superintendent and the Highway Department staff for installing the marker and the many folks who shared their memories and stories. Brown also acknowledged the late Gloria J. Moore who encouraged Ron Moore to continue pursuing this project to completion.

For those interested in suggesting a marker for a significant person or place, Brown said to reach out to local historians.

“We recommend folks contact their municipal historian and/or their local historical society if they would like to suggest a marker for a significant person, place or event in their community,” Brown said. “The application process is thorough and takes a great deal of research and effort to be successful. For more information on the qualifying factors, please see the William G. Pomeroy Foundation Celebrate History page.”