Skip to content
Wayne County Museum, Lyons, NY
Museums

Wayne County Museum

Local history museum in Lyons, New York, set in a former county jail and sheriff's residence with several floors of exhibits.

21 Butternut Street, Lyons, NY 14489 · Lyons, NY

About Wayne County Museum

The museum occupies a historic building that once served as the county sheriff's office, residence, and jail, a short walk from downtown Lyons and the Erie Canal. Visitors can see three floors of local history displays and a two-story carriage house. Exhibits include old jail cells, a military gallery called the Soldier's Gallery, and a glass and pottery room. A 2026 main exhibit explores Wayne County around the time the United States was forming, including the Haudenosaunee and early traders. The Wayne County Historical Society also runs offsite programs around the county.

  • #local history
  • #jail
  • #sheriff residence
  • #Erie Canal
  • #military history

What's around here?

The closest stops to Wayne County Museum, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums

    Foster Cottage Museum

    No admission fee

    Local history museum in Clifton Springs run by the Clifton Springs Historical Society, with free admission.

    10 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums

    Palmyra Historical Museum

    Under $25

    A restored 1800s canal-era hotel and saloon on Market Street, now part of Historic Palmyra's museum complex.

    12 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Seneca Lake State Park

    Under $25

    Lakeside state park at the north end of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region.

    14 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Beechwood State Park

    Check prices

    Walk mowed trails on an old Girl Scout camp above Lake Ontario, paddle Maxwell Creek and pitch a tent at a $15 first-come campsite.

    14 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Museums

    Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum

    Under $25

    A lighthouse museum run by the Sodus Bay Historical Society, telling the local history of the bay area on Lake Ontario.

    14 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Women's Rights National Historical Park

    No admission fee

    Visit the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, where the first women's rights convention met in 1848.

    15 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

Near Wayne County Museum

More of the same kind

Keep exploring