CANTON - The St. Lawrence County Historical Association (SLCHA) is mailing the first issue of the 2015 Quarterly to members in February.

The magazine, first published in 1956, is devoted to writings about county history and people.

The quarterly has been reorganized, and new subscribers are invited to join the SLCHA, one of the few county historical associations to include magazine subscription with membership, officials said

The February issue will include “Postcards of Main Street,” a continuing series of early 20th century photos of St. Lawrence County villages. The issue also describes the only octagonal house remaining in the county, the Buck-Stevens house in Brasher Falls, built ca. 1855 and restored in 1976. The shape was considered by the designer to be the best for family living.

Another story entitled “‘Adirondack Murray’—The Congregational Minister Comes to Potsdam,” is about the 34 year-old Rev. William Henry Harrison Murray who published a best-selling 1869 Adirondack travel book. He resigned as rector of the prestigious Park Street Congregational Church in Boston, Mass., just two months before the January 1875 lecture at Potsdam’s Normal School Hall. Murray’s interests in secular pursuits had not endeared him to conservative members of his Boston congregation. He is credited, however, with the expansion of Adirondack tourism in the aftermath of the Civil War.

The February issue will also include a letter from Private John Redington (1837-1905) to his family in Ogdensburg. It describes in rich detail the defeat of the Union army during the First Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War. Redington went on to form a company and lead it as an officer in the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg.

The SLCHA Quarterly is available for purchase individually or by subscription as a benefit of membership in the Historical Association. SLCHA annual memberships begin at $30 for individuals and $25 for seniors and students. All memberships include four issues of the quarterly. Info: 386-8133; info@slcha.org or visit www.slcha.org, and look under “information-membership” to download the membership form. Back issues of the Quarterly can also be purchased at the Association’s headquarters in the Silas Wright House in Canton.