Genesee Valley Heritage

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Genesee Valley Heritage Morris
🏛️We're not the museum in Geneseo, that's the historical society!💕

✨Official account of the Livingston County Historian's Office, in the Genesee River Valley, NY✨
📜Collecting & sharing historical photos & stories from the county archive in Mt.

😋You could buy “just about anything except a frown” at the York Landing Country Market in 1985, according to a newspaper...
10/02/2026

😋You could buy “just about anything except a frown” at the York Landing Country Market in 1985, according to a newspaper article.
🍩York Landing overflowed with pastries, groceries, crafts, and everyday items. It became a beloved gathering place, owned and staffed by over 20 local stockholders as a co-op.
🧱The brick building, still called York Landing today by many locals, was constructed around the late 1820s. Its twin, locally known as the “bank building,” is just across Main Street. The bank was once a matching two-story building, but was altered in the 1910s.
💰Both brick structures were home to a variety of businesses over the years and made for a bustling York Centre. The bank was, of course, a bank, as well as a hardware store, machine factory, barbershop, and antiques store. Now, after extensive repairs, it’s home to York Common Grounds shop and the York Town Historian’s Office.
🍕The York Landing building has had just as many lives selling groceries, dry goods, hardware, sporting equipment, and pizza.
🎇The brick store in York has been at the center of it all for generations. Currently, the building awaits its next adventure.
🤔Do you wonder about a building in your neighborhood and its stories? The Livingston County Historian’s Office is here to help all researchers with all questions by phone, email, and in person. Contact info and more resources are at link in bio.
➕Follow this page for more historical info and photos straight from the archives!
📷West side of Main St., looking south, 1963

🗺️The elusive Liberty Pole itself was recently found on a map from 1852, helping document this enduring spot in Springwa...
09/25/2026

🗺️The elusive Liberty Pole itself was recently found on a map from 1852, helping document this enduring spot in Springwater.

📍Look at the hand-drawn map—can you find the little flagpole at the crossroads?

🚩Legend has it that just after the War of 1812, a substantial flagpole was raised on a small triangular piece of land in the intersection of Liberty Pole Rd. and Carney Rd. The landmark eventually gave the area its name, Liberty Pole.

🦅The origins of the “liberty pole” symbol trace all the way back to Julius Caesar’s death, and many depictions throughout history include a hat or cap on the top of a pole. In America, liberty poles were symbols of resistance against Britain before and during the Revolutionary War, persisting afterward as a symbol of freedom.

🛣️According to local accounts, the stub of the Springwater flagpole was visible into the 20th century, finally disappearing when the roads were widened and paved over.

👻…Or did it? Highway workers say they have contended for years with an old wooden post that kept emerging through the blacktop in the southeast angle of the intersection. This summer, more permanent improvements have again hidden the wooden stub, but the County Historian's Office has documented the oddity in the road through photos and stories to preserve its history.

🪵While it's hard to say for sure, perhaps it’s the liberty pole itself!
➕Follow this page for historical info and photos straight from the archives!
🙋As always, the Livingston County Historian’s Office is here to help all researchers with all questions by phone, email, and in person. Contact info and more resources are at link in bio.

📷: Old 1852 survey map showing the Liberty Pole from County Historian’s Office and August 2025 image of the wooden post in the road from Google Street View.

🪦Why do the gravestones only have numbers? Who are the people buried here, and why did they live at the County Poorhouse...
09/21/2026

🪦Why do the gravestones only have numbers? Who are the people buried here, and why did they live at the County Poorhouse?

🌠These questions and more will be explored at two upcoming on-the-ground tours, “Demystifying the County Poorhouse,” led by County Historian Holly Watson. These tours are held during the Haunted Harvest Fall Festival at the Three Bricks.

💐Poorhouses can have a complex history, but historical records can help us understand the evolution of care at these institutions and dignify the poorhouse residents so they are not forgotten.

📍Meet at Scent and Stone, 4550 Millennium Dr, Geneseo
🕰 Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, both at 2pm
✅Free and open to all
🥾 Includes a short walk across slightly uneven lawn to visit the cemetery
➕Follow this page for historical info and photos straight from the archives!
🙋As always, the Livingston County Historian’s Office is here to help all researchers with all questions by phone, email, and in person. Contact info and more resources are at link in bio.

📷The Old Poorhouse Cemetery behind the Three Bricks, Geneseo.

🏨William Pryor Letchworth’s last large project was to help establish Craig Colony for Epileptics at Sonyea, a colony-sty...
09/14/2026

🏨William Pryor Letchworth’s last large project was to help establish Craig Colony for Epileptics at Sonyea, a colony-style hospital for people with epilepsy.

🌠Explore Letchworth's role in establishing the institution and how it evolved over the next nine decades at an upcoming presentation. There will be images of life at Craig Colony and some reflections on how we can continue Letchworth's legacy of advocacy.

🌲“Craig Colony: Letchworth's Influence and a Journey of Change,” presented by County Historian Holly Watson.
📍Wadsworth Library, Geneseo
🕰 Sept. 21 at 5:30pm
✅Free and open to all
📷W.P. Letchworth and a postcard of Craig Colony at Sonyea.

➕Follow this page for historical info and photos straight from the archives!

🙋As always, the Livingston County Historian’s Office is here to help all researchers with all questions by phone, email, and in person. Contact info and more resources are at link in bio.

🎯 Camp Conesus was once at Pebble Beach, and the County Historian’s Office has pinpointed its location!⛺ The camp was at...
09/11/2026

🎯 Camp Conesus was once at Pebble Beach, and the County Historian’s Office has pinpointed its location!

⛺ The camp was at the north end of Conesus Lake, 0.1 mile south of the creek that passes under Pebble Beach Road. Although there are now cottages along the shore, long-ago campers ate at a mess hall, crafted in a lodge, and spent nights in a tent village.

🥾 Camp Conesus was a summer camp on the lake operated from 1928-1938 by the Rochester Jewish Young Men’s & Women’s Association (JYMWA) with sessions for boys and girls. Kids attending the camp hiked, canoed, explored, played sports, made crafts, and of course listened to stories around the campfire.

🚣 Enrollment grew to capacity by 1938, so the JYMWA left the 9-acre Conesus Lake property for a larger site. The organization opened its Camp Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes in 1939, which has been going strong ever since.

🌠 In 1995, a former camper remembered her time at Camp Conesus 60 years before. She said, “We came with 21-inch suitcases, a small blanket roll, and a white enamel pan in which we washed our clothes. …The song contests and simple stage productions featuring crepe paper costumes were the highlights. As I look back on those summers, I realize their magic.”

📜 The County Historian’s Office is looking for any additional photos or memories about Camp Conesus to enrich our local archives. So is Camp Seneca Lake--for their 100-year anniversary next year, they're collecting information dating back to Camp Conesus days.

📷: Campers and counselors at Camp Conesus, 1930s. Photo and 1995 quote from the Jewish Ledger (Rochester), Sept. 7, 1995.

➕Follow this page for more historical info and photos straight from the archives!

🙋As always, the Livingston County Historian’s Office is here to help all researchers with all questions by phone, email, and in person. Contact info and more resources can be found at livingstoncountyny.gov/162/county-historian.

🍎“Back to school” can be a season, a feeling, a memory. Some might even remember summer ending at a one-room schoolhouse...
09/08/2026

🍎“Back to school” can be a season, a feeling, a memory. Some might even remember summer ending at a one-room schoolhouse like Ossian District #7.

🚌In Ossian, nearby kids went to the Linzy Road school until 1954. When it closed, students were bussed to Dansville Central School. Across the region, central schools became the norm around the WWII era and one-room schools were converted to other uses or demolished.

📚In a one-room school, kids in 1st through 8th grade learned together, the older students helping younger ones. Especially in the 1800s, most stopped after 8th grade. Some students continued with high school and college, depending on their family’s resources. When public high schools became available, more children completed all 12 grades.

🏫The District #7 schoolhouse is the last intact one-room school in Ossian. The Ossian Historical Society and Ossian town historian have been raising awareness about the building and the repairs are nearly complete. The 171-year-old schoolhouse holds vivid memories for generations of Ossian residents and can teach us about the significant changes in our education system in the past century.

🙋Curious about local one-room schools and their stories? All questions about people, places, and events in Livingston County are welcomed by the County Historian’s Office at livingstoncountyny.gov/162/County-Historian.

Photo: The Ossian District #7 schoolhouse in 1947 and 2024

🎣Sara J. McBride was a Mumford native and grew up exploring Spring Creek and tying flies with her father in the 1860s. S...
09/03/2026

🎣Sara J. McBride was a Mumford native and grew up exploring Spring Creek and tying flies with her father in the 1860s. She became one of the first Americans to link entomology with fly tying, publishing on the concept of “match the hatch” almost 100 years before it became widely popularized.

🌠An upcoming presentation by County Historian Holly Watson will explore early fly tying in the Genesee Valley, McBride's mysterious life and newly discovered tragic final chapter, and her contributions to the fields of entomology and angling.

📍Caledonia Library
🕰Sept. 10, 2026, 5:30-6:30pm
✅Free and open to all, geared toward ages 13 and up.

➕Follow this page for historical info and photos straight from the archives!

🙋As always, the Livingston County Historian’s Office is here to help all researchers with all questions by phone, email, and in person. Contact info and more resources can be found at livingstoncountyny.gov/162/county-historian.

📷Salmon fly design by McBride, courtesy of the American Museum of Fly Fishing, Manchester, VT. Historical image representative of a woman fishing, unfortunately not a portrait of McBride.

🎧Experience Genesee Valley history like never before with the new Audio-Video online collection! 🧑‍💻Through the Livingst...
09/02/2026

🎧Experience Genesee Valley history like never before with the new Audio-Video online collection!

🧑‍💻Through the Livingston County Historian’s digital collections, catch silent glimpses of downtown Avon and Letchworth State Park from the 1950s. Listen to memories of West Sparta, Caledonia, and Groveland elders. Even watch Livingston County sheriff’s deputies take on the Buffalo Bills for a basketball game in 1991!

💻To browse, visit the Digital Collections from the link in our bio. Or search for specific names or subjects in our Online Records Index and Catalog. Certain entries now include a link to “View Original.”

🙋Remember: Even if a given resource isn’t online yet, you can still request it from the Historian’s Office. Staff are here to help all researchers with all questions.

Photo: Former County Historian Marie C. Preston interviewing Byron and Caroline Woodruff of Avon

Did you know that a Revolutionary War veteran buried near Scottsburg helped spark the creation of the U.S. Constitution?...
08/30/2026

Did you know that a Revolutionary War veteran buried near Scottsburg helped spark the creation of the U.S. Constitution?

🧑‍🌾On August 29, 1786, frustrated farmers – many of them Revolutionary War veterans- protested crushing taxes and debt by shutting down Massachusetts courts. Among them was Daniel Shays of the 5th Mass. Regiment, after whom the rebellion would be named.

When offered a leadership position in the protests, Shays initially refused, but by that autumn he led around 600 men to shut down to Springfield, Mass.
✊This is when the rebellion gained national attention, with Shays at the forefront. The crowd attempted to seize weapons from the federal armory in Springfield, but were defeated and forced to flee.

Although defeated, the uprising exposed serious weaknesses in the original United States government and helped fuel calls for stronger federal regulations – ultimately contributing to the creation of the current U.S. Constitution, which has continued to evolve with the country.

🏠Meanwhile, several hundred men – including Daniel Shays - were pardoned for their actions during the rebellion. Shays later moved to Livingston County, where he lived until his death in 1825.

Today, Livingston County honors veteran burials, including Daniel Shays’, with flags and other markers. The historical marker next to Union Cemetery was originally placed in 1938, and Shays’ headstone was replaced and dedicated in 2016. While the rebellion that shares his name is complicated, the man who now rests in Conesus has been immortalized for fighting for his country and his beliefs.

🔎Want to know more about Livingston’s veterans or share your own story? Contact the County Historian’s Office at livingstoncountyny.gov/162/County-Historian.

🧺Abram Elm was a Native man and Civil War veteran living in Caledonia around 1900 with his family. He was Oneida, but he...
08/27/2026

🧺Abram Elm was a Native man and Civil War veteran living in Caledonia around 1900 with his family. He was Oneida, but he lived at Canawaugus, the famous former Seneca village near the Genesee River. He made baskets from black ash bark, carrying on the traditions of his Haudenosaunee ancestors.

🪶Learn more about Elm and connect the dots of Canawaugus from then til now at "First Settlers: the Seneca of Canawaugus," a presentation by County Historian Holly Watson. Details:
📍at Genesee Country Village & Museum in the Wehle Gallery
🕰️Friday, Aug. 28 at 6pm
🏷️Free with museum admission

🌽The event will explore what life was like at the Seneca village of Canawaugus, historical events and figures, and the continuing importance of the area to the Seneca Nation.

🌠If you can't make this one, the Canawaugus presentation will be offered again on Sun. October 18 at 2pm at the Avon Opera Block, thanks to the Avon Preservation and Historical Society.

🗓Visit the Livingston County Historian's Office website at https://livingstoncountyny.gov/162/County-Historian for the full calendar of presentations. All are free and open to everyone!

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5 Murray Hill Drive
Mount Morris, NY
14510

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Monday 1pm - 4:30pm
Tuesday 1pm - 4:30pm
Wednesday 1pm - 4:30pm
Thursday 1pm - 4:30pm
Friday 1pm - 4:30pm

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