Welcome to Geneseo New York
Hi there! I’m Felicity Houston Thomas, and I’m glad you’ve decided to join me for a walking tour today. On this tour we’re going to learn more about some of the people who shaped the Geneseo Normal School and made our town, and SUNY Geneseo, what it is today. Before we get started, I want to introduce myself. I was born and raised on Second Street (we’ll even walk past my house later). I’m an actor living in New York City now, but I still hold a special place in my heart for my hometown and I come back to visit often. I also want to take a moment to say thanks to everyone who made this tour possible, especially Anita Whitehead, who did the historical research.Alright! Let’s get going.
Livingston County Court House
Livingston County was created from parts of Genesee and Ontario Counties by an act of the State Legislature in 1821 and named for Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, eminent jurist, statesman, promoter of agriculture, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Due in part to its central location, Geneseo was selected as the County seat or “shire town.” At first courts were held on the upper floor of the brick academy building standing on the site of the present cobblestone museum. William and James Wadsworth deeded 1.79 acres of land for county buildings; and a brick Court House and a two-story wooden jail to the northwest were completed in 1823. A few years later, a cobblestone building was erected to the east of the Court House to house the County Clerk's office.In 1886 a brick addition was made, perpendicular to, and at the rear of the Court House for Clerk and Surrogates offices and a Supervisor’s assembly room. The architect for this work was John R. Church and the contractor was Benjamin Long. The old County Clerk's building was demolished. In 1889 the old wooden jail was taken down and a new one erected on its site by Colwell and Gray contractors using 82,000 pounds of iron.In 1897 the original (1823 section) Court House was found to be unsafe and it was deemed advisable to tear it down and rebuild it using as much as possible of the old brick. Plans for this new building were drawn by Rochester architect Claude Bragdon and the contractor for the construction was Edward Forbes of Geneseo. The masonry work was done by Marion and O'Brien, also of Geneseo.It is believed that the cupola from the old Court House was saved and used on the new building. The large wooden columns weighing a ton apiece were the work of William Napier of Rochester and were the largest ever made in that city. The same care was given to the interior and to the selection of furniture. The firm of Wilson and Altmeyer of Dansville was awarded the contract for supplying the furniture, having successfully bid against firms from Rochester and Buffalo. It is of mahogany following the pattern of that used in the United States Senate.A new jail was erected in 1907 and this was replaced by the present structure in 1964. Another addition to the rear of the Court House was made in 1957 to house the County Treasurer’s office, etc.The Court House is an important and imposing building of classic design and detail, and has remained in good repair, although parts of the interior have been altered.
20 Main Street
William Brodie was born in Scotland in 1841 and brought to Rochester by his family as a child. He moved to Geneseo to be the bookkeeper for William Wadsworth and eventually became an agent and lawyer for several of the Wadsworth families. He and his first wife built the house at 20 Main Street for a total of $4,000. William was active in local public affairs. He was elected County treasurer for five consecutive terms and served as President of the Gas Company and the Electric Company in Geneseo. Brodie was a Mason and, on August 5, 1884, as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Masons of the State of New York, he laid the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty. Mr. Brodie was part of a group known as “The Triumvirate” along with Colonel Rorbach and Craig Wadsworth. They were strong advocates for the Normal School and were selected to travel to Albany to plead the case for Geneseo.Once the school was secured, William was appointed to the local Board, where he served for decades, even serving as Secretary and President. He served as an elder and a Sunday school teacher in the Presbyterian church. His duties included teaching a Bible Study class to over one hundred Normal School students . William passed away in 1917.
26 Main Street
Wadsworth Street
11 Second Street
115 Center Street
Temple Hill Cemetery
The original land for a cemetery, deeded at no cost to the people of the town of Geneseo by James and William Wadsworth in 1807, contained three acres and four parcels. In 1859, another two acres were added to the east, the gift of James S. Wadsworth. Additions since that time, as nearly as can be determined, are as follows: Between 1873-75 seven acres were added. This comprised of adjoining land on the north and east purchased from Abraham Foreman and a fairly large parcel taken from the grove which prior to this extended east along Center Street for some distance. These new additions were mapped out by a civil engineer into burial lots, driveways and ornamental plots. At the same time the lodge and gateway were erected from plans by the well known Rochester architect, A. J. Warner. About 1920-21 other extensions were made to the east, land purchased from Frank Hollowell, Patrick Burns and Martin Joyce among probable others. Fire damaged the lodge in 1953; a rear wing was removed and repairs made. Further repairs were made to the lodge in the 1960’s, the gift of Dr. and Mrs. James Lockhart. At this time, aluminum siding, shutters, and a bedroom were added, and the plumbing repaired and extended.
64 Center Street
This house was built in 1854 for Luke and Abba Douglas and sold the same year to Mr. and Mrs. John F. Bishop. They added the mansard roof in 1874. John Bishop came to Geneseo in 1837 as a clerk in the dry goods store of Lyman Turner. He later became a partner in the business. He was appointed Postmaster under President Hayes; a position he held for two terms. He then returned to business, retiring about two years before his death in 1895. After Mrs. Bishop’s death in 1903, the house was owned and occupied by their son, William, and his wife, the former Sara Booth. William Bishop was employed as an abstract clerk in the County Clerk’s Office where “his knowledge and ability in his office were almost uncanny.” Mrs. Bishop died in 1915 and after Mr. Bishop’s death in 1924, the house passed to their only son, John A. Bishop and his wife Dorothy who lived there until 1952 when they sold the house to J. Howard and F. Virginia Brown. Thus, for almost a century, this was known in Geneseo as “the Bishop House.”
62 Center Street
Built in about 1900, this house has Colonial Revival features.
Livingston County Museum
The Livingston County Museum on Center Street was built for a Union School in 1838, the gift of James Wadsworth. This cobblestone building, originally in the shape of a Greek cross, has seen three major additions. The first in 1871 was a wooden section to the southwest now used as the County Historian’s office. Due to increased enrollment, a second wooden addition was made to the southeast in 1916. The building was used as a schoolhouse until the erection of a new large school in 1932 (the present Doty Building) when it was deeded to the Livingston County Historical Society. Prior to that time, the society’s relics had been housed in the Log Cabin in the Village Park. In 1934 the portion of the Big Tree, which had stood in sort-of a summer house for years on the grounds of Hartford House, was moved to the lawn of the museum. The Historical Society made a third addition to the building in 1968 when they added the large board and batten wing to the rear to house carriages and large equipment. A true village landmark, this building houses a remarkably extensive collection of Livingston County artifacts.
