USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Rochester and Monroe County: A history and guide > Part 17
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Against its historic background of busy canal days, Spencerport is today a suburban village, with 20 percent of its residents commuting to Rochester.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
11. PARMA
The boundaries of the township of Parma converge toward a narrow lake front. It lies west of Rochester, sep- arated from it by the township of Greece. Included within Parma are the incorporated village of Hilton and the settle- ments of Parma Corners and Parma Center. For no known reason Parma probably derives its name from the province and city of Parma, Italy.
The sand and clay soil, interspersed with areas of rich muck land, produces an excellent quality of apples, which are widely exported.
Through Parma, in the middle of the 19th century, passed the "underground railroad." Several houses which served as stations still stand in the township. One such house, built of cobblestones in 1825, stands at theend of Latta Road. Another station was the old store at Parma Center, built in 1840, in the cellar of which runaway slaves were fre- quently hidden. In the past 100 years of its existence this store has never been closed for a single day.
12. PENFIELD
Penfield borders Brighton on the southeast. It is named for Daniel Penfield, who bought the land in 1810. Ironde- quoit Bay, extending down into the northwest corner, Ellison Park in the southwest corner, and hills and dense forest lands scattered throughout the 38 square miles of the township, make up a diversified landscape. Penfield, East Penfield, and Penfield Center, none of them incorporated, are included in the township.
The Penfield quarries of the Dolomite Products Corpora- tion and the Redman Sand and Stone Quarry Company sup- ply much of the material used by Rochester for street and road improvements.
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TOWNS AND VILLAGES
PENFIELD
The hamlet of Penfield (700 pop.) lies in a valley at the · foot of a steep and winding concrete road leading from Rochester. It is not only the center of a farming community but also a rural home for many whose business interests are in Rochester.
13. PERINTON
Perinton squares the southern end of the tier of town- ships along the eastern border of Monroe County. It con- tains the two incorporated villages of East Rochester and Fairport and the settlement of Egypt. The topography is of uneven character; the soil is mainly a sandy loam with patches of muck land; the inhabitants of the rural sec- tions are engaged chiefly in general farming and the raising of fruit.
The township was named for its first permanent settler, Glover Perrin, who arrived in 1789 and whose name is prominent in the early history of the Genesee Valley country.
Johnny Appleseed, the eccentric wanderer whose name is surrounded with a halo of folklore and who is best remem- bered for the orchards he planted in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and some of the other Midwestern States, traveled through Perinton and sowed appleseeds wherever the farmers would permit, in return for board and lodging. Some of the trees planted by him bore the first pippin and Baldwin apples produced in western New York. The first orchard was set out on the Ellsworth farm at the crossing of Turk Hill and Ayrault Roads, south of Fairport. Some of the trees of the original orchard and stone walls built by slaves about 1810 are still standing. Remains of skeletons found in the old orchard are said to mark the site of a slave cemetery.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
EAST ROCHESTER
The greater part of this village lies in the Township of Pittsford.
FAIRPORT
Fairport (4,604 pop.) is on State 33B. It is served by the New York Central and West Shore Railroads and the Barge Canal. The growth of the village began about 1822, with the construction of the Erie Canal. The first frame house, built in 1812, on the site of the present Green Lantern Inn, was later moved to the east end of Church Street, where it still stands.
Fairport's unique industrial plant is the Douglas Pectin Corporation (not open to visitors), the only concern in the United States processing pectin for household use. Its prod- ucts, Certo and Sure Jell, are derived from apple pomace, the waste from cider mills.
Hart & Vick's gardens and George B. Hart's nursery with its 12 greenhouses, specializing in roses and gardenias, are open to tourists.
14. PITTSFORD
The boundary lines of Pittsford form a parallelogram ex- tending southeast from Ellison Park and the city of Roch- ester. Pittsford was named by early settlers who came from Pittsford, Vermont. It is served by the Greyhound Bus Lines and the New York Central Railroad. Within its 24 square miles it includes the larger part of the village of East Rochester, the village of Pittsford and Mendon Ponds Park. The township contains many small hills ranging in eleva- tion from 300 to 475 feet above sea level. Two-thirds of the land has an exceptionally productive soil. Other natural resources are lumber, sand, and limestone.
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TOWNS AND VILLAGES
EAST ROCHESTER
East Rochester (6,627 pop.) is the only commercial vil- lage in Monroe County. Although not adjoining Roch- ester, it lies close to the city on the southeast, and a large portion of its population commutes. The village was origin- ally called Despatch because of the Merchants Despatch Transportation Corp., which has its vast home plant and switch yards here. Among other large industrial concerns in East Rochester are the Aeolian American Piano Corpora- tion, the Lawless Brothers Paper Mills, the Ontario Tool Company, the Crosman Seed Company, and the Mack Tool Company. The village is served by the New York Central Railroad and the Greyhound Bus Lines.
The village contains two small parks, Edmund Lyon Park and Eyer Park, and two golf courses, limited in their use to members only.
15. RIGA (Rī'-ga)
The sharp angle of Riga's southwest corner forms a part of Monroe's irregular western boundary. The township contains the communities of Churchville and Riga Center. The sandy loam soil is conducive to profitable farming, which forms the chief industry of the township. An active Grange, with its headquarters in Churchville, promotes the interest of the farmers throughout the section. Trans- portation facilities are furnished by the West Shore Line of the New York Central Railroad and the Greyhound Bus Lines.
Riga is supposed to have been named for Riga, Russia.
16. RUSH
The township of Rush lies in the Honeoye Creek Valley, an area of fertile fields where crop failures are almost un- known. It includes the settlements of Rush, West Rush, and Five Points.
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The region is rich in Indian lore, and many artifacts, some antedating the Iroquoian occupancy, have been ex- cavated. The drumlins of this area were cultivated by the Indians centuries before the coming of the white man.
Authorities differ as to the origin of the name. The popu- lar belief is that it was named for Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. One authority states that the name comes from large patches of rushes growing on the flats and uplands ("rush bottoms") along the river and Honeoye Creek.
The Markham-Puffer dairy farm, three miles south of West Rush on the Avon Road (visitors welcome daily except Sundays and holidays; guides provided), is widely known for its pedigreed dairy cattle. The estate was acquired in 1789 by Col. William Markham, first settler in this section, who built his frontier home the following year. Some of the elms he planted still stand. In 1922 a reproduction of the original home was constructed on the exact site. This pioneer cabin is complete to the last detail and contains many of Colonel Markham's home-made furnishings.
WEST RUSH
Now serving merely as a shipping point for the surround- ing farms, West Rush was noted many years ago for its hand-made boots and saddles. The building housing the post office was erected more than 100 years ago.
17. SWEDEN
On the map of Monroe County the township of Sweden lies halfway down the western boundary, the two town- ships of Hamlin and Clarkson separating it from the lake shore. The incorporated village of Brockport and the settlements of Sweden Center and West Sweden are in this township.
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TOWNS AND VILLAGES
Sweden is believed to have been named for the country of Sweden, although, having been settled by New Eng- landers, it is possible that some of its first settlers came from Sweden, Maine, and gave this name to their new home. A central elevation sloping in all directions provides drainage for the sandy loam soil. Within its area of almost 38 square miles Sweden has a population of approximately 4,600 people. Many hard-surfaced roads facilitate the mar- keting of farm products in Rochester.
18. WEBSTER
Webster township lies in the extreme northeastern corner of Monroe County, bordered on the north by Lake Ontario and on the west by Irondequoit Bay. It includes the village of Webster and the settlement of Forest Lawn. Webster was named in honor of Daniel Webster, who visited this section in 1851.
Although the township was not formed until 1840, it was first settled in 1812, most of the early settlers coming from New England. Situated on the Ridge Road, along which ran the Oswego-Rochester stagecoach lines, the settlement grew rapidly for a time. In the middle of the 19th century a large number of Germans and Dutch came to Webster. Be- cause of the aptitude of these people for intensive farming, the fertility of the soil, and the proximity to Rochester markets, truck farming has become one of the principal industries of the township. This, in turn, has led to the growth of the local Grange to a membership of 986, one of the largest in the United States. This organization has not only given an impetus to local agriculture but serves also as an active factor in the social life of Webster.
19. WHEATLAND
Wheatland borders the west bank of the Genesee, and Monroe County's jagged southwestern outline forms the
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township's boundary on the west and south. Within its limits are the villages of Scottsville, Mumford, Garbutt, and Wheatland Center; the first named is incorporated.
The river flats of eastern Wheatland, clear of trees, at- tracted early settlers, who later discovered that under the rich soil lay strata of dolomite and deposits of gypsum. The gypsum, ground into plaster, provided a valuable fertilizer to enrich the soil, and Wheatland became known for its bumper crops of wheat, from which the township took its name.
A spring-fed creek, called by the Indians O-at-ka (the opening), drains eastern Wheatland and flows into the Genesee.
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PART III
TOURS OUT OF ROCHESTER
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LOOP TOURS
NOTE ON MOTOR TOURS
A LL tours out of Rochester begin and end at the Four Corners-Main and State Streets. Tours are divided into sections for the tourist's convenience. At the beginning of each section it is necessary to set the spee- dometer at 0.0 m. Side trips leaving the main route, usually for only a few miles, are printed in smaller type and indented. The mileage on the side trips is computed from the point of leaving the main route, which point is con- sidered 0.0 m. Upon returning to the main route, it is necessary to set the speedometer back to the main-route mileage given for that point in the text.
While every effort has been exerted to make the mileage and dates accurate, the building of new roads and individual differences in drivers will produce variations. (The accom- panying outline map will help identify tour routes.) Authorities differ on exact dates of original settlements; and the tales told by oldest inhabitants, while picturesque, are not always entirely dependable.
TOUR 1
NIAGARA FALLS AND FORT NIAGARA
Rochester, Lewiston, Niagara Falls, Youngstown, Fort Niagara, Rochester. U. S. 104, State 18, (Canadian roads), State 18E, 18. Rochester-Rochester, 209 m.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
Concrete highways throughout. A branch of the New York Central R. R. runs between Rochester and Niagara Falls. Busses cover the route to Niagara Falls and from Niagara Falls to Fort Niagara.
All accommodations at Niagara Falls and the other towns on the Niagara River; limited accommodations along the route both eastward and westward.
Between Rochester and Lewiston the route follows the historic Ridge Road, also called the Honeymoon Trail be- cause it leads directly to Niagara Falls, the Mecca of newly- weds. The road, a former Indian trail, runs along the crest of a ridge which once formed the shore line of ancient Lake Iroquois, the predecessor of Lake Ontario, and passes through the fertile fruit belt of northern New York. Before Rochester and the towns of this region were settled, it was a main highway of travel from east to west; and before the building of the Erie Canal, most of the western emigrants trekked over this route. The many cobblestone houses are distinctive of this region.
SECTION A. ROCHESTER-YOUNGSTOWN, U. S. 104, STATE 18, (CANADIAN ROADS), STATE 18E. 117.2 m.
North from Four Corners on State Street, which be- comes Lake Avenue, to Ridge Road. (U. S. 104); L. on Ridge Road.
KODAK PARK, 3.1 m. (R), corner Lake Ave. and Ridge Rd., is one of the principal units of the Eastman Kodak Co. (Rochester Points of Interest No. 64).
GREECE, 6.9 m. (431 alt., 350 pop.), is the principal village of the town of Greece, suburban to Rochester.
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NIAGARA FALLS AND FORT NIAGARA
The village marks the junction with Long Pond Road (R), macadam.
Right on Long Pond Road are LONG POND, 6 m., well known for its fishing, and GRAND VIEW BEACH, 6.5 m., a bathing beach on the Lake Ontario shore.
At 10.2 m. is intersection with State 261.
Right on State 261, a concrete road, is MANITOU BEACH, 8 m., with hotel, bathing, boating and fishing.
PARMA CORNERS, 12.2 m. (378 alt., 300 pop.), at the junction with State 259, is an attractive hamlet in the heart of the fruit belt. A number of tanneries once operated in Parma, but economic conditions caused their abandonment.
Cobblestone houses are frequent along this part of the route. At Trimmer Road, 14.8 m. is a COBBLESTONE SCHOOL HOUSE (R), over 100 years old and still in use.
Site of the OLD HOUSTON TAVERN, 16.3 m. (L), is indicated by a marker. The tavern, built soon after 1825 for Isaac Houston, the sole proprietor for many years, was a popular stopping place in stagecoach days.
CLARKSON, 19.5 m. (428 alt., 230 pop.), settled in 1804, soon became an important point on the road to the Niagara Frontier because of its stage stop where the horses were changed and weary travelers given a chance to refresh them- selves with food and drink. At one time several mills and distilleries stood on the road near Clarkson. In the War of 1812 it was a rendezvous for troops and a depot for military supplies.
At 19.5 m. (R), close to the highway, is the SELDEN HOMESTEAD. From 1830 to 1859 this was the home of Judge Henry Rogers Selden, lieutenant governor of the state, 1856-58. His son, George Baldwin Selden (1846-1922) recognized as the inventor of the automobile engine, was born in this house.
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Cobblestone House; Built in 1841
NIAGARA FALLS AND FORT NIAGARA
At the northern edge of the village stands the HOUSE OF SIMEON B. JEWETT, political leader, jurist, and United States marshal under President Buchanan. Erected in 1825, the gray brick house is distinguished by its post-Colonial doorway. A tradition exists that the abductors of William Morgan, who had threatened to reveal Masonic secrets, stopped in this house with the captive on their way to Niagara in 1826.
At 21.8 m. is junction (R) with State 272 (Redman Road.), macadam.
Right on State 272 is TROUTBERG, 9 m., another resort on the S. shore of Lake Ontario, the scene of the annual outings of many Rochester organizations.
MURRAY, 26.5 m. (568 alt., 100 pop.), lies in the region once claimed for the State of Connecticut. In 1809 Epaphias Mattison settled near Sandy Creek. The first school was started in 1814, the first store opened in 1815, and the first gristmill built in 1817. The inscription on the SANDY CREEK MONUMENT (R) gives some of the highlights of the history of the region. In the town are the graves of Asa Clark, the courier who carried to Washington the news of the attack on Throgs Neck, and Robinson Smith, one of General Washington's lifeguards. In the primitive log cabin that Mattison built, the site of which is indi- cated by a marker, Gov. DeWitt Clinton spent the night of his eventful trip on horseback through western New York in 1810.
THE TRANSIT LINE, 30.4 m., marked by a boulder monument, was once the boundary between the lands claimed for Connecticut and the holdings of the Holland Land Company as established in 1798. An arrow points W. to the Holland Purchase territory and E. to the Connecticut Gore.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
CHILDS, 34.5 m. (566 alt., 75 pop.), has three of the COBBLESTONE HOUSES (R) distinctive of this region. The CHURCH, also of cobblestones, was erected by the First Universalist Society in 1834.
GAINES, 35.8 m. (426 alt., 130 pop.), organized as a town in 1816, was named for Gen. E. P. Gaines of the United States Army. The first settler came in 1809; the first dam and sawmill were erected on Otter Creek near the Ridge in 1812. This village was once the largest and busiest in the county, but railroad and canal carried trade to the south.
RIDGEWAY, 45.5 m. (420 alt., 125 pop.), settled in 1812, was so named because of its location on the Ridge. Salt made from the brine of salt springs a short distance to the south was an important article of local trade until the Erie Canal made Onondaga salt available.
At the junction with State 78, 62.7 m., U. S. 104 turns R.
MOLYNEUX CORNERS, 70.9 m., derived its name from Molyneux Tavern, established here in 1809. A tradition exists that during the War of 1812, settlers from this region surprised a force of British and Indians nearby, killed some and forced the surrender of the others, and took the pris- oners to Batavia.
LEWISTON, 82.3 m. (309 alt., 1,013 pop.), is the site of the original trading post established by Chabert Joncaire, French, "master of the portage." Portage trails ran from the village to Fort Little Niagara, later known as Fort Schlosser, above the Falls. It was the headquarters for East -West shipping until completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. The building of the Welland Canal, which brought about interlake shipping, also helped divert business away from Lewiston.
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NIAGARA FALLS AND FORT NIAGARA
It was here, perhaps 35,000 or more years ago, as esti- mated by geologists, that the falls of the Niagara River first stood; through the years churning waters have worn away the rock for a distance of 7 m. to form the picturesque Niagara gorge.
At 82.3 m. is junction with State 18; the route turns L. on State 18.
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, 85 m. (L), founded in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, is one of the best known Roman Catholic colleges in the East; it has an average enrollment of over 1,000. Women are admitted only for graduate work. This institution maintains a center in Roch- ester where extramural courses are given, mainly in finance and accounting. The tall, gray, rough stone buildings of the university loom up in gaunt relief against the eastern skyline.
At 85.4 m. the route enters the city of NIAGARA FALLS (560 alt., 75,460 pop.) and follows the Niagara gorge on the United States and Canadian sides.
The rock strata which are exposed along the Niagara gorge form a classic geologic exposure for North America. The lowermost Silurian shales, conspicuously brick-red in color, technically known as the Queenston formation, form the bottom of the gorge near Lewiston and are capped by the white Whirlpool sandstone. Typical red Medina shales and sandstones overlie the Whirlpool formation and are topped by the thin white Thorold quartzite. Still higher in the section are, in order of superposition, the Clinton shale and limestone, the Rochester shale, and the Lockport dolomite. The durability of the last-named formation causes the waterfall.
In finding its course at the close of the Ice Age, the Niagara River plunged over the truncated edge of the Lock-
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The American Falls, from Goat Island
port dolomite into Lake Ontario. At the foot of the fall, the swirling water eroded the soft shales from under the massive dolomite. From time to time blocks of the dolomite thus undermined broke off and caused a recession of the edge of the waterfall. This action is still going on; it is estimated that the fall has moved southward from the southern shore of Lake Ontario to its present position at the rate of about 1 foot per year. As the fall receded, it formed the gorge. When the fall reaches Lake Erie it will disappear. Steps are being proposed (1937) to preserve the fall where it now is.
DEVIL'S HOLE STATE PARK, 85.4 m., has been de- veloped recently to encompass the area adjoining the Niagara gorge and the cavern gouged in the soft layers of rock at the water level of the river.
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NIAGARA FALLS AND FORT NIAGARA
The state has constructed picnic sites and lookout spots which offer views of the lower rapids and of the gorge up the river toward the Whirlpool and down toward Queens- ton Heights.
One Indian legend has it that the cavern was the home of the Evil Spirit. According to another legend, the French explorer, La Salle, entered the cavern in 1679 and heard a mysterious Indian voice prophesy his death years later upon the Mississippi. On Sept. 14, 1763, a large force of British soldiers and a wagon train of supplies were ambushed at this spot by about 500 Seneca Indians. A large number of the British were massacred, and most of the others were driven over the precipice into the gorge.
WHIRLPOOL STATE PARK, 86.9 m., one of five state parks on the river, overlooks the Whirlpool and the rapids.
About a mile below the Falls the river gradually narrows into a gorge only 400 feet wide, through which the entire drainage of the Great Lakes watershed plunges, creating a natural phenomenon of unparalleled impressiveness. Charles Dudley Warner wrote, "When it (the Niagara River) reaches the Whirlpool it is like a hungry animal re- turning and licking the shores for the prey it has missed."
The Whirlpool has its gruesome side, for it is here that the mighty Niagara usually gives up its dead. One old riverman alone has recovered more than 150 bodies from the swirling waters.
DE VEAUX MILITARY ACADEMY (L), which once owned all the land on the United States side of the Whirl- pool, stands not 5 minutes walk from the brink of the gorge. In recent years it has sold some of its land to the state for park purposes.
At 87.6 m. the route turns L. on Whirlpool Street.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
Niagara Gorge, Looking into the Whirlpool
At 88 m. are the STEEL ARCH BRIDGE (R) of the Michigan Central Railway, replacing the cantilever bridge of a few years ago, and the NIAGARA RAILWAY ARCH BRIDGE (R). (The latter offers one of the most impressive views of the gorge and the upper rapids.)
At 89.4 m. the route turns R. on Main St.
The NIAGARA FALLS POWER COMPANY, 89.7 m. (R) (visitors welcome in summer months; guides furnished), con- tains some of the world's largest hydroelectric generators, which convert the force of Niagara into electric power.
Passing the STEEL ARCH BRIDGE, which will be crossed later, the route continues to PROSPECT PARK, 90.6 m., maintained by the State of New York on the Ameri- can side of the Falls. The route follows the park drives along the river.
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NIAGARA FALLS AND FORT NIAGARA
HENNEPIN VIEW, 90.4 m., marks the approximate spot where Father Hennepin stood when he first saw the Falls in 1678. The view of the Falls unfolded here is probably the most familiar to the world, as it has been the one most photographed and reproduced.
PROSPECT POINT, 90.6 m., lies at the very edge of the American Falls, so close that one can almost touch the water as it seems to hesitate for a moment on the brink before taking the plunge over the dizzy cliff. One can also look down a precipice of 165 feet and see the sparkling waters dashed into spray upon the rocks below.
MAID OF THE MIST, the name given to the boats that navigate the Niagara River almost to the very foot of the Horseshoe Falls (50 cents a trip) can be reached by means of elevators operated only a few steps from Prospect Point. Near the boat landing is an extraordinary view of the American Falls from below; in fact, one can walk close enough to the plunging water to become soaked with the spray and mist while one's ears ring with the roar of Niagara.
At 90.8 m. the route crosses the bridge to Goat Island.
GOAT ISLAND, 91 m., is lodged in the Niagara River, splitting the Falls into the Canadian, or Horseshoe, and the American Falls. The bridge from the United States shore is the last and most beautiful of a succession of bridges, the first of which was built in 1835.
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