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GENESEE COUNTY - In The Beginning |
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Prior to the establishment of Genesee County, Seneca Indians - Keepers of the Western Door - inhabited this region. These Indians were a subdivision of the Iroquois Confederacy. Before this area was settled by pioneers the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition broke the strong hold of the Iroquois control. The Big Tree Treaty of 1797 opened the lands west of the Genesee River and allotted 200,000 acres of land for reservations. According to the treaty the Senecas were to receive annually the interest from $100,000 held in Federal stocks and bonds. |
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Massachusetts and New York claimed this land by charters from 17th century English kings. This dispute was resolved by the Hartford Convention of 1786. Massachusetts relinquished governmental rights to New York but maintained title to the land, subject to Indian rights. |
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In 1791 Robert Morris, "Financier of the American Revolution" purchased from Massachusetts 4 million acres for the sum of $333,333,333. This area was broken into several land tracts, the largest being the Holland Purchase. Morris in 1793 sold the land company 3 and 1/2 million acres. This company was not a corporation. Bankers in Amsterdam, Holland bought land as an association of individuals who were eager to invest in this region. So far as it is known, none of them ever visited Western New York. Their business transactions were conducted by Theophile Cazenove and later by Paul Busti of Philadelphia, their general agents. |
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Boundaries ran north and south from Lake Ontario to the Pennsylvania border, and east and west from the Genesee River to Lake Erie. |
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Joseph Ellicott was commissioned by the Holland Land Company in 1798 to survey the purchase. Ellicott, his brother Benjamin and over 150 men surveyed for the next three years, completing their task in October of 1800. The estimated cost was $70,921.69 1/2. |
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Ellicott was hired as local agent and the first land sale was in 1801. Settlers were forced to travel to Canandaigua where deeds and mortgages were recorded. Ontario County also levied high taxes on company lands. With the establishment of a new county, Ellicott resolved these problems. Taking the Seneca word meaning "Beautiful Valley", Genesee county was formed from Ontario County in 1802. |
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Joseph Ellicott established the Holland Land Office in Batavia in 1802. The first structure was a wooden building, which was replaced by a stone edifice in 1815. |
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The Land Office was located at the "Bend of the Tonawanda". The site selected for Batavia was once called, by the Senecas, "De-on-go-wa", or "The Great Meeting Place." Ellicott chose the name Batavia to honor the Dutch Land owners, the name coming from the Republic of Batavia which was the area of the Netherlands before 1806. |
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Agents of the Holland Land Company tried to make both down payments and annual installments easy for the settlers. Buyers could agree to do work for the Company by aiding in the construction of roads and mills. The Land Company opened roads by subscribing $5,000 to defray the expense. The average price per acre was around $2.30. Free land was given for the building of churches and schools. |
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For 21 years Ellicott was Resident Agent for the Company. Not only did he sell land but was influential in the settlement of this region. He founded Batavia, Buffalo and other towns in western New York. He was instrumental in the establishment of post offices and his work on the location of the western route of the Erie Canal helped the growth of the region. |
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In 1835 the Holland Land Company sold all their remaining lands to the new company composed chiefly of citizens of Batavia. |
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The county of Genesee began operations in 1803 with the completion of a courthouse and election of county officers. |
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Batavia was named the county seat. The original Genesee County included all of the Holland Purchase. The county was subdivided as follows: Allegany was taken off in 1806; Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara in 1808; parts of Livingston and Monroe in 1821; Orleans in 1824 and Wyoming in 1841. That left Genesee county with its present 507 square miles. The county was divided into 13 towns, beginning with the organization of Batavia in 1802. Alabama, Alexander, Bethany, LeRoy and Pembroke were established in 1812. Bergen was formed in 1813. Byron, Elba and Stafford were established in 1820, Darien in 1832, Pavilion in 1841 and Oakfield in 1842. |
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Education has always been an important part in the development of Genesee county. Seminaries were established through- out the county as early as 1832. Ingram University, the first chartered woman's university in the United States was built in 1837 in LeRoy and closed in 1902. The New York State School for the Blind was started in Batavia in 1865 and is still in operation. Genesee Community College opened with the fall semester in 1967, moving to a new campus in 1972. The first public libraries were opened in 1811 and school libraries started operating in 1835. |
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Genesee County's present population is approximately 59,400. Industries have been established in both Batavia and LeRoy. |
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HOLLAND LAND OFFICE MUSEUM |
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131 West Main Street |
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Batavia, NY 14020 |
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Land has always been the county's biggest asset. It is one of the richest areas in the eastern United States; 5% of its soil is muckland. Prosperous farms have made Genesee one of the principal counties in the nation in the production of table beets and it is a leading New York county in acreage of corn, wheat and vegetables. Dairy farming is the largest source of agricultural revenue. |
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The county also has mineral deposits of gypsum, limestone, natural gas and salt. |
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The varied landscape of Genesee county ranges from the low lying areas of the Bergen swamp in the north to the rolling hills which define the southern border. |
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Susan L. Conklin Genesee County Historian |
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