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Holland Land Office Museum

Video: William Morgan (Part One) - The Vanishing of William Morgan

By Philip Anselmo

It has been a while since we've been down at the Holland Land Office Museum to take a look at the artifacts and get a lesson from everybody's favorite local historian, Pat Weissend, the museum's director. Well, to make up for that, we've put together a three part video series on "probably the most important story in the whole Genesee country"...

William Morgan.

Weissend had a lot to say on the subject. Nearly ten minutes worth of a lot to say, in fact. But since it's all so darned interesting, and we just couldn't bring ourselves to edit any of it out, we've instead divided up his tale into three separate videos: The Vanishing of William Morgan, Theories: Masons vs. Anti-Masons, and Origins of the Republican Party. We'll get up part one now and then post the other two later this afternoon. Be sure to watch for them. Enjoy!

For more information on the story of William Morgan, visit the Holland Land Office Museum Web site, where you can find an enhanced podcast on the topic. You can also head down to the museum at 131 W. Main St. to check out the Morgan exhibit and to pick up a copy of Morgan's book, Secrets of the Masons Revealed.

Poll: What has made Genesee County the most famous?

By Philip Anselmo

Yesterday, we got up the announcement of No. 4 in the Holland Land Office Museum's countdown of The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous. It was none other than the eponymous Holland Land Company.

So... that brings us to the top three, and the way we've got it worked out, there are still five likely contenders for those three slots. Surely, William Morgan and Jell-O will be among those three. But the third is something of a toss up. A couple of our readers suggested the state School for the Blind. Others have suggested Bill Kauffman. Quite a few more were sure that Barber Conable would make the top five. What do you think? What else has a chance at fame?

What else will make the top three famous countdown?
( polls)

Holland Land Company: No. 4 in What Made Genesee County Famous

By Philip Anselmo

The Holland Land Company has made the list of The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous, landing in fourth place. This picture to the right may look familiar. For those who don't already know, the Holland Land Office Museum inhabits the very same building that was used by the Dutch investors who hired none other than Joseph Ellicott to survey their land purchase for them back in the 18th century.

Pat Weissend, museum director:

The origins of the Holland Land Company go back to 1789, when four Dutch investment firms sent an agent to the United States in search of investment opportunities. The Club of Four, as it was called then, started to buy large tracts of American land in 1792. Two more investment firms joined the original four, creating the Club of Six. The six firms decided to merge their individual holdings into one stock company, and so the Holland Land Company was formed on November 20, 1795.

In September 1797, the company purchased 3.3 million acres of Western New York land from Robert Morris. The plan was to sell off the land in large tracts to speculators and make a quick profit, but the economy changed and they were forced to hang onto the land, develop it and sell it over the next 40 years.

For more info on the Holland Land Company and Joseph Ellicott, please visit the museum's Web site—there's plenty of interesting links and podcasts and histroy lessons—and be sure to keep up with the countdown. Only three more to go!

Emory Upton: No. 5 in What Made Genesee County Famous

By Philip Anselmo

Most folks around here ought to know the name Emory Upton compatriot of General Sherman, traveler of the world and military documenter and tactician. His patinated likeness stands tall at the monument on the city's west side where Main Street and Ellicott Street join.

Now, Upton has earned himself yet another memorial: a rank of fifth in the Holland Land Office Museum's countdown of The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous.

Museum Director Pat Weissend tells us: 

In 1875, Upton received orders from General William T. Sherman to leave West Point and go on a world tour to observe and study all the great armies of Asia and Europe. Upton and his group headed west by train to San Francisco, got on a boat and headed to Japan. After observing the Japanese army, they went to China, India, Persia, Turkey, Russia and finally ended up in Western Europe.  Upon his return stateside, he published the book The Armies of Asia and Europe.

Recently, The Batavian sat down with Weissend and County Clerk Don Reed at Main Street Coffee as they worked at transcribing a selection of Upton's letters. (Those letters will be edited and published once the transciption is complete.)

For more on Upton, visit the Holland Land Office Museum online.

Snowman Making Skills Showed Off at the Holland Land Office Museum

By Holland Land Office Museum

Thomas (age 7) and Alyssa (age 5) were at the Holland Land Office Museum today to build a snowman in the snowman contest sponsored by thebatavian.com.

They named their creation “Snowball the Snowman.”

The contest runs until Saturday, January 3rd at 3:00 p.m. Prize sponsors include Matty’s Pizzeria and Movies in Motion.

To enter the contest, come down to the Museum with your best snowman making materials and supplies and find a place to build it!

Call the museum at 343-4727 if you have any questions.

OK, maybe it's not snowman weather... Snowman contest extended through Saturday

By Philip Anselmo

This here is a picture of Dame Edna, the only snow... er, person... to be built out at the Holland Land Office Museum today.

Unfortunately, while the snow fell, and it looked like it might be a good day to build snow... people... the roads were nasty and the winds a bit cutting. That being said, the snowman contest has been extended through Saturday.

So pack up the kids, mittens, carrots and coal and head down to the Holland Land Office Museum to build up your snowman for a chance to win a cool prize. Here's Pat Weissend:

Snowman Weather!

By Holland Land Office Museum

With all this snow, its snowman weather!

Come down to the Holland Land Office Museum until noon today and participate in a snowman building contest!

We have great prizes!

And  FREE coffee and hot chocolate! See Danielle is pouring it right now.

Call us at 343-4727 if you have any question.

 

Reminder: Snowman Building Contest Tomorrow!

By Holland Land Office Museum

Bring your friends, families or co-workers out tomorrow to the Holland Land Office Museum starting at 9:00 a.m. for a snowman building contest.

Between now and tomorrow morning we are expected to get about five inches of snow and a temperature in the mid-20’s. It will be perfect snowman building weather!

The team that builds the best snowman will win a gift certificate from Matty’s Pizza, plus we are still pulling together a few more items.

If you get too cold building your snowman, come on in to the Museum for free coffee and hot chocolate and see the Wonderland of Trees!

The event runs until noon. This is this first time we are trying this event and I hope everyone comes out and has a great time! It would be a good idea to bring a shovel and a bucket to help you build your masterpiece.

The event is sponsored by our good friends at Five-Star Bank, thebatavian.com and Matty’s Pizza.

www.wonderlandoftrees.com

John Gardner: No. 6 in "What Made Genesee County Famous"

By Philip Anselmo

"In late August, 1966, the city jail in Batavia, New York, held four regular prisoners, that is, four prisoners who were being kept on something more than an overnight basis." So begins The Sunlight Dialogues, by John Gardner, novelist, essayist, professor, Batavian.

Gardner appears at No. 6 in the Holland Land Office Museum's countdown of The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous. Not much of a surprise there.

Museum Director Pat Weissend:

As a young adult, John Gardner had many interests. He wrote plays, studied chemistry, played the French horn and was an Eagle Scout. While at Alexander High School, he drew a cartoon of an elephant in art class that was published in the July 1948 edition of Seventeen Magazine. For his senior year of high school, he transferred to the larger Batavia High School so he could take some more challenging classes. Every Saturday, he went to Rochester where he took French horn lessons at the Eastman School of Music’s Preparatory School.

Following his graduation from Batavia High School in 1951, Gardner had to decide where he was going to study. He was awarded a scholarship to the Eastman School, but he chose to go to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and major in chemistry.

Of course, Gardner didn't last long as a chemist. He soon left Indiana for a university in St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned his bachelor's degree, then went to Iowa for his doctorate. Gardner was hailed throughout his teaching career as a popular professor, yet it was his books that made him famous. Among his most well-known—Gardner published no less than 27 books—are the novels: Grendel, The Resurrection and The Sunlight Dialogiues, and two of his books on the art of writing: On Becoming a Novelist and The Art of Fiction. Gardner died in 1982 in a motorcycle accident in Pennsylvania.

There's plenty of interesting info to be found on Gardner on the Web, including The Batavian's own video of Batavia Reads John Gardner at the Pok-A-Dot. You can check that out below. The video was filmed and produced by Darrick Coleman.

You can also view a documentary, entitled Sunlight Man, produced by Gardner's son, Joel, about his father's life and work. On a Web site called The Arch and the Abyss, you will find a bibliography of Gardner's works, a miscellany, an archive. You can even order a John Gardner limited edition t-shirt. As always, the Genesee Community College John C. Gardner Appreciation Page has a wealth of resources, including links to a dozen other sites.

Photo courtesy of Genesee Community College Web site.

Who Can Build the Best Snowman?

By Holland Land Office Museum

The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce it’s first ever snowman building contest. The event, sponsored by thebatavian.com, will take place on the east lawn of the Museum on Wednesday, December 31st from 9:00 a.m. until noon.

If there isn’t any snow outside, we’ll build them inside!

Prizes will be awarded. And, we are planning to have a celebrity judge. We can't announce the name yet, because this person isn't confirmed.

Check out www.wonderlandoftrees.com or call the Museum at 343-4727 for more information.

Video: Holland Land Office Museum

By Philip Anselmo

We found this video on YouTube and thought to share it with everyone. Genesee Community College's media crew did a great job on this nine minute documentary about the Holland Land Office Museum. We especially enjoyed this line from the text: "For those unfortunate individuals who are geographically removed and incapable of visiting our museum, we now offer our overview video for visitors online."

Terry Anderson: No. 7 in "What Made Genesee County Famous"

By Philip Anselmo

Clocking in at No. 7 in the Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous is Terry Anderson, America's longest-held hostage in the Middle East, whose release set off a media blitz upon the city of Batavia, the likes of which Genesee County had never seen.

Holland Land Office Museum Director Pat Weissend:

On March 16, 1985, former Batavia resident Terry Anderson had just finished a game of tennis in Beirut, Lebanon when three gunmen pulled up in a green Mercedes and kidnapped him. This was day one in a 2,454 day ordeal that captivated the City of Batavia, Genesee County, the United States and the world.

[...]

His captors were a group of Shiite Muslims. During his captivity, Anderson was tortured and beaten. He didn’t know from one day to the next if he would be released or killed. He turned to the Bible for peace and wrote poetry.

After being imprisoned for nearly seven years, Anderson was released on December 4, 1991. After his release he spent a few days in a hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany before returning to the United States. 

For more on Terry Anderson, visit the museum's Web site.

In a side note: This terra cotta sculpture here of Anderson was dropped off at the Holland Land Office Museum last week and should be up on display for folks who want to check it out up close.

Video: Wonderland of Trees

By Philip Anselmo

Every few weeks we stop by the Holland Land Office Museum and chat with Pat Weissend, the museum's director, about some artifact or other interesting something going on at the museum. This time, there was really only one thing to talk about: the Wonderland of Trees. From now until January 3, folks can head down to the museum—check out the Web site for hours—to tour the Wonderland and help raise funds for the museum.

Now, before we get to the video, we would like to ask your help. We've been finding a few problems with the videos uploaded to blip.tv—which is otherwise flawless, with great quality and a large viewing screen. Unfortunately, the videos seem to skip on some computers. Here, we've loaded our video with Pat into both YouTube (top) and blip.tv (bottom). Which looks and runs better for you?

 

Batavia Downs: No. 8 in What Made Genesee County Famous

By Philip Anselmo

There's really no way to say it better than Pat Weissend:

"Traffic backed up at the New York State Thruway as thousands of people from the east and the west merged to spend their entertainment dollars on a chance to make more money at one of Genesee County’s best known attractions: Batavia Downs!"

So it is that Batavia Downs lands at No. 8 in the Holland Land Office Museum's countdown of the 25 Things That Made Genesee County Famous.

The harness racing track is the oldest night-time pari-mutuel track in North America. Batavia Downs opened on Friday, September 20, 1940 at 8:20 p.m. to an estimated crowd of 2,500 people. A total of $629 was bet on the first race and over $10,000 was bet on the first card.  

The opening was the dream of William “Lefty” Goldberg and others who, as shareholders in the Monroe - Genesee Breeders Association, chose Batavia because of its location between Rochester and Buffalo. The Monroe - Genesee Breeders Association is the predecessor of the Monroe - Genesee Racing Association. The first season’s attendance was 25,935 people with a total bet of $310,790. The following year, attendance and betting doubled, but racing was canceled in 1942 and 1943 due to travel restrictions and gas rationings.

For more on Batavia Downs and how it made us famous, be sure to visit the Holland Land Office Museum Web site. While your there, you can peruse the other 17 "things" that have so far made the list. You can also hit up the museum's blog to leave your two cents about what should make it in the top seven.

Image of Batavia Downs program from 1964 taken from the Holland Land Office Museum Web site.

The Holland Land Office Museum is Transforming into a Wonderland of Trees!

By Holland Land Office Museum

Groups are setting up for the annual Wonderland of Trees at the Holland Land Office Museum. The event starts Friday evening with the annual Kickoff Gala sponsored by Five Star Bank.

 

The Museum anticipates about 45 community groups, business, organizations and volunteers. There is still a couple of days left to get your trees up. If you or your business would like to decorate a tree, call the Museum at 343-4727. There isn’t a charge to put one up, but the group must supply the tree and all the trimmings.

 

On Friday night at 7:30 p.m., the annual Wonderland of Trees Kickoff Gala occurs.  Come and view the trees, vote on your favorites, enjoy music and visit with friends and neighbors as we ring in the holiday season. Tickets for the event are still available and cost $20 per ticket or $30 per couple. Reserve your ticket by calling the Museum at 343-4727.

 

For more information, visit www.wonderlandoftrees.com

Batavia Muckdogs: No. 9 in What Made Genesee County Famous

By Philip Anselmo

We were wondering when the Muckdogs would make their appearance in the Holland Land Office Museum's countdown of the Twenty-Five Things that Made Genesee County Famous. Well, they've made it. They broke the top ten. They come in at No. 9.

So we all know why we here in Genesee County love the Muckdogs—and we loved them all the more after the brought home the league title this summer. But how do the 'Dawgs make Genesee County famous?

Here's Pat Weissend, director of the Holland Land Office Museum:

Although Batavia is one of the smallest cities in America to have a Minor League franchise, the team consistently ranks near the top of the merchandise sold list. More than 100 Little League and softball teams across the country use Muckdogs as their team name.

Not to mention the world champs:

Many major leaguers began their professional careers in Batavia including World Series champions and current members of the Philadelphia Phillies Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Kyle Kendrick, Ryan Madson and JA Happ. National media outlets visited Batavia in 1998 when Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams played left field for the team. Some of the early Batavia greats were Jack Tighe, Dick Fowler, Manny Sanguillen and Doc Ellis. Clarence (Cito) Gaston led Batavia and the league in homers and runs batted in while playing for the 1966 Trojans. Gaston won two World Series as the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1990s.

Congrats, Muckdogs!

OK, now that we're getting near the top of the list, it's time to start making some predictions. Surely, William Morgan will crack the top five. Bill Kauffman has got to be up there, too, as someone who has quite consciously made Genesee County famous with his book: Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette. A controversy over a transgender science teacher at a Batavia city school has to be at least number three.

What do you think? What's your number one?

Be sure to keep your browser tuned to the Holland Land Office Museum in the coming weeks. We could see our number one by the end of the year.

Wonderland of Trees at the Holland Land Office Museum!

By Holland Land Office Museum

The Holland Land Office Museum is preparing for the 7th Annual Wonderland of Trees. This annual fundraiser begins November 22, 2008, and runs until January 3, 2009. The annual holiday display features over 40 trees decorated by area businesses, community groups, and local school children. With the theme of “Frosty’s Holiday”, this year’s trees promises to be exciting and creative. The annual event is sponsored by Five Star Bank.

The museum is open special holiday hours for this event. We are open Tuesdays-Saturdays 10:00am-4:00pm. And starting Sunday November 23rd, we will be open 12:30 pm-4:30 pm. The cost of the event is $4.00 for adults, $1.00 for children (ages 5-13), and free for children under 5. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Musem at 343-4727 or on our website at www.wonderlandoftrees.com. We look forward to seeing you this holiday season.

It’s Back! The Linden Murders: Unsolved!

By Holland Land Office Museum

Much to my surprise today, local author, William F. Brown, Jr. came into the Holland Land Office Museum with a box of his classic book, The Linden Murders: Unsolved!

The book, originally published in 1984 and in its eighth printing, tells the story of a series of murders that rocked the countryside around the hamlet of Linden in the early 1920s.

The price of the book is $12.95 and will not be available for long. Get your copy immediately at the Holland Land Office Museum; they will certainly sell out before Christmas.

The Holland Land Office Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. For more information, call us at 343-4727 or check out our website at www.hollandlandoffice.com

HOLM: Dean Richmond helped make Genesee County Famous

By Howard B. Owens

Checking in at number 10 on the Holland Land Office Museum's ongoing list of 25 Things that Made Genesee County Famous is Dean Richmond.

The name Richmond still plays a prominent role in Batavia. There is the library, of course, but there is also the impressive looking family tomb in the Batavia Cemetary on Harvester Avenue.

Too bad his grand old mansion was torn down by the school board (the school board!?) after the board purchased the building in 1966 and the failed in an attempt to annex the Richmond Library. Where the Greek Revival structure once stood (311 East Main St.) is ... a parking lot. (I think they call that progress.)

But back to dear old Dean.

Mr. Richmond, according to HOLM, was born in 1804 in Barnard, Vermont. He was the son of an entrepreneur, but was forced to make his own way in life at age 14, when his father died.  He turned his father's money-losing business into a profitable one, and eventually used his growing wealth to invest in the emerging railroad business.

Dean Richmond is best known in railroad circles as the first person in America to advocate the use of steel rails for the construction of railroads. An order was placed in England for the steel rails for a test run, but the tests were completed after Richmond died. The tests were successful and the steel industry grew out of the demand for the product by the railroad.

While Richmond was president of the New York Central, he demanded that all trains stop in Batavia. In 1866, the year of Richmond’s death, more than 3.7 million travelers rode on the train line. Not all of those people stopped in Batavia, but a fair share did, and because of Richmond, Batavia became a terminal and a gateway to the west.

Among the passengers who road through Batavia, according to Patrick Weissend, was Abraham Lincoln -- both on his way to assume the presidency in Washington, D.C., and his casket was carried through Genesee County when his body was returned to Springfield, Ill. In both cases, the name of the engine that transported Mr. Lincoln was the Dean Richmond.

The Buffalo History Works site quotes this passage about the train's pass through Batavia from the Buffalo Morning Express:

The funeral train was met at Batavia yesterday morning by the Committee from this city which included Honorable Millard Fillmore. The Committee left here at 6:00 o'clock Wednesday evening by a special car provided for their accommodation, passing the night at Batavia. At 5:00 o'clock yesterday morning, the funeral train arrived at that point, where it was received, as at every halting point along the line of its long, sad journey, by an immense concourse of people. The assemblage had begun with the very dawn, when the firing of the minute guns awoke the village from its slumbers and hastened the steps of pilgrims from the surrounding country flocking in. Before the train appeared, it had grown to the proportions of a city throng.

The multitude stood with their heads bowed, silent, sorrowful and reverent, paying that sincere homage to the dead which had everywhere been so memorable and remarkable. The pause of the train was but for ten minutes, during which the committee from Buffalo took their places in the car reserved for them. From thence to this city no halt on the journey was made but at every station and almost continuously the train passed between long lines of people, who had come to catch but a floating glimpse of what bore the remains of their beloved President; and everywhere they bowed, with uncovered heads, in afflicting bestowment of their little passing tribute of solemn reverence.

Here's something additional I just found: The wreckage of the Dean Richmond, a freighter on the Lake Erie that went down in a storm in 1893. Here's a 1872 article from the New York Times about a fire aboard the very same steamer. Actually, maybe those are not the same boats. This article says there were for Great Lakes steamers named the Dean Richmond -- all met similar fates.  The link contains a picture of the fourth one.

The Best Local Gifts for the Holidays!

By Holland Land Office Museum

I know it’s early, but let's start thinking about Holiday Shopping!

The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the arrival of the fourth building in the Custom Wood Gift series. On November 1, 2008 the next building, the Old City Hall / Brisbane Mansion will be available at the Museum Store inside the Holland Land Office Museum.

The 5 inch by 7 inch gift features the old City Hall on the front and a history of the building on the back.

Here is the building history from the back:


Brisbane Mansion / City Hall
Batavia, New York

The Brisbane Mansion was built in 1853 by George Brisbane, the son of Batavia’s first merchant. The Brisbane family donated the mansion to the city and assumed it would be razed for a city park.

On February 5, 1918, Ellicott Hall which was serving as city headquarters burned to the ground.

After the fire, City Council decided the Brisbane Mansion would serve as City Hall. Frank Homelius drew up plans for remodeling and the Mansion opened as the new City Hall on September 28, 1918.

In 2004, City Hall was moved from this building to the new City Centre.

The Brisbane Mansion is part of the Genesee County Historic District and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.


This is the fourth building available. The others are the Holland Land Office Museum, the Richmond Mansion and the old Genesee County Courthouse.

 

See the entire collection at http://www.hollandlandoffice.com/museum_store_woodgifts.htm

 

Call the Holland Land Office Museum at (585) 343-4727 to preorder yours today.

 

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