Bicentennial Snapshots


The Greece Historical Society shared brief videos. These videos help commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Town of Greece. This series started on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, and concluded on March 21st, 2023. This series has shared many details about the people and events that influenced the town’s evolution. The topics in the Snapshots were researched, written, and narrated by Maureen Whalen. All the snapshots are edited and produced by Pat Worboys. We hope that you will find these videos both interesting and informative.

We would like to thank the following people, town officials, fire departments, school districts, newspapers, and news stations. They provided all the images and information. We used these to compile these snapshots for you to learn more about the history of the Town of Greece.

We would like to thank Gina DiBella, Bill Sauers, and Marie Poinan. We also thank Douglas Worboys, Gene Preston, Jane Grant, Robert Bilsky, and Ralph DeSptephano Sr. for their contributions to the snapshots. Alan Mueller, Joseph Vitello, Pat Worboys, Carolyn Kerheart, and many more contributed significantly. Some of the notes and research are from people who are no longer with us. We would like to give credit to Helen Slocum. Virginia Tomkiewicz, Shirley Cox Husted, and William Aeberli also deserve credit. We especially want to acknowledge Lorraine Kress Beane.

We would like to thank the following organizations for the use of their images. They include North Greece Fire Department, Greece Ridge/Ridge Road Fire District, and Barnard Fire Department. We also thank The Office of the Greece Historian. Other organizations include Rochester Public Library, The University of Rochester, and Rochester Institute of Technology. We also thank Democrat and Chronicle, 13 Wham TV, WHEC, WROC, and Spectrum News. Thanks also to Mother of Sorrows, Greece Baptist Church, Greece United Methodist Church, and Greece Central School District. Finally, The Landmark Society of Western New York, Rochester Museum and Science Center, and others contributed.

Each snapshot will contain a description of the video. Some of the posts will contain information that is written to explain content that was not included in the video. This content is related to the video so you can understand its connection to the snapshot. They also include related articles that were written in the society’s newsletter. They have links to buy some of the books that the society has published over the years. These are to enhance the subjects that are covered in the Snapshots that are put together each week.

If you have ideas or topics that you would like to see covered in this or a different future series, please let us know. You can reach us via our Facebook page. You can also let us know by submitting a request for a snapshot topic or subject.


The Bicentennial Snapshots

Bicentennial Snapshot 34 -Extreme Weather Part 2

Bicentennial Snapshot # 34: Extreme Weather Part 2

Today we continue our look at historic weather events. Clip 1: DPW salt barn, 2018, Office of Town Historian For the most part, we Grecians take snow storms in stride; they are inconvenient but manageable. We can count on the Greece DPW to have our roads plowed and salted in a timely manner. Most of…
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Bicentennial Snapshot # 33 - Extreme Weather Part 1

Bicentennial Snapshot # 33: Extreme Weather Part 1

Today we will be talking about some historic weather events. 1816 and the effects of Mount Tambora eruption in Greece New York In 1815, the largest eruption of a volcano in recorded history occurred; Mount Tambora, in Indonesia erupted spewing so much ash into the atmosphere that global temperatures dropped dramatically in the summer of…
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Bicentennial Snapshot # 32 – Ghost Legends Of Greece NY

Today we will share some ghost stories that have been passed down over the years. Halloween is fast approaching and it’s the time of year traditionally set aside for tales of ghosts and haunted houses and other unaccountable phenomena. We don’t have to go far from home to find any number of stories about spirits…
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Bicentennial Snapshot # 31 – Notable homes in Greece, NY

Today we will take a virtual tour of some of the other notable homes in Greece, New York. Larkin-Beattie-Howe House – 595 Long Pond Rd This beautiful vernacular 19th-century farmhouse is home to the Greece Historical Society. Many of us have moved from one home to another, but this is a house that has moved…
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Bicentennial Snapshot 30 - Cobblestone Part 2

Bicentennial Snapshot No. 30: Cobblestone houses, Part 2

We explore the following cobblestone houses: The Covert-Brodie-Pollock House at 978 North Greece Road, the Westfall-Mercier House at 4350 West Ridge Road, and the Hartman-Foos Cobblestone House at 543 Mill Road…
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Bicentennial Snapshot # 29 – Cobblestone Houses Part 1

This week and next we explore some of the cobblestones houses in the town of Greece. Did you know that when the mile-thick glaciers of the Ice Age melted and receded north thousands of years ago, they left unique marks on the terrain and interesting mountains, lakes, rivers, streams, valleys, and some rich and fertile land for growing crops, as well as boulders, cobbles, pebbles, field stones, gravel and sand deposits in different areas that make up different regions in the world? The glaciers left 5 big freshwater lakes behind, how many of the big lakes can you name?…
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Bicentennial Snapshot No 28 - Jerome A Combs The Baseball player

Bicentennial Snapshot # 28 – Jerome Combs, The Cobblestone Baseball Catcher

This week we introduce you to Jerome Combs, the cobblestone baseball player. Did you know that some baseball players would use cobblestones as baseballs? Well, one player could catch cobblestones and played for the North Parma baseball team and practiced catching them, which people said could not be done…
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Bicentennial Snapshot No 27 - Thomas Toal The Cooper

Bicentennial Snapshot # 27: “The Cooper” Tom Toal

This week in our bicentennial snapshot for September 20th, 2022 we explore Thomas F Toal a cooperage owner, a barber, and a worker from Kodak who grew up on the Parma Greece boarder. We start in on The Frisbee Family…
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Bicentennial Snapshot No 26 Doctor Abdiel Carpenter

Bicentennial Snapshot # 26 – Doctor Abdiel Bliss Carpenter

This week we explore the life of Doctor Abdiel Bliss Carpenter of North Greece, from the time he arrived in North Greece in 1821 till his death in 1896…
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Bicentennial Snapshot No 25 - Hotel DeMay

Bicentennial Snapshot # 25 Hotel De May

This week we explore the Life of The De Mays and the Hotel De May. From Raymond Archibald De May and Irene births till their deaths and the loss of an iconic Restaurant, Bar, and Party House in the North Greece area…
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