Living in Greece Stories

Stories and recollections from the people, places, and publications that document life in the Town of Greece.

These articles offer perspectives on what it was like to live in the Town of Greece in the past. Many are from the archives or newsletters of the Greece Historical Society. If you would be interested in learning more about the Town of Greece’s history, please feel free to contact us at (585) 225-7221.

(These stories are the property of the Greece Historical Society, which retains all right thereto. The contributors to these stories provide them for non-commercial, personal, educational, and/or research use only. Prior written permission from the Greece Historical Society and the individual authors must be obtained for any other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly publications, or any reproductions or redistribution of any kind.)

Share Your Stories and Memories

We love to read stories and memories by you or your organization. Submit a local history story or memory of growing up in the Town of Greece by emailing a zip file with your story and photos to greecehistoricalsociety@yahoo.com. Use the subject line: Share My Story of Local History or Memories Of Greece N.Y. plus your story title. Include a brief bio and one photo for publication.

Your story should be no more than 500 words. We can edit for continuity, grammar, and punctuation. Stories may cover one span or multiple spans: 1800-1850, 1900-1950, 1950-2000, and 2000-Present.

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Murals Brought Awareness of Greece Erie Canal History

May 28, 2025 |
At Henpeck Park in Greece, NY, three murals beneath the Elmgrove Road bridge depict the Erie Canal's evolution: its construction, expansion, and the Junction Lock era. Commissioned by the Greece Chamber of Commerce and painted by Stacey Kirby, they were unveiled in 2010 to highlight the canal's local significance.
Categories: 1800-1850 1850-1900 1872 Common School Districts 1900-1950 1950-2000 2000 - Present Living in Greece Stories
Tags: 1918-1920 Albion Cayuga Dave Pandina Elmgrove Road Erie Canal Erie Canal at 175 Erie Canal Bicentennial Greece Chamber of Commerce Henpeck Park Jodie Perry Junction Lock Mural Mania Orleans September 2010 South Greece Stacy Kirby World Canal Conference
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The City of Rochester in the Town of Greece: A legacy of the Erie Canal

February 9, 2025 |
The distinctive shape of Rochester, New York, is largely the result of various annexations over the years. Notably, in 1926, the city annexed a narrow strip of land, approximately 2 miles long and 130 feet wide, running parallel to Ridgeway Avenue in the Town of Greece. This land was part...
Categories: 1800-1850 1850-1900 1900-1950 1950-2000 2000 - Present Erie Canal Living in Greece Stories
Tags: 1825 1918 1922 1926 1938 1956 390 Camegi Companies Charlotte city Culver Road Durand Eastman Park Erie Canal Erie Canal Commons Genesee Valley Park Geographic Information System GIS Greece Irondequoit Bay Junction Lock Lake Erie Latona Road Lee Road Monroe County GIS North NY-390 old Olde Erie Trail Plat Map population density property boundaries rail Rochester State Route 390 subway town trail Tyron Park weather patterns
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DANN HOUSE – from Hotel to Bowling

December 8, 2024 |
In 1885, Anthony Kleinhans purchased the Dann House, relocating it to the Long Pond outlet as a carriage house before constructing the Grand View Beach Hotel, which burned down in 1947. The Dann House later became a restaurant and bowling alley but faced competition and code violations, leading to its...
Categories: 1800-1850 1850-1900 1900-1950 Corinthian Living in Greece Stories
Tags: 1877 1885 1947 1950 1960 1972 1978 Ames Tavern and Bowling Center Anthony Kleinhans automatic pin setter Bowling Alley bowling halls Carriage house DANN HOUSE Dewey Gardens Girly Goodwin Park Grand View Beach Hotel Harry Boehm Lakeshore Long Pond Long Pond Outlet Maiden Lanes Manitou Beach Trolley McIntosh’s 1877 History of Monroe County Monroe County resort hotel Terrice Gardens Town of Greece
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Ralph Francis: Black Activist and Abolitionist

February 2, 2024 |
Marie Poinan presented on Charlotte ferries' history, highlighting Ralph Francis, a black ferry operator who might have aided the Underground Railroad (UGRR). With limited records due to UGRR secrecy, Francis's activism and circumstantial evidence, including his property and business ties, support possible involvement. After facing personal tragedies and potential danger,...
Categories: 1800-1850 1850-1900 Charlotte Hamlets of Greece Living in Greece Stories
Tags: Benjamin Cleggett Canada Charlotte Civil War conductor Daily Democrat Democrat & Chronicle Eagle Hotel Francis & Cleggett Barber Shop Frederick Douglass Fugitive Slave Act Genesee River Greig Street Harriet Tubman Kelsey's Landing Marie Villone Poinan Maureen Whalen New York State North Star Ontario Peterborough Port of Charlotte Ralph Francis Reynolds Arcade Stagecoach stationmaster Third Ward Underground Railroad
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A Milk Pail, A Photo Album and the Fleming Farm

March 1, 2020 |
The Fleming House, a stately brick farmhouse on Latta Road in Greece, was owned by the Fleming family for over 160 years. Joseph E. Fleming was the first to purchase the property in 1853 and completed the double-wall farmhouse in 1854. The farm had milk cows, goats, pigs, chickens, a...
Categories: 1800-1850 1850-1900 1900-1950 Fleming Family From The Historian's Files Living in Greece Stories Pioneer Families
Tags: Joseph Fleming Pioneer Families
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Town’s First St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, in 1836

September 1, 2019 |
Our History... by Bill Sauers Legend holds that the ancient Greeks were the first to wish someone good health while raising a glass and drinking. It is said that it was to prove that the drink was healthy (in other words, not poison). Somewhere along the line, a Ro­man custom...
Categories: 1800-1850 Living in Greece Stories
Tags: G. Moore Henry Benton Judge Nicholas Read Nicholas Read Squire Nicholas Read
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Greece memories: Farmer’s diary shows 1800’s life in the Island Cottage area

September 1, 2017 |
The William Connelly family lived for many years in the Island Cottage and Janes Road area. Connolly was born in Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland in March 1818. At the age of eleven, he immigrated to the United States with his parents. Early on, they set­tled in the Greece area. Connelly...
Categories: 1800-1850 Living in Greece Stories
Tags: Buck Pond Charlotte Civil Warr Ellen Burns Fort Sumter Island Cottage Road Janes Janes Road Jimmy Goodwin Lewis Mother of Sorrows Mr. Allen Mullen's Cooper Shop Nancy Beaty Nancy Connelly President Lincoln Railroard Valentine's Day William Connelly
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“From tractors to tracts!” – From The Historian’s Desk

October 1, 2016 |
It is not quite a century since rural Greece slowly and sometimes not so slowly started to turn from an almost com­pletely agricultural community to street after street of home developments. After World War II the pace quickened so fast that the DPW couldn't keep up with all the new...
Categories: 1800-1850 1850-1900 1900-1950 From The Historian's Files Pioneer Families
Tags: DeConinck Kirk Road Latta Road Mitchell Pioneer Families Preston World War II Yarker
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“A stone is a stone is a Cobblestone!”

November 5, 2013 |
Webster's New World Dictionary (College Edition) has the following: Cob-ble-stone (kab' I ston') A rounded stone of a kind formerly much used for paving.  First Christian Church then Greece Methodist Church Latta Road GHS School district 9 school also served as Greece Methodist Church in the mid 1800s GHS Well,...
Categories: 1800-1850 Corinthian Designated Landmark From The Historian's Files Living in Greece Stories
Tags: Allan Mueller Cobblestone Cobblestone Masonry Cobblestone Museum
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