On October 8, 1880, George Richardson (2nd Great Grandfather to Greece Historical Society Board Trustee David Richardson) bought 100 acres of land at the Southeast corner of Big Ridge Road and Mitchell Road (now Ridgeway and Long Pond Road) for $11,000 from the widow of Daniel Sharp. This was Lot 108 of the 20,000 Acre tract of the Phelps and Gorham purchase. George left the oil wells of Bradford, PA for the Flour City and the rich farming industry that was flourishing at that time. In 1895, George turned the farm over to his oldest son, Edward and his wife Cora Miller. The family raised cows and grew grain.
In the early 1900s, the State of New York began making plans to widen, relocate, and make improvements to the Erie Canal. By 1918, the Erie Canal would be moved from the North side of Big Ridge Road (Ridgeway Ave) to the South side. You can still see evidence of the old Erie Canal to this day, just South of Unity Hospital on Long Pond Road.
As evidenced by this document, Ed and Cora received $480.31 from the State of New York on March 4, 1907. The “new” Erie Canal would divide the Richardson parcel nearly in half and significantly reduce their fields for farming. Ed and Cora’s children witnessed the building of the Canal on their property, as well as the bridge which was built to cross the Canal. The property was eventually auctioned off in 1939. The northern part of their former property is now Canal Ponds Business Park. The south portion was the site of the Central Drive-in from 1946 to 1982 and is now townhomes and a professional building.
1938 map illustrating the Richardson land (shaded area) purchased by NYS for the Barge Canal (Environs of Rochester, Vol. 3, Plat 38) via Rochester Public Library
