Genesee Country Museum - Land Office
This building is the Land Office - built c.1835. This structure came to the Genesee Country Village & Museum from Alloway, NY and is now located in the Pioneer Settlement section of the village. Now a little bit of history: The success of some Genesee Country land agents was not matched by other large-scale speculators in wild NY lands. Among the long-range losers were Oliver Phelps, his partner Nathaniel Gorham and Philadelphia banker Robert Morris. Land speculation was a hazardous business. Absentee landlords were soon disenchanted when their expectations for quick profits from wholesaling large tracts to land-hungry investors proved wishful. Resident-agent Captain Charles Williamson recognized that to boost sluggish sales, he would have to sell modest parcels to individual farmers. To expedite such sales, Williamson enlisted sub-agents to establish offices in other regions of his territory and set about making improvements. But time ran out on the freewheeling Williamson, and he was replaced with a more conservative and practical promoter, Robert Troup. By 1794, Henry Towar, one of Williamson's sub-agents, had built a gristmill, sawmill and clothiery on Canandaigua Lake Outlet, and raised a log house for his office. First known as Towar's Mills, the settlement was renamed Alloway. When Towar arrived in Alloway, unimproved land was selling for $2 an acre and money was scarce. With help from his family Towar prospered in Alloway and built a handsome house. When the Erie Canal and the RR bypassed Alloway, it subsided into a quiet rural hamlet. Toward the end of his active career, Towar erected a little Greek Revival building for his land office. When it's days as a land office ended, it then served as a doctor's office, butcher shop and a filling station. Today it has been turned back into its original purpose and has been provided with the tools of Captain Towar's trade with maps, charts, ledgers, a letter press, a safe, and surveying instruments. Unfortunately the day Jim & I were there it was not open. The Genesee Country Village & Museum is located at 1410 Flint Hill Road (George Street) in Mumford, NY.
Genesee Country Museum - Land Office
This building is the Land Office - built c.1835. This structure came to the Genesee Country Village & Museum from Alloway, NY and is now located in the Pioneer Settlement section of the village. Now a little bit of history: The success of some Genesee Country land agents was not matched by other large-scale speculators in wild NY lands. Among the long-range losers were Oliver Phelps, his partner Nathaniel Gorham and Philadelphia banker Robert Morris. Land speculation was a hazardous business. Absentee landlords were soon disenchanted when their expectations for quick profits from wholesaling large tracts to land-hungry investors proved wishful. Resident-agent Captain Charles Williamson recognized that to boost sluggish sales, he would have to sell modest parcels to individual farmers. To expedite such sales, Williamson enlisted sub-agents to establish offices in other regions of his territory and set about making improvements. But time ran out on the freewheeling Williamson, and he was replaced with a more conservative and practical promoter, Robert Troup. By 1794, Henry Towar, one of Williamson's sub-agents, had built a gristmill, sawmill and clothiery on Canandaigua Lake Outlet, and raised a log house for his office. First known as Towar's Mills, the settlement was renamed Alloway. When Towar arrived in Alloway, unimproved land was selling for $2 an acre and money was scarce. With help from his family Towar prospered in Alloway and built a handsome house. When the Erie Canal and the RR bypassed Alloway, it subsided into a quiet rural hamlet. Toward the end of his active career, Towar erected a little Greek Revival building for his land office. When it's days as a land office ended, it then served as a doctor's office, butcher shop and a filling station. Today it has been turned back into its original purpose and has been provided with the tools of Captain Towar's trade with maps, charts, ledgers, a letter press, a safe, and surveying instruments. Unfortunately the day Jim & I were there it was not open. The Genesee Country Village & Museum is located at 1410 Flint Hill Road (George Street) in Mumford, NY.