Tag Archives: Ontario County

On to Ontario!

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One of the great mysteries of western New York is: why doesn’t Ontario County touch Lake Ontario?

*Well, the answer is that once upon a time it did. When Ontario was created, back in 1789, it included all or part of 11 modern counties.

*What’s left has a special place in my heart, as we lived in Ontario for the first two years of our residence in New York state, in “The Bloomfields.” In 1939 my father-in-law and his cousin drove down Routes 5 and 20 on their way from Vermont to Oklahoma, hoping vainly to get work in the oil fields. At every stop they made, a knot of men huddled around the radio, listening to news of Hitler’s invasion of Poland. Little did he think that six decades later he would have a daughter, a son-in-law, and two grandsons living along that route.

*“Five-and-twenty,” which is a single road, was our first road west, following the “natural corridor” route later exploited by the Erie Canal, the New York Central Railroad, and the New York State Thruway. Our son Josh and I first drove this from west to east, heading from Lima back to Vermont. As we approached Canandaigua we gaped to see a golden dome resplendent in the sun and topped by a statue. “Is that some Mormon thing?” we asked. It’s the county courthouse, of course, but a gold star to my eighth-grade son, with no background in Mormonism or in western New York, for knowing that Ontario County is the birthplace of that religion.

*There are several Mormon historic sites in the county, not to mention the spectacular Hill Cumorah Festival, a gigantic sound-and-light-and-stage show scripted, in its latest incarnation, by science-fiction great Orson Scott Card. We’ve been – it’s impressive.

*While counties such as Yates, Chemung, Schuyler and Monroe each have a community that by virtue of its population forms the definite hub of its region, Ontario has two cities – Geneva and Canandaigua – nearly equal in size. Each lies at the foot (or north end) of a major Finger Lake… Seneca and Canandaigua, respectively. Two smaller Finger Lakes, Canadice and Honeoye, are completely within Ontario County, which also boasts the east shore of Hemlock Lake.

*Ontario is home to Boy Scout Camp Dittmer, and also to the New York State Pageant of Steam. Just as I’ve been to Hill Cumorah Festival at least once, I’ve also been to the Steam Pageant at least once. You don’t have to be especially interested, and you certainly don’t need to be an expert, to be overwhelmed. It’s really a terrific experience.

*Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion I’ve been to MANY more times than once or twice. I love to wander the grounds and weave through the greenhouses, while in the great entrance hall I expect Theodore Roosevelt or Frederick Remington to stride in any minute. Ontario County Fair could be bottled for essence of American county fair.

*Naples, with its lovely mile-long Main Street, lies in Ontario County – the ride from Naples to Canandaigua is a ride through vineyard country, often overlooking Canandaigua Lake. Pause in Cheshire, and check out The Company Store and Cheshire Union Gifts & Antique Center.

*Canandaigua’s Main Street is a good place to shop and stroll. It has an embroidery store (Expressions in Needlearts) AND a comic book store (Pulp Nouveau)… the perfect recipe for domestic harmony. I once saw a coyote on Main Street, and last week a Cooper’s Hawk. Sunken gardens set into the sidewalks add green space and process storm water.

*I know good libraries in Geneva, Bloomfield, and Canandaigua, and shoppers love Eastview Mall in Victor. Skiers like Bristol Mountain Ski Resort, while LeTourneau Christian Center camp and retreat center is washed by Canandaigua’s eastern waters. Roseland Waterpark is a popular attraction, borrowing its name from a well-remembered but long-gone amusement park. Those who like the ponies visit Finger Lakes Racetrack in Farmington. Ontario County Historical Society has a museum worth visiting, as does Geneva Historical Society.

*Canandaigua is home to Finger Lakes Community College, and to the open-air Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center, where we’ve seen Garrison Keillor, and also Peter, Paul, and Mary. The 1894 Smith Opera House in Geneva makes a lovely baroque setting for performances.

*Last week I was at the Jumpoff Point, a cliff with a dramatic view in Ontario County Park, when a cyclist appeared, looked around, and proclaimed it well worth his trip. This spot also marks the northern terminus of the rugged 55-mile Bristol Hills Trail, which I found a hard slog but a joy to hike.

*If you’re reading this in the main “Leader” coverage area, it may remind you of lots of places you plan to get around to visiting, but which are just far enough away that you never quite get there. My advice is to pick a date, pick a destination, grit your teeth, and go. I’ll be very surprised if you decide that you’d rather have puttered at home.

A Parade of Counties

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A few weeks ago we looked at county and local governments in this blog, and that got me to thinking about our local counties themselves.

Counties are created, altered, and abolished by the state legislatures, contrary to the bizarre theory that counties are somehow the only legitimate unit of government.

On paper our area after 1691 was part of Albany County. In 1772 part of Albany became Tryon County… named to honor a British aristocrat, then changed to Montgomery for a hero of the Revolution. The Iroquois would have found all this hilarious, given that they still ruled almost a century after New York colony drew those Albany County lines on the map.

What was Montgomery County back then comprised all or parts of some thirty counties today, and all those arrangements actually started to mean something about 1789, when Ontario County was erected from Montgomery. Ontario ran from the state line to Lake Ontario, and roughly from the Genesee River to Seneca Lake, which pretty much matched the “Pulteney Purchase” by British investors. Steuben County was separated out in 1796. As new counties were created Ontario became progressively smaller until it reached its current boundaries in 1828 – which explains why a county with that name comes nowhere near the lake.

Allegany County was created (from Genesee) in 1806, later gaining land from Steuben but losing to Livingston, Wyoming, and even back to Genesee. Parts of Genesee and Ontario formed Livingston County in 1821, and boundary adjustments went on as late as 1922.

Yates County came out of Ontario in 1823 and added part of Steuben three years later. As years went on it gave up land to Tompkins and Seneca Counties, but added space (all under water) from Schuyler and Seneca in 1946.

A very large Tioga County came to be in 1791, and Chemung was created from Tioga in 1836.

And to complete our local (Corning-area) county map, and looking only in New York state, in 1854 Chemung, Steuben, and Tompkins all gave up land to make Schuyler County, the baby of the family. This is when Steuben finally lost its shoreline on Seneca Lake, having already given up some of Keuka for Yates County.

That lays out the boundaries. Where did all these county names come from?

ALBANY was named after the city, which took its name from one of the Duke of York’s subsidiary titles. TRYON was a colonial governor, and General Richard MONTGOMERY was killed in the Revolution, leading an attack on Quebec.

ONTARIO is of course the lowest and smallest of the Great Lakes, its name reportedly meaning Lake of Shining Waters in the Huron or Wyandotte tongue. ALLEGANY honors the memory of an early people driven out by the invading Iroquois. The name CHEMUNG reportedly derives from a Delaware word meaning “big horn,” referring to a mammoth tusk found nearby.

Baron STEUBEN was the man, more than any other, who trained and disciplined the Revolutionary troops into a true fighting army. Robert LIVINGSTON was also (reluctantly) a hero of the Revolution. He later swore in George Washington as President, and helped arrange the Louisiana Purchase. Philip SCHUYLER was a Revolutionary general, though not one whose career has impressed historians, and Governor Joseph YATES signed the law creating Yates County. From time to time in the future we’ll look at some swell stuff in each county, one by one.