The Livonia Area Preservation & Historical Society

South Lima

The hamlet of South Lima lies within three different townships: Lima, Avon and the northern portion of the Town of Livonia. The settlement sprang up in the early part of the 19^th century, and was first known as Goose Island because of the many geese in the swampland that surrounded it. Eventually, the swamps were drained, and the resulting muck land grew abundant crops for the local farmers who raised and marketed such produce as onions, celery, lettuce and potatoes.

One of the first pioneers came to South Lima in 1802; he was Ethan Bronson who bought a large tract of land from the Holland Land Purchase. Other early settlers were Jeremiah Whaley and William Hamilton. Mr. Bronson and Mr. Hamilton owned the two taverns in town. South Lima saw its fair share of travelers as it was on the main Canandaigua and Batavia stage coach route.

In 1852 the Erie Railroad was built through Goose Island. Mr. Hamilton gave part of his land to the railroad with the understanding that they would change the name of the place to Hamilton Station. In the 1960s, the Hamilton Tavern was dismantled and moved to the Genesee Country Museum and was used as a town hall.

Livonia Center

Just east of Livonia Station was the village of Livonia Center. Families with the names of Woodruff, Gibbs, Beecher, Coy and Blake were some of the early residents. In 1804, the first store in the Center was built by Isaac Bishop and stood where Village Woodworks is now located (the old Catholic church). There was also a tavern and a cobblestone blacksmith shop (pictured above).

Livonia Center was a wonderful little country village. In the early days it was also on the Canandaigua and Genesee Valley mail route and the event of the day was the arrival of the four-horse stage coach. Even though the Erie RR bypassed the Center and gave rise to the growth of Livonia Station, the Rochester & Southern Junction (Lehigh Valley RR) passed very near the hamlet. It connected to Lima, Honeoye Falls and Rochester to the north and Hemlock to the south. The depot was located on Richmond Mills Road and was also used as a place for parties and dances. Passenger service continued until about 1936.

Town of Livonia History

Livonia was carved out of the surveyed land of Phelps and Gorham. A historical marker on Federal Road marks the approximate homesite of the first settler, Solomon Woodruff. He arrived c. 1789, soon after the Revolutionary War had dispelled the Aboriginal peoples from the region. At that time the area was known as Pittstown, so named for Peter Pitts who had purchased the land from Phelps and Gorham. On February 12, 1808, Pittstown became divided. The western half was named Livonia (after a Russian province which bore the same name).

At present, the Town of Livonia is made up of the following hamlets: Village of Livonia, Livonia Center, South Livonia, South Lima, Hemlock and Lakeville. Listed here are just snippets of each hamlet’s history. More extensive information can be found in 1789-1989 Livonia History, a book published by the Bicentennial Committee. (The book is available at the museum for $5).

Lakeville/Conesus Lake

The hamlet of Lakeville was established at the foot of Conesus Lake, called “Ga-ne-a-sos” by the native Americans. In 1792 John Bosley of Maryland built a mill on the lake outlet, and like many other western New York settlements, homes and other places of business followed. Lakeville was then and still is the only settlement on the nine mile long lake, and the history of lake and hamlet is greatly intertwined. In the late 1800s and early 20^th century, in the heyday of excursions and big resort hotels, people came via train by the hundreds into Lakeville where they boarded such lake steamers as the MacPherson, the Conesus, or the J. A. Ritz for various destinations on the lake. Today the Town of Livonia owns 6+ acres of parkland in Lakeville, on the north shore of the lake where excursion trains once unloaded their passengers, and the big steamers docked.

South Livonia

The early history of South Livonia had its beginning in a settlement known as Vermont Street, so named because most of the settlers came from the state of Vermont. We find the names Adams, Coe, Backus, Chamberlain, Baker, and Patterson among the early settlers. Upon their arrival to South Livonia, the Vermonters planted Maple Trees. According to stories passed from generation to generation, the making of Maple Sugar was the first commodity produced in South Livonia.

Early pioneers of South Livonia were the Coe Family. The Coe barns now standing on the site of the original homestead are a study of Gothic Revival Architecture. The original Coe Home burned, but the beautiful gingerbread on the barn still attracts passersby. Two of the Coe barns were featured in Daniel Fink’s Barns of the Genesee Country, 1790-1915 — the Gothic Revival Barn and the Octagon Barn.

Hemlock

In 1796 Philip Short built a cabin about 1/4 mile in the valley north of Hemlock Lake. He was the forerunner of the Short family whose members were numerous in the area for many decades. At about this same time, Mr. Higby, from Livonia, established a saw mill on the outlet. Logs were coming in large quantities down the lake from Springwater and logging was taking place on the lake shore. In 1808, the Township of Livonia was formed and Hemlock was a part of it. The Hamlet of Hemlock was built upon the lumber industry in the early to mid 1800s. Mills sprung up around Hemlock Lake.

In 1866, it is told that a large crowd assembled in front of the Metropolitan Hotel to discuss the possibility of a fair. That was the beginning of what later became known as The Slab City Fair, The Little World’s Fair, and just plain Hemlock Fair. In 1877, a two day fair was held. From then on, it grew into what largely became contests of horse racing until the early 1900s.

Livonia Village

With the arrival of the railroad in 1853, homes and businesses were built in the proximity of the depot; because of this, the settlement became commonly known as Livonia Station. By the year 1872 it had become the largest village in the Livonia township. The village of Livonia Station itself was a latecomer in the matter of taverns and hotels. The first tavern was built by a Mr. Ripley and was located in the general area of Railroad Avenue. This was before the present brick buildings were built on what is now Commercial Street. Other businesses included the Smith Hotel, the Baldwin Hotel, the Commercial House and the Church Hotel, all of which accomodated railway travellers. The Church Hotel and the Commercial House remain standing today as the Cottage Hotel (apartments) and the Livonia Inn. Livonia Station was renamed simply Livonia on February 24, 1900.