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Strong in Rochester in Monroe County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Olmsted and Genesee Valley Park

 
 
Olmsted and Genesee Valley Park Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Steve Stoessel, September 20, 2021
1. Olmsted and Genesee Valley Park Marker
Inscription.
Selected in 1888 by the City of Rochester to design its park system, Frederick Law Olmsted, the "Father of American Landscape Architecture" chose a tract of rolling hills, quiet wooded areas, large meadows and splendid views on both sides of the Genesee River - and created an ideal pastoral park.

Beginning in 1890 and continuing for 22 years, Olmsted and his firm supervised the planting of more than 10,500 shrubs and 70,000 trees, while designing the construction of picnic pavilions, foot bridges, benches, fishing docks, ball fields, a bandshell, tennis courts, one of the nation's first public golf courses, and other recreational facilities too numerous to count.

Today, almost a century old, the Genesee Valley Park is among Rochester's jewels, and has continued to provide the people of Rochester with a park for all seasons as well as a rare aesthetic experience.

Rochester's Genesee Valley Canal
The Genesee Valley Canal was one of the lateral canals that the NYS Canal Commission promoted to develop a statewide network. Extending from Rochester to Dansville, it sought to capitalize on Rochester’s population growth from 9,200 in 1830 to 36,000 by 1850. Local leaders persuaded the Commission to built the canal fearing competition from Pittsburgh’s waterways and trails leading to the Ohio River.

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route through the valley was chosen which skirted gorges and hills, and made the endeavor, costing $6,000,000, the second most expensive project in state history. Began in 1839, suspended in 1842, and restarted in 1846, it was mostly completed by 1858 (a spur to Dansville wasn’t completed until 1861). It closed in 1878 with a history of never being profitable.

Ely Parker: Canal Engineer, Brig. General, Sachem, Genius
Ely S. Parker was a Seneca who was brilliant, talented, and hard-working. After studying law, he worked to re-acquire Tonawanda lands seized by fraudulent treaties. For this he was made Sachem of the Iroquois Confederacy at 26, and was called “Do-ho-ga-wa” “Open Door.” Lewis Morgan, “Father of American Anthropology” (he published the first scientific study of Indian culture in 1851) made Parker his protégé. In 1849, Lewis recommended him as an assistant engineer on the Genesee the Valley Canal where he learned the profession on the job. He later worked as an engineer on the Erie Canal and lighthouse projects on the Great Lakes. During the Civil War Parker served as U.S. Grant’s military secretary, drawing up the terms of surrender for Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. He achieved the rank of brigadier general. After the war he served as Grant’s Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to do so. Later, he became a successful businessman,
Olmsted and Genesee Valley Park Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Steve Stoessel, September 20, 2021
2. Olmsted and Genesee Valley Park Marker
but lost his fortune in the Panic of 1873.
 
Erected by New York State Canalway.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Parks & Recreational AreasWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1888.
 
Location. 43° 7.048′ N, 77° 38.002′ W. Marker is in Rochester, New York, in Monroe County. It is in Strong. Marker can be reached from Kendrick Road west of Westmoreland Drive, on the right when traveling west. Located on the Erie Canal Heritage Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Rochester NY 14620, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Genesee Expressway (about 500 feet away); Is this the Erie Canal? (about 500 feet away); The Canalway Trail (about 500 feet away); The Empire State Trail (approx. 0.2 miles away); Curtis Point (approx. 0.4 miles away); Bausch & Lomb Riverside Park (approx. half a mile away); Camp Hillhouse (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rochester.
 
More about this marker. The marker is on a kiosk with three panels. Two panels describe the Canalway near Rochester.
 
Second Panel of Kiosk image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Steve Stoessel, September 20, 2021
3. Second Panel of Kiosk
The Canalway Trail at Rochester image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Steve Stoessel, September 20, 2021
4. The Canalway Trail at Rochester
Third panel of the kiosk.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 22, 2021, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. This page has been viewed 106 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 22, 2021, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024