Orleans in Phelps in Ontario County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Orleans
Photographed by James Turcotte, November 21, 2025
1. Orleans Marker
Inscription.
Orleans. . Originally nicknamed "Hardscrabble" because of the difficulties of travelers scaling the steep hills surrounding the settlement, this hamlet was renamed "Orleans" after General Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 18 12. Early families that settled this area included the Wheats, Warners, Rices, Baggerleys and Whitneys. the Sodus Point and Southern Railroads Line (later Operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad) was constructed through here in 1876. By the late 1800s, Orleans was a spirited community and a bustling industrial and commerce center. A disastrous fire on April 17, 1910 destroyed 21 buildings, including seven homes, the Baptist Church, town hall, apple evaporator, schoolhouse and a full coal shed. Additional tragedy struck on May 14, 1964 when two Pennsylvania Railroad diesel freight trains collided head-on approximately 3/4 mile south of this point killing three.
Originally nicknamed "Hardscrabble" because of the difficulties of travelers scaling the steep hills surrounding the settlement, this hamlet was renamed "Orleans" after General Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. Early families that settled this area included the Wheats, Warners, Rices, Baggerleys and Whitneys. the Sodus Point & Southern Railroads Line (later Operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad) was constructed through here in 1876. By the late 1800s, Orleans was a spirited community and a bustling industrial and commerce center.
A disastrous fire on April 17, 1910 destroyed 21 buildings, including seven homes, the Baptist Church, town hall, apple evaporator, schoolhouse and a full coal shed. Additional tragedy struck on May 14, 1964 when two Pennsylvania Railroad diesel freight trains collided head-on approximately 3/4 mile south of this point killing three.
Location. 42° 55.073′ N, 77° 6.776′ W. Marker is in Phelps, New York, in Ontario County. It is in Orleans. It is at the intersection of
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Waddell Road and County Road 23 (County Road 23), on the left when traveling south on Waddell Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Phelps NY 14532, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York, specifically in Western New York, in the Finger Lakes, and in the Rochester Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 24, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 21, 2025, by James Turcotte of Phelps, New York. This page has been viewed 128 times since then and 103 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 21, 2025, by James Turcotte of Phelps, New York. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
