LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - APRIL 12, 2020 by Lynne Belluscio If you happen to see some of the historic markers in the area and take the time to read them, you might notice that there are some serious discrepancies. I guess everyone wanted to claim that they had the first school or the first settlement west of the Genesee River, but it only goes to show that you can’t believe everything you read, and history is not cast in stone, bronze or aluminum. Several years ago, I remember commenting on the sign out by the golf course on East Main Road. “Ganson Tavern - First settlement between Genesee River and Buffalo - Tavern conducted by Charles Wilbor 1793 Capt. John Ganson 1797.” Well I don’t think it’s correct. Capt John Ganson did move into Wilbor’s cabin about 1797, but according to most sources, Wilbor had only been there for a year, and probably wasn’t there in 1793, but the statement that the Ganson Settlement was the first west of the Genesee is a real stretch. If you head over through Scottsville on North Road, and travel to the Genesee River, past the old horse farm, you’ll notice another sign. “ First house west of the Genesee River built 1700 feet due south, Home of Indian Allen 1786 and Peter Sheffer, settler, 1789.” If you do a little searching, you’ll discover that the settlement near Scottsville was pretty well established by 1790, a few years before Wilbor and Ganson came to LeRoy. And as it turns out, the “first house” in Scottsville was a log cabin, built by the notorious “Indian Allen” who had been living with his family with Mary Jemison on the Gardeau Flats in what we know as Letchworth Park. (Actually, if you want to be specific, the Gardeau Flats are on the west side of the Genesee River, and I suppose their little settlement could be in the running for the “first” s e t t l e m e n t west of the river.) In 1786, Allen left the Gardeau Flats and headed north and ended up near the mouth of Oatka Creek on the Genesee River. In 1790, Peter Scheffer bought land from Allen and the two families lived together until Allen once again moved north and built a mill up near where Rochester would eventually be settled. Sheffer was soon joined by Jacob Schoonover’s family. Isaac Scotts arrived in 1790 and built a log cabin not too far away. (Scottsville is named for Isaac Scotts.) To me, that sounds like the Scottsville settlement on the west side of the Genesee River has bragging rights for the first settlement, not the Ganson Settlement. Which brings me to another “first.” In 2002, Genesee County celebrated its Bicentennial and each town had an opportunity to pick a location for a historic marker. In LeRoy, the marker was placed along East Main Road, past the golf course. It reads: “Site of the First School west of the Genesee River. Built in 1801 the first teacher was Miss Luseba Scott.” But . . . . there’s another “first School marker” in Mumford at the intersection of the Mumford Scottsville Road, where the Oatka Trail comes up from the west. It is a large stone boulder, and it is engraved: “Scottish pioneers built here in 1803 the first school house west of the Genesee River.” I checked with the history of Wheatland and the date agrees and mentions that the first teacher was Alexander M a c D o n a l d . The history of Wheatland also mentions that the first school in Scottsville was built of logs in 1806, and the first teacher was John Smith, but there is a curious note. The school burned two years later in 1808, by “accident or design.” Never the less, I am going out on a limb and say that the 1801 school at the Ganson Settlement has bragging rights to the first school west of the Genesee River. And guess what? The first teacher west of the Genesee River was a woman! To be honest, I think that the white settlement at Fort Niagara needs to be recognized. First settled by the French in the 1600s, the huge “French Fort” was built in 1726. The Fort came into possession of the English in 1759 and wasn’t turned over to the United States until 1796. And although it was a military installation, it could be considered a white settlement. What this all means is that history is not written in stone. New research and finding new primary source material can prove history wrong. Maybe the dates aren’t as important as the events. Just claiming to be the first begs someone to prove you wrong. First West of the Genesee