Latest Posts

The Weight of Judgement: The History of Capital Punishment in Ontario County, NY
To listen to this blogpost, click here! You will find additional photos and visuals. If I asked you to name which states in the U.S. have the highest number of […]
read morePeople of Ontario County: Erma B. Hewitt
Excerpted from Wilma Townsend’s Sept. 2011, “What’s in the Collection” article. While researching some of the artifacts in the current exhibit “So Where’s All the Old Stuff?”, we ran […]
read moreSegregated Schools in Canandaigua
Excerpt from Preston E Pierce’s A Tour Guide to Black History Sites in Canandaigua, NY. A mark of the turmoil brought by increasing debates about abolition, anti-abolition, and racism in […]
read moreBijou Dream Theatre
The Bijou Dream Theatre was located on the corner of S. Main St. and Chapin St. in Canandaigua. The theater originally opened in 1907 as an early silent film house, […]
read moreAfrican Methodist Meeting Places in Canandaigua
Excerpt from Preston E Pierce’s A Tour Guide to Black History Sites in Canandaigua, NY. Five times in the 19th Century, African Methodists tried to sustain congregations in Canandaigua. In […]
read more“1st of August” Emancipation Day Celebrations
Excerpt from Preston E Pierce’s A Tour Guide to Black History Sites in Canandaigua, NY. Some years, “1st of August” Emancipation Day celebrations were hosted by Black residents of the […]
read moreDudley Tavern
Excerpt from Preston E Pierce’s A Tour Guide to Black History Sites in Canandaigua, NY. The Dudley Tavern, once located on the corner of Foster and South Main Streets in […]
read morePeople of Ontario County: Richard Valentine
Excerpt from Preston E Pierce’s A Tour Guide to Black History Sites in Canandaigua, NY. Known for many years as a voice of conscience, Richard Valentine frequently made the Canandaigua […]
read morePeople of Ontario County: Daniel Prue & John Hite
Excerpt from Preston E Pierce’s A Tour Guide to Black History Sites in Canandaigua, NY. When Daniel Prue died in 1895, he was quietly buried in the first row of […]
read morePeople of Ontario County: Lloyd Colbert
Excerpt from Preston E Pierce’s A Tour Guide to Black History Sites in Canandaigua, NY. The family of Lloyd Colbert was one of the longest established Black families in Canandaigua. […]
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