About Us : We bring history, nature, and art to life
The Genesee Country Village & Museum, chartered by the New York State Education Department as an educational institution, was founded with the goal of preserving prime examples of architecture from upstate New York to provide historical context for the telling of the history of New York State and America in the 19th century.
Through interactive programs, events and exhibits we help visitors understand the lives and times of 19th-century America. This unique living history experience provides meaningful insights into the origins of customs, traditions, social values and the evolution of our contemporary lifestyles.
We are the largest and most comprehensive living history museum in New York State and maintain the third largest collection of historic buildings in America. Our 700-acre complex consists of 68 historic structures furnished with 15,000 artifacts to provide an authentic 19th-century environment in which visitors can interact with knowledgeable, third-person historic interpreters in period-appropriate dress. Among the buildings preserved in the Historic Village are Colonel Nathaniel Rochester’s house and George Eastman’s childhood home.
We consider each of our historic buildings, historic gardens, and farm landscapes (including domestic animal enclosures) an exhibit in and of itself. Trade, craft, cooking, and agricultural demonstrations occur every day. Wherever possible, we strive to provide some opportunity for visitors to touch, use, smell, or otherwise share the experience.
Our historic gardens include kitchen, dye plant, children’s, English cottage style, Shaker, Victorian formal gardens, fruit orchards, and vineyards and are created and maintained as living exhibits. Both the heirloom gardens and our farm settings are used to teach the significance of agricultural biodiversity conservation and to demonstrate how each of us can help preserve our fragile landscapes.
Our John L. Wehle Art Gallery--which is closed for renovations this season--presents permanent works in a series of themed rooms as well as various temporary exhibitions. Recent exhibitions have included The Environmental Art of Robert Bateman, a travelling retrospective featuring 30 original masterpieces; and Quilts Uncovered: Treasures from Genesee Country Village & Museum, an exhibition of more than 60 historic quilts and several reproduction quilts made by our quilting staff.
One recent exhibit "The Sporting Life" traced how, from the 17th century onwards, the sporting world helped shape and change men's fashions—along with our view of the ideal masculine image. Some of those fashions with rare examples of men's clothing drawn from private collections and area museums, are juxtaposed with John L. Wehle's superb collection of sporting art. How did today's baseball cap get its start? Why do men wear ties? Who says dead men don't wear plaid? Visitors also explored "Sweet! Desserts in America,” which traced America’s love affair with desserts.
We are also home to the Genesee Country Nature Center, providing learning opportunities relating to environmental stewardship and the ecological history of New York State and the mid-Atlantic region. The Center features over five miles of hiking trails and 175 acres of wildlife habitat interpreted through signage.
Our educational programs include historic and nature themed tours, classes and day camps for children ages 4-16, adult classes, and professional development programs for teachers. For school children and other groups, our Moveable Museum educational programs can come to you.
