About GCV&M
Genesee Country Village & Museum was founded in 1966 with the goal of preserving the architecture of the Genesee Valley region in a recreated historic village, providing context for the telling of New York State and 19th-century American history. The Museum now covers 600 acres and includes the Historic Village, the John L. Wehle Gallery, and the Genesee Country Nature Center, all of which provide interactive programs, fascinating exhibits, and special events to help you live and experience history.
GCV&M is the largest and most comprehensive living history museum in New York State – and the third-largest in the United States. Chartered as an educational institution by the NYS Board of Regents, the Museum offers opportunities to see, smell, taste, touch, explore, and experience our 68 historic buildings; more than 20,000 artifacts; wildlife paintings, drawings, and sculptures spanning centuries; the living collections in our gardens, on our working farm and at our Nature Center; and the gorgeous landscape that first brought settlers to this region.
Genesee Country Village & Museum is designated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Our mission, vision, and values
OUR MISSION
Through immersive experiences, we enrich life today by connecting people with history, art, and nature.
OUR VISION
Guided by our values, we will be a nationally recognized destination. We will operate with integrity, creativity, and inclusivity to be a resource for the communities we serve and a fulfilling place to work and volunteer. We will expand our impact and inspire excitement and curiosity in all of our audiences.
OUR VALUES
Authenticity
Offering research-based interpretation, exhibits, costuming, and programming.
Collaboration
Creating a community of respect and cooperation amongst our staff and volunteers, throughout our neighborhood and region, and within our field.
Exploration
Providing educational, fun, and hands-on experiences not offered anywhere else.
Inclusivity
Expanding within our staff, volunteers, partners, and audience; the stories we tell, and the programs we deliver to our community.
Stewardship
Caring for our audiences, collections, environments, and shared histories.
Responsibility
Striving for stability and sustainability in our operational, social, and environmental future.
OUR COMMITMENT TO DEAI
Genesee Country Village & Museum is actively committed to broadening our understanding of DEAI (Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion), and making it part of everything that we do. Guided by our mission, values, and inclusive culture of curiosity, we strive to dismantle inequity and address erasure through ongoing dynamic interpretation, communications, research, and outreach. We celebrate the stories of our shared past; connect the rich diversity of the 19th century to the present; and collaborate with the communities we serve to create welcoming spaces for learning, work, exploration, and play.
It Began with a Vision
From a quiet, rural hillside, to a "village that might have been..."
LEARN MOREGenesee Country Village & Museum’s programs are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, as well as many other dedicated grantors, corporate partners, and individual donors.
For a full list of supporters, please see our Annual Report, on-site donor recognition, or call our Development Office at (585) 294-8252. Thank you!