History is for Everyone

Expanding the Narrative

Genesee Country Village & Museum is actively committed to expanding our interpretation and exhibits to include voices and perspectives frequently underrepresented in museum collections, the telling of history, and outdoor spaces. Guided by our mission, values, and inclusive culture of curiosity, we strive to ensure that all visitors, volunteers, and employees feel safe, welcomed, and celebrated throughout their museum experiences.

We All Have a Place in History

History doesn’t change; it grows. The stories that are included and how we tell those stories evolve over time and reflect the work of researchers, historians, and interpreters as more study is done and new information is uncovered. We are continually adding historically accurate and carefully researched stories of 19^th-century life to the stories we share with visitors on a daily basis, always in service of our mission to enrich life today by connecting people with history, art, and nature.

As part of this effort, visitors will see, hear, and experience interpretation and programs related to LGBTQ individuals and community, women’s history, Indigenous cultures and communities, and Black history as in our Seeking Freedom initiative. And because history cannot be separated from our current day, we’ll  also honor and celebrate modern manifestations of these communities alongside our vibrant and diverse history programming. 

Black History

Slavery was legal and practiced in New York from 1627 – 1827. In the 19th Century, free and formerly enslaved Africans were leaders in the Underground Railroad movement, wrote books and published papers and articles, gathered in churches and communities, presented moving speeches, and inspired their white and Black neighbors to join in the fight for freedom. They were barbers, shop owners, preachers, and more.

Learn more about GCV&M’s Seeking Freedom initiative and join the Toward Freedom & Fairness walking tour every open weekend day and other special occasions. Buildings included in the initiative are Towar Land Office, Quaker Meeting House, Livingston-Backus House, and Nathaniel Rochester House.

Also available: off-site presentations about the initiative and freedom and fairness in the Genesee Country. Email interpretation@gcv.org for more information or to schedule.

LGBTQ (Pride) Programs

GCV&M recognizes Pride – a modern celebration that encompasses and honors a variety of historic identities. The 19th Century was a complex time for LGBTQ individuals and communities, since homosexuality and gender-nonconformity were both criminalized and highly scrutinized. Despite the secrecy needed to survive outside of society’s rigid expectations for sexuality and gender, archival evidence such as poems, letters, newspaper articles, and medical journals from across New York State contain traces of people living in this era with a variety of sexualities and gender identities.

Before terms like “gay” and “lesbian” existed to describe same-gender relationships, there were romantic friendships, Boston marriages, and companionships. Where today we have drag queens and kings, the 19^th Century saw female and male impersonators performing in popular stage shows across the cities of New York State. By the 1880s, sensationalized newspaper articles began to spread through the country, describing women in New York City, Buffalo, and rural Western New York who decided to live their lives as men. Today, we might understand some of these people as transgender men.

The significant contributions and societal challenges faced by queer people during this period laid the foundation for future LGBTQ movements. Understanding this history is crucial for recognizing the ongoing struggles and achievements of queer communities today.

Look for the following programs and opportunities throughout the year:

Corsets & Crowns: An ode to drag performances and female impersonation in 19th-Century Western New York.

Forbidden Fruits After Hours Tour: Embark on an enchanting guided, interactive tour and encounter three couples through their heartfelt love letters and private correspondence.

Learn more about people from queer communities in the 19th Century during your visit in the Historic Village. Explore the dynamics of a Boston marriage through the true stories of those who said “I do” to them. And in the Quaker Meeting House, learn about 19th-century figures who lived their life outside of the gender binary through the story of The Public Universal Friend.
Look for GCV&M representation at Rochester’s Pride Parade and other local pride celebrations.

Indigenous Culture & History

Before the Treaty of Big Tree was signed between the United States and the Hodinöhsö:ni’ Confederacy in 1797, the Hodinöhsö:ni’ peoples stewarded the land of the Genesee Country for generations. After the treaty and still today, the Hodinöhsö:ni’ are relegated to small reservations of land. The following nations are part of the alliance that make up the Confederacy: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora.

GCV&M honors the historic and modern culture of the Hodinöhsö:ni’ through the following programs:

Basketmaking with Tonia Loran-Galban, a 2026 project funded by the Rochester Area Community Foundation

Partnerships with Indigenous storytellers, interpretations, and presenters at special events and programs.

Interpretation in the Towar Land Office: Learn about the land that originally belonged to the six tribes that make up the Haudenosaunee people, the treaties that displaced them from this land, and the reservations that still exist today.

Women's History

Women were involved in reform movements across the Genesee Valley as leaders, speakers, and writers – shattering 19th century social expectations for women. These social norms centered the separate spheres thesis, a belief that men were suited for the public sphere of politics and work, and women were suited for the private sphere of the home and caring for those who resided within it. Throughout the nineteenth century, many women stepped into the public sphere and fought for abolition, suffrage, temperance, and quality education.

In August 1848, attendees of the Women’s Rights Convention reconvened in Rochester one month after their historic gathering in Seneca Falls, New York. Among the attendees and speakers were Amy Post, Frederick Douglas, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. At this second convention, the Declaration of Sentiments was read aloud, and resolutions were made in favor of women’s equal standing with men, fair wages, and the right to vote.

Explore improvements in women’s access to quality education and careers in the Romulus Female Seminary and learn more about Quaker women involved in abolition in Rochester, like Amy Post, in the Quaker Meeting House.