Henrietta, New York from 1818 to 2018: A Bicentennial Commemoration
I gained a love for history from my father who rescued many historic books from the garbage heap when he worked at Conrail, including a three part plat book of the original surveying and design of the Genesee Valley Canal which is where the Genesee Valley Greenway runs, just to the west of Henrietta. So naturally, as the Town’s Bicentennial was wrapping up, I gravitated towards an effort to further capture some of this Town’s history. In working with our Town Historian, Tina Thompson, we decided not to recreate what had already been written, such as Eleanor C. Kalsbeck’s “Henrietta Heritage.” And being someone who started an aerial imagery company, I very much wanted us to capture as many photographs, maps, and other historic documents as possible. Tina and her team exceeded expectation.
I hope you will find this collection of Henrietta’s history as interesting as I do.
Stephen L. Schultz
Henrietta Town Supervisor
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A question I am frequently asked is, why was the town named Henrietta? The answer has been that settlers knew that Sir William Johnstone Pulteney had purchased approximately three quarters of a million acres of land in western New York State, from Phelps and Gorham in 1792, as an investment. This acreage included our town. The town founders also knew Sir William’s daughter was Henrietta Laura Pulteney, Countess of Bath, England. In 1818, they named the town Henrietta in her honor. Last week, one of my colleagues, Tim Pratt, discovered in "Barns of the Genesee Country, 1790-1915" by Daniel Fink, an advertisement, Notice to New Settlers from James Wadsworth dated 1809, that describes the “town of Henrietta, being Township No. 12 in the seventh range, on the {east} side of the Genesee River.” Nine years before the town was officially founded, it was being referred to as Henrietta. We never know when or where a piece of history will be found. The founding families would not recognize the community in which we live today, nor would we recognize the Henrietta of 1818. We have strived to show, primarily through photographs, the dramatic changes that have occurred over the past 200 years. Many of you who will read this book have a long history with this town, but others are newcomers. Regardless, you all contribute to the story of this community. I hope this inspires you to begin saving your family history so it can be shared in the next book about Henrietta. Tina Thompson, |
8/27/20 Bicentennial Book (33 KB) 
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