Rochester Industrial Heritage

Dive into Rochester's canal-to-rail history via these events marking the subway's 1956 end:

• 1950s Gala June 21 at George Eastman House: cocktails,...

Rochester Subway Celebrations

• 🔥 June Museum Events: Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum invites community to June 21 Subway Gala at...

• Season starts May 15, 2026, standard 8am-6pm until Oct 14
• Extended to 9pm May 15-Sep 9 at Fairport Main St Bridge, Lock E-32 (Pittsford), Lock...

Discover Rochester's architectural gem at the Stage & Story event:

• Rehabilitation Spotlight: May 27 event at RBTL West Herr Auditorium Theatre...

• Subway Gala June 21 at George Eastman Museum features 1950s nostalgia, film screening, and Q&A, with proceeds funding Car 60 restoration.
• Subway...

Industrial Pollution Legacies

• 🔥 Vacuum Oil Refinery: The western bank Genesee River site was home to Vacuum Oil Co., founded in 1866 by Matthew...

• 1887 donation: Horticulturists George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry gave ~20 acres to the city, stipulating a landscape engineer hire.
• Olmsted...

• Century milestone: Celebrating 100 years of Rochester’s Black history alongside the U.S. 250th Independence anniversary.
• Gala event: April 11...

• Vacuum Oil Brownfield: Cleanup underway on 40-acre former 1866 refinery site in PLEX neighborhood, tackling toxic soil for potential...

Genesee River as gateway to America's first 100 years:

• Brand new, cutting-edge innovations on display
• Stories of who came and went through the Genesee
• Expo for the ages linking to Rochester's industrial roots

Dive into Rochester's canal heritage with Allen Hopkins' Erie Canal Songs at the library, Tuesday May 5, 6:30 PM.

• Local icon: 55+ years performing...

• Permanent home secured: Replica of 19th-century canal schooner Lois McClure dedicated May 9 at Port Byron's Old Erie Canal Heritage Park, marking...

WXXI-TV's bike series along Empire State Trail spotlights Rochester's evolution from rail eras to sustainable redesign:

• Medina Railroad Museum...

Genesee Country Village & Museum, with 68 historic buildings from its 1976 founding, showcases Rochester-area heritage:

• Grieve’s Brewery...

Canals and railroads drew workers seeking opportunity to Rochester, prompting developers to transform city outskirts farmland into gridded streets—vital links for tracing family migration patterns in genealogy.

For nearly 100 years, the Erie Canal powered downtown Rochester as a key transportation artery. This walking tour spotlights earliest stories and buildings, revealing canal-era urban growth perfect for tracing family roots.

Toxic soil at Brighton High School links directly to a brick manufacturing company on the site from the 1800s to early 1900s—key for Brighton...

200 years ago, the Erie Canal was completed, running from the Hudson River through upstate New York and bisecting what is now the City of Rochester—key for tracing ancestors' migration and neighborhoods in the Town of Greece.

Trace ancestors in Rochester's milling past on this free walking tour of the High Falls Historic District.

• When/Where: May 21, 2026, 6-7:30 PM;...

Lehigh Valley Caboose Returns to Manchester

• 🔥 1940s Caboose #95019 Display: A 1940s Lehigh Valley caboose, numbered 95019 and a regular...