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Area History
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CONESUS
In the late 1800's and early 1900's travelers from Rochester, would take the train to Lakeville and board 3 tier steamboats for sight seeing tours on the lake. The boats would stop at beaches and hotels along the lake. In the winter months ice harvesting was a thriving industry on the lake. Men had to work long hours cutting the hunks of ice, sometimes 15-30 inches of thick and used horse drawn bobsleds to move it. Large icehouses were located on the shores of the lake. The ice industry employed about 100 men when ice was being harvested.
LAKEVILLE
John Bosely started the first permanent settlement around Lakeville. In 1792 he came from Maryland and built his mill at the foot of Conesus Lake, at a place which was known as Millville. Lakeville in the 19th century was a small community of people with diverse occupations. There was at one time, 3 churches, blacksmiths, coopers, a cobbler, tailor, and farmers. The business district has grown more than the original inhabitants had expected.
LIVONIA
The First Settlers - After the Revolutionary War had displaced the original inhabitants of our area, Europeans from the east coast began to move westward in search of open land. The first white settler to the area was Solomon Woodruff, who arrived alone in the spring of 1783, leaving his wife and children in Litchfield, CT. He purchased 150 acres of land, constructed a log cabin and began farming potatoes. At harvest time, he sold his crop, and proceeds from the crop paid for his land purchase ($75). In the fall he returned to Connecticut to collect his wife and child, and transport them to their new home. In 1794, the Woodruff's expanded their home, into a tavern to accommodate the stream of travelers coming to the region. A historical marker located on Federal Road (Big Tree Rd) marks the approximate home site of Solomon Woodruff. In 1803, Solomon's brother Oliver also settled in the area, near Livonia Center.
The Railroad - Livonia Center was once the "hub" of the Livonia area. Talk of a railroad was in the air by 1849, and Livonia was excited about the prospects of increased business. Unfortunately, the Erie Railroad bypassed the Center and came to Livonia Station (now the village of Livonia). To not have the benefits of the railroad, soon brought on the demise of Livonia Center's business district, as more businesses and residences moved to be near the train station. Within a few years of the arrival of the railroad, Livonia Station became a "boom town".
HEMLOCK
In 1808, the Township of Livonia was formed and Hemlock was a part of it. The Hamlet of Hemlock was built upon the lumber industry in the early to mid 1800's. Mills sprung up around Hemlock Lake. In 1866, it is told that large crowd assembled in front of the Metropolitan Hotel to discuss the possibility of a fair. That was the beginning of what later became known as "The Slab City Fair", "The Little World's Fair", and just plain "Hemlock Fair". In 1877, a two day fair was held. From then on, it grew into what largely became contests of horse racing until the early 1900's.
