Genesee County Courthouse Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Genesee County Courthouse Historic District is located at the junction of Main, West Main and Ellicott streets (New York state routes 5
, 33
and 63
) in downtown Batavia
, New York, United States. It is a small area with the county courthouse
, a war memorial and other government buildings dating from the 1840s to the 1920s. Some were originally built for private purposes.
With the federal government represented as well as the city, it constitutes the civic core of Batavia, the city from whence the Holland Purchase
, covering all of today's Western New York
, was subdivided and settled in the early 19th century. In 1982 it was recognized as a historic district
, one of two in the county
, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
memorial at the junction is also included. Across the street the buildings included, from west to east, are the original county jail, the post office, and city hall.
To the south are other, modern government buildings and Tonawanda Creek
. The Holland Land Office
building, a National Historic Landmark
now used as a historical museum, is on the south side of West Main two blocks to the west, with commercial buildings on the north giving way to houses in the adjacent blocks to the north and west. East of the district is the commercial core of Batavia.
, surveyor and agent
for the Holland Land Company
, the group of Dutch investors who had bought the 3 million acres (1.2 million ha) west of the Genesee River
from Continental Army
financier Robert Morris. Ellicott chose what became Batavia, the name what is today The Netherlands had at the time, since it was at the fork of two major Iroquois
trails, today the highways that follow the three streets, across the region. From the beginning of settlement the future district was used for governmental purposes, with a courthouse built at the fork to file the deeds once the owners had paid off the mortgage
, previously kept at the land office down the street.
Genesee County, which initially covered the entire Holland Purchase
, was repeatedly subdivided into the 10 counties of the current region as it became settled and developed. With the 1840 creation of Wyoming County
from the southern half of what had been the rump of Genesee County, Batavia resumed its central location within the county and erased any doubt as to its feasibility as the county seat
. The current courthouse was built, a stone structure closely modeled on the original building. In its cupola
is the original courthouse's bell, the only remnant of that building, which burned down in 1918 after a long period of use as village (later city) and town
hall.
The opening of the Erie Canal
, which bypassed Batavia in favor of Orleans County
, led to a decline from the city's earlier importance. But growth returned when the railroads were built and came through, following the old roads. William Brisbane's 1853 mansion was built at the height of this prosperity, before the Midwest displaced Western New York as the United States' major wheat-growing area. Now city hall, Brisbane's mansion is the only building in the district not originally built for government use.
Early in the new century, the county built another new building in the future district to house its sheriff
and prisoners. William J. Beardsley's late Victorian Gothic structure was opened in 1903. The years at the end of World War I
saw a flurry of activity that did much to shape the district into the city's civic core. The city of Batavia bought Brisbane's mansion from his heirs and adapted it, with minimal significant change, into its city hall
in 1917. The next year, the original courthouse that had stood since Ellicott's time was lost to fire. Across the street, the federal government established its presence in the area with a Classical Revival post office built on part of the original Brisbane property. The unusual shape of the parcel required that the building be shaped like a parallelogram
.
In 1919, with the war over, the city and county built the Soldiers' Monument at the corner to the west of the courthouse, to memorialize not just its veterans from the recent war but those from the Civil War
a half-century before as well. The statue of Emory Upton
honors the memory of the most famous local soldier, whose innovative tactics led to a Union
victory at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
. It continues to honor and memorialize the veterans of later wars.
The last government building to be added to the district was the county government building. With county government growing in scope, more space was needed. The site of the original courthouse had remained vacant, and in the mid-1920s the Rochester
firm of Bohacket and Brew was hired to build the current building. Their ornate brick Classical Revival structure was opened in 1927. Five years later, the county enclosed the courthouse porch to create more office space, turning its columns into pilaster
s.
Later renovations, in 1955, added a third wing to the county building. This is the most significant change to any of the buildings. The courthouse was modernized in the mid-1970s, and the county building made disabled-accessible
in the late 20th century.
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
, 33
New York State Route 33
New York State Route 33 is an east–west state highway in western New York in the United States. The route extends for just under from NY 5 in Buffalo in the west to NY 31 in Rochester in the east. It is, in fact, the only state highway that directly connects both cities, although...
and 63
New York State Route 63
New York State Route 63 is a state highway in the western part of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 15 and NY 21 in the village of Wayland in Steuben County. Its northern end is at a junction with NY 18 in the town...
) in downtown Batavia
Batavia (city), New York
Batavia is a city in Genesee County, Western New York, USA, located near the middle of Genesee County, entirely within the Town of Batavia. Its population as of the 2000 census was 16,256...
, New York, United States. It is a small area with the county courthouse
Genesee County Courthouse
The Genesee County Courthouse is located at the intersection of Main and Ellicott streets in Batavia, New York, United States...
, a war memorial and other government buildings dating from the 1840s to the 1920s. Some were originally built for private purposes.
With the federal government represented as well as the city, it constitutes the civic core of Batavia, the city from whence the Holland Purchase
Holland Purchase
The Holland Purchase was a large tract of land in what is now the western portion of the U.S. state of New York. It consisted of about 3,250,000 acres of land from a line approximately 12 miles to the west of the Genesee River to the present western border and boundary of New York State.The land...
, covering all of today's Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
, was subdivided and settled in the early 19th century. In 1982 it was recognized as a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
, one of two in the county
Genesee County, New York
Genesee County is a county located in Western New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 60,079. Its name is from the Seneca Indian word Gen-nis'-hee-yo meaning "The Beautiful Valley." Its county seat is Batavia.- History :...
, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Geography
The district is an irregularly shaped five-acre (5 acres (2 ha)) area on the north side of West Main and both sides of West Main, with its southern border at Ellicott. In the latter area, the triangular parcel between Main, Ellicott and Court Street, it includes the county courthouse and the county government building to its east. The Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
memorial at the junction is also included. Across the street the buildings included, from west to east, are the original county jail, the post office, and city hall.
To the south are other, modern government buildings and Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is a small river in Western New York, in the United States. William Bright says the best that can be said of the name is that it is "probably from an Iroquoian source, but of unclear derivation".-Description:...
. The Holland Land Office
Holland Land Office
The Holland Land Office building is located on West Main Street in downtown Batavia, New York, United States. It is a stone building designed by surveyor Joseph Ellicott and erected in the 1810s....
building, a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
now used as a historical museum, is on the south side of West Main two blocks to the west, with commercial buildings on the north giving way to houses in the adjacent blocks to the north and west. East of the district is the commercial core of Batavia.
Contributing properties
The district encompasses five government buildings and a monument. There are no non-contributing properties.- Batavia City Hall, 10 West Main Street. George Brisbane, son of original settler James Brisbane, built this two-story brick ItalianateItalianate architectureThe Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
-styleArchitectural styleArchitectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
mansion in 1853. After some alterations in 1876, the city acquired it from his descendants in 1917 and adaptedAdaptive reuseAdaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
it for its current use as city hall, without adversely affecting the original architecture. - Genesee County CourthouseGenesee County CourthouseThe Genesee County Courthouse is located at the intersection of Main and Ellicott streets in Batavia, New York, United States...
, Main and Ellicott Streets. Built between 1841 and 1843, it is the oldest building in the district, the focal point of traffic reaching the city center from the west. It uses local limestoneLimestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
for its load-bearing walls. Modeled on the timber frame courthouse built nearby by Joseph EllicottJoseph EllicottJoseph Ellicott was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Ellicott ....
in the early 19th century, the original Greek Revival style, made more prominent by the colonnadeColonnadeIn classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
on the east (front) facadeFacadeA facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, has been softened by the expansion of the interior into the porch to create more office space. Still used as the offices of the county managerCity managerA city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
, county attorneyCounty attorneyA county attorney in many areas of the United States is the chief legal officer for a county or local judicial district. It is usually an elected position...
and the meeting place of the county legislature, it was listed on the Register in 1973. - Genesee County Building #1, Court Street. The most recent building in the district is located on the site of the original courthouse, which burned down in 1918. Eight years later, this two-and-a-half–story 13-bay Classical Revival brick building and decorative elementsOrnament (architecture)In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
including a balustrade, quoinQuoin (architecture)Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s and pilasterPilasterA pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s was built at a cost of $150,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) to take its place as county offices. A 1955 addition made it T-shaped. Renovations at the end of the 20th century made it disabled-accessibleAccessibilityAccessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
. - Genesee County Sheriff's Office and Jail, West Main Street. PoughkeepsiePoughkeepsie (city), New YorkPoughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
architect William J. Beardsley designed this two-story Victorian GothicGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
structure, completed in 1903. The turretTurretIn architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s, brick and locally quarried MedinaMedina, New YorkMedina is a village in the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 6,415 at the 2000 census, making it the second most populous municipality in the county after Albion, the county seat. The village was named by its surveyor...
sandstone produce a small-scale fortress effect, similar to the nearby Attica Correctional FacilityAttica Correctional FacilityThe Attica Correctional Facility is a maximum penitentiary in the town of Attica, New York, operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services. After it was constructed in the 1930s, it held many of the most dangerous criminals of the time. A tear gas system is installed in the mess...
. It has remained in use by the sheriff's office since its construction, although other jail facilities have been built. - Soldier's Monument, Main and Ellicott streets. A bronze eagle perches on a globe at the top of a 36 feet (11 m) shaft on a 14-foot–square (14 feet (4.3 m)) graniteGraniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
base surmounted by a globeGlobeA globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
above which a bronzeBronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
eagleEagleEagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
is perched with wings extended seven feet. Facing west is a statue of General Emory UptonEmory UptonEmory Upton was a United States Army General and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading infantry to attack entrenched positions successfully at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House during the American Civil War, but he also excelled at artillery and cavalry assignments...
. It was erected in 1919 to honor the area's Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
veterans. - U.S. Post Office, 2 West Main Street. This five-bay Classical RevivalNeoclassical architectureNeoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
brick building on a sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
foundationFoundation (architecture)A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
was built in 1919, credited to Treasury Department Supervising ArchitectOffice of the Supervising ArchitectThe Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939....
James Wetmore. Its unusual parallelogramParallelogramIn Euclidean geometry, a parallelogram is a convex quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides. The opposite or facing sides of a parallelogram are of equal length and the opposite angles of a parallelogram are of equal measure...
shape was required by the lotLot (real estate)In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
shape, in which the property lines run north-south instead of perpendicular to the street. It is one of only three post offices in New York that is a contributing property to a historic district while not itself being listed on the Register, for which it has been determined ineligible.
History
Batavia was founded in 1802 by Joseph EllicottJoseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Ellicott ....
, surveyor and agent
Land agent
Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts.Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the landed gentry of the United Kingdom, supervising the farming of the property by farm labourers and/or...
for the Holland Land Company
Holland Land Company
The Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...
, the group of Dutch investors who had bought the 3 million acres (1.2 million ha) west of the Genesee River
Genesee River
The Genesee River is a North American river flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides hydroelectric power for downtown Rochester....
from Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
financier Robert Morris. Ellicott chose what became Batavia, the name what is today The Netherlands had at the time, since it was at the fork of two major Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
trails, today the highways that follow the three streets, across the region. From the beginning of settlement the future district was used for governmental purposes, with a courthouse built at the fork to file the deeds once the owners had paid off the mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
, previously kept at the land office down the street.
Genesee County, which initially covered the entire Holland Purchase
Holland Purchase
The Holland Purchase was a large tract of land in what is now the western portion of the U.S. state of New York. It consisted of about 3,250,000 acres of land from a line approximately 12 miles to the west of the Genesee River to the present western border and boundary of New York State.The land...
, was repeatedly subdivided into the 10 counties of the current region as it became settled and developed. With the 1840 creation of Wyoming County
Wyoming County, New York
Wyoming County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2010 census, the population was 42,155. The county seat is Warsaw. The name is from a modified Delaware Indian word meaning "broad bottom lands"...
from the southern half of what had been the rump of Genesee County, Batavia resumed its central location within the county and erased any doubt as to its feasibility as the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
. The current courthouse was built, a stone structure closely modeled on the original building. In its cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
is the original courthouse's bell, the only remnant of that building, which burned down in 1918 after a long period of use as village (later city) and town
Batavia (town), New York
Batavia is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 5,915 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the Roman name for part of the Netherlands....
hall.
The opening of the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
, which bypassed Batavia in favor of Orleans County
Orleans County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 44,171 people, 15,363 households, and 10,846 families residing in the county. The population density was 113 people per square mile . There were 17,347 housing units at an average density of 44 per square mile...
, led to a decline from the city's earlier importance. But growth returned when the railroads were built and came through, following the old roads. William Brisbane's 1853 mansion was built at the height of this prosperity, before the Midwest displaced Western New York as the United States' major wheat-growing area. Now city hall, Brisbane's mansion is the only building in the district not originally built for government use.
Early in the new century, the county built another new building in the future district to house its sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
and prisoners. William J. Beardsley's late Victorian Gothic structure was opened in 1903. The years at the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
saw a flurry of activity that did much to shape the district into the city's civic core. The city of Batavia bought Brisbane's mansion from his heirs and adapted it, with minimal significant change, into its city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
in 1917. The next year, the original courthouse that had stood since Ellicott's time was lost to fire. Across the street, the federal government established its presence in the area with a Classical Revival post office built on part of the original Brisbane property. The unusual shape of the parcel required that the building be shaped like a parallelogram
Parallelogram
In Euclidean geometry, a parallelogram is a convex quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides. The opposite or facing sides of a parallelogram are of equal length and the opposite angles of a parallelogram are of equal measure...
.
In 1919, with the war over, the city and county built the Soldiers' Monument at the corner to the west of the courthouse, to memorialize not just its veterans from the recent war but those from the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
a half-century before as well. The statue of Emory Upton
Emory Upton
Emory Upton was a United States Army General and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading infantry to attack entrenched positions successfully at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House during the American Civil War, but he also excelled at artillery and cavalry assignments...
honors the memory of the most famous local soldier, whose innovative tactics led to a Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
victory at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
. It continues to honor and memorialize the veterans of later wars.
The last government building to be added to the district was the county government building. With county government growing in scope, more space was needed. The site of the original courthouse had remained vacant, and in the mid-1920s the Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
firm of Bohacket and Brew was hired to build the current building. Their ornate brick Classical Revival structure was opened in 1927. Five years later, the county enclosed the courthouse porch to create more office space, turning its columns into pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s.
Later renovations, in 1955, added a third wing to the county building. This is the most significant change to any of the buildings. The courthouse was modernized in the mid-1970s, and the county building made disabled-accessible
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
in the late 20th century.