Valentown Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Valentown Hall
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Jct. of High St. and Valentown Rd., Victor, New York |
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| Area | 13 acres (5.3 ha) |
| Built | 1879 |
| NRHP reference No. | 97000425 |
| Added to NRHP | May 09, 1997 |
Valentown Hall is an old building in Victor, New York. It was once a busy shopping and community center. Levi Valentine built it in 1879. Today, it is a museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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What is Valentown Hall?
In 1879, Levi Valentine built this four-story building. He hoped it would be the main center of a new town called "Valentown." He thought a new railroad line would pass right by his building. This would bring many people and businesses.
But Levi's plan did not work out. The railroad company went out of business. The train line was never finished. Without the railroad, there was no need for a big shopping center there. So, "Valentown" failed, and the building was left empty in the early 1900s.
In 1940, a local historian named J. Sheldon Fisher bought the property. He fixed it up and opened it as a museum in 1950. Today, the Victor Historical Society owns and runs Valentown Hall. It is a museum about local history. You can see items from the 1800s from the Victor and Rochester areas.
Most of the building looks the same as it did when it was built. Inside, you can find a general store, a bakery, and a meeting room. There's also a harness shop, a cobbler's shop, and a music school. You can even see a grand ballroom! The museum has many displays. These include old tools, clothing, and items from the Civil War. There's also a wagon from the 1700s used in the American Revolutionary War.
In 1997, Valentown Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a very important historical site. The Victor Historical Society bought the museum in 1998. They also bought other old buildings nearby, like the Ichabod Town Homestead.
History of Valentown Hall
The Valentine Family and Their Dream
Valentown Hall is part of a group of old buildings. They are located on a 13-acre area called Valentown Square. In 1879, Levi and Alanson Valentine built the four-story hall. They hoped it would be a busy stop on a new railroad line. Their grandfather, Ichabod Town, owned the land.
The Valentine family lived on the farm for many years. Later, in 1892, George Pickering and his wife, Jane Baker Pickering, lived there. Jane Baker Pickering was the first female doctor in Victor. She had her medical office in the old home.
In the 1940s, Lillian and J. Sheldon Fisher bought Valentown Hall. They wanted to turn it into a local history museum. The Fishers and their four children lived on the second floor of the building. Later, they moved into the Ichabod Town house.
The four-story building is special because it looks almost exactly as it did in 1879. Inside, you can see the original meeting room for a group called the Grange. There was also a general store, a bakery, and other shops. From the 1880s to the early 1900s, the hall was a place for community events.
The Grange: A Farmers' Group
The Grange was a large group for farmers. It started after the Civil War. The government wanted to help farmers in the South. In 1866, Oliver Hudson Kelley was sent to see what farmers needed.
Kelley helped start the first Grange group in New York in 1868. Many Grange groups quickly formed across the country. By 1874, about 2,000 new groups were starting each month.
The Victor Grange (#322) began in 1875. Levi Valentine and the Pickering family were among its first members. In 1880, after Valentown Hall was built, the Grange used it for their meetings. They also used it to stable their horses.
The Victor Grange met at Valentown Hall until 1913. Then, it joined with another Grange group called Mertensia Grange. After they joined, their meetings moved to a larger building in Victor.
Becoming a Museum
For about 30 years, Valentown Hall was a busy place. It was a center for shopping and social events. But in the early 1900s, it was left empty. J. Sheldon Fisher bought it in 1940. He worked to fix it up. In 1950, he opened it as a public museum.
Today, the Victor Historical Society runs Valentown Hall. It became part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Now, it is known as the "Historic Valentown Museum."
The museum shows many exhibits. You can see old American items and family treasures. These displays show what rural life was like in the 1800s and early 1900s. They help us understand the people who lived in the Victor area near Rochester, New York.
Images for kids
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Valentown Hall in the 1880s
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Valentown Hall today
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Valentown Hall
