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Sharing a border with the Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area, this 1,300-acre tract similarly was created during the 1930s. Under the State Reforestation Act, nine different owners were bought out between 1930 and 1946, creating a mixed-use…

Constructed as the Genesee County Poor House in 1828, this site in Bethany, NY became the warehouse for a variety of afflictions: alcoholism, mental illness, disability, and pauperism. Inmates spent years there including one, Phebe White, who died…

At this location near Sonyea, NY a community of Shakers settled in 1837 and grew to a size of perhaps 150. Later in the century, as their numbers declined, the 1,800-acre plot was purchased by the State Board of Charities and eventually named the…

Built on the site of a former Shaker community, the Craig Colony for Epileptics was envisioned as a self-supporting institution when it opened in 1896. Inmates worked in the Shakers' existing farms and blacksmith shops; these new buildings were…

Beginning in roughly the 1900s, electric interurban rail lines became popular across the US. Their lower profile--in terms of size, weight and emissions--made them ideal for commuters traveling to cities. The Erie Railroad joined this trend by adding…