GROVELAND---was formed Jan. 27, 1789. A part of Conesus was taken off in 1819, and a part of Sparta in 1856. It lies near the center of the co. Its surface is moderately hilly. In the W. part are extensive flats, occupying about one-fourth of the area of the town. The principal streams are Canaseraga and Coshaqua Creeks, which empty into the Genesee River near the N.W. corner of the town. The soil upon the upland is clay loam, and upon the flats a rich alluvium. Groveland Corners, (Groveland p.o.,) E. of the N. part, contains 1 church and 14 houses. Hunts Corners,(East Groveland p.o.,) in the N. part, contains 1 church and 9 houses. Groveland Center, is a p.o. in the N.W. part. The first settlement was made by Charles Williamson, agent for the Pulteney Estate, in 1792. In that year he built several houses in the N.W. corner of the town, and there located a small colony of Germans, and called the settlement "Williamsburgh." This colony soon left, and the entire village disappeared. In the S.W. part at the junction of the Dansville Branch with the G.V. Canal, is a Shaker settlement, numbering 120 persons, they own a tract of 2,000 acres. There are 2 churches in town; M.E. and Presb.

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Cemeteries

NAME	EST.	LOCATION	SIZE +/-
Craig Colony I	ca 1895	Located in Sonyea State Forest, off Union Corner Rd.	+100
Craig Colony II	ca 1900	Sonyea, adjacent to prison grounds, off Moyer Rd.	+1000
Glenwood	1812	South of Groveland Corners, on Groveland Hill Rd.	+250
Lakeview	- - - -	South end of Conesus Lake, on David Gray Hill Rd.	+1000
Shaker	ca 1837	Southwest corner of town, near Sonyea, off Moyer Rd.	+50
Pioneer	1807	Center of town, on Groveland Station Rd.	+50
Willamsburg	1792	Off Rte 63, south of Geneseo, on Abele Rd.	+100

Resources TOWN CLERK: Sandra Bean, 4955 Aten Road, Groveland, NY 14462 585-243-1750. TOWN HISTORIAN: Phyllis Dreywood, 4955 Aten Road, Groveland, NY 14462, eMail Historian@grovelandny.org BOOKS Boyd, William, History of Conesus, New York, 1887. Doty, Lockwood R., A History of Livingston County, New York, Geneseo,NY, E.E. Doty, 1876. Doty, Lockwood R., History of the Genesee Country, Chicago, S.J. Clark Publishing Co., 1925. Moose, Lloyd, History of the Story Road and Vicinity(1932, Sparta-Springwater area), Hornell,NY, Alice M. Oakes, 1981. Patchett, Anna E., Historically Speaking,(Shaker Settlement), Geneseo, Livingston County Historical Society, 1978. (63 pages) Smith, James H., History of Livingston County, New York, Syracuse,NY, D.Mason & Co., 1881. ORGANIZATIONS : American Legion, Halley Allen Post, Route 36, Sonyea, NY 14556 CHURCHES: Calvary Chapel of the Genesee Valley, 5696 Groveland Hill Rd (585)243-0640 Groveland Federated Church, Groveland Corners, 6616 Groveland Hill Rd., Groveland, NY 14462, (585) 243-2638 Sparta First Presbyterian Church, Groveland Station, Groveland,NY 14462 (585)243-3324 FOOTNOTES [in 1792.] Among the early settlers were Wm. Ewens, Wm. Lemon, John Ewart, and W. Harris. The first school was taught at "Williamsburgh," by Samuel Murphy, about 1793. The first mill was built by Charles Scholl, for Chas. Williamson, on Lot 58, in 1797; the first inn was kept in "Williamsburgh," by Wm. Lemon, in 1795; and the first store, in the same place, by Alexander McDonald, in 1795 or '96. (back)

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