Holland Land Office
Encyclopedia
The Holland Land Office building is located on West Main Street (New York state routes 5
, 33
and 63
) in downtown Batavia
, New York, United States. It is a stone building designed by surveyor Joseph Ellicott
and erected in the 1810s.
It was the third and last office of the Holland Land Company
, which owned almost all of what is today Western New York
. Ellicott presided over the survey, sale and ultimate settlement of a vast tract of land. In 1960 it was declared a National Historic Landmark
, the first one in Western New YorkThe office was among the first 92 National Historic Landmarks announced when the program was created in 1960. The next property to be designated in New York State west of the Genesee River
was the Fillmore House
in East Aurora
in 1974. and the only one in Genesee County
. Today it is a museum, with exhibits about the history of the company and the region.
and the commercial center of downtown Batavia. To the west is the Oak Street (New York State Route 98
) intersection.
Tonawanda Creek
is to the south. The office occupies a narrow strip of land between it and the street. On its east the creek comes closer to West Main, leaving only enough room for a sidewalk; a parking lot is located on the west between the building and Oak Street. Across West Main is another parking lot, houses and a Dunkin' Donuts
. The area is level, part of the creek's former flood plain.
The land office building itself is a one-and-a-half–story limestone
structure with a 47 by main block topped with an asphalt-shingled gable
d roof. A wooden pediment
ed entrance portico
projects from the north (front) elevation, and two additions are located to the southwest. One is a small one-story cinder block
connector to the other, a large L-shaped timber frame wing with about 12 feet (3.7 m) between it and the main block.
Four round stone columns support the pediment, where a denticulated cornice
frames an entablature
faced in clapboard
. Below the cornice are black letters spelling out "Holland Land Office Museum" on the plain frieze
. The two six-over-six double-hung sash window
s on either side of the main entrance have louver
ed shutters
with stone sills and splayed lintels. Recessed panels top each window on the upper story.
On either side of the pediment small gabled dormer windows with eight-over-eight double-hung sash pierce the roof. Side fenestration consists of two windows similar to the front windows at ground level, two small windows on the second floor and a fanlight at the gable apex. The roofline has an overhanging eave with a continuation of the denticulation on the pediment.
Smooth round pilaster
s frame the recessed main entrance, topped by a rounded fanlight
. It opens into a central hall. There is one room on the east and two on the west. Both are used as exhibit space. There are eight wall vaults, originally used to store records. One has its original 10 feet (3 m) metal door. Steel I-beam
s have been added to support the roof, and braces are visible in the west parlor. The upper stories are used for office and exhibit space, as are the additions.
was formed late in the 18th century by a group of Dutch investors to dispose of lands they had acquired west of the Genesee River
, originally owned by the state of Massachusetts
and the Seneca Nation
of the Iroquois Confederacy until the 1797 Treaty of Big Tree
. The company had acquired them from Robert Morris, who had financed the Continental Army
during the Revolutionary War
, and needed to sell due to financial troubles in some of his other land dealings. In 1794 they hired Pennsylvania surveyor Joseph Ellicott
to survey the five million acres (2 million ha) they had acquired in what is now Western New York
and the adjacent areas of Northwestern Pennsylvania. After the survey was finished and the land subdivided into townships
, Ellicott was appointed agent in 1800.
Working from the present site, Ellicott not only oversaw the sale of individual properties but functioned as the area's sole regional planner
, reporting to Paolo Busti
, the company's agent in Philadelphia, by mail. He was, a contemporary historian wrote, "the single most powerful person in the area for the first two decades of the century." His decision to sell the land in small parcels rather than large blocks, despite the objections of the company's trustees who wanted the land sold quickly, resulted in settlement by small farmers rather than the establishment of quasi-feudal manors as had occurred in the Hudson Valley
. Drawing on his experience laying out the city of Washington, D.C.
, for Pierre L'Enfant, he surveyed and planned the cities of Buffalo
and Batavia.
The company's first office was a log cabin
. In 1809 it was replaced with a timber-frame building, in turn replaced by the existing structure in 1815, the third and last one. It was built of stone to be fireproof
and better protect the records it kept. At that time it stood alone on a two-acre (2 acres (8,093.7 m²)) lot. Ellicott left his position in 1820; the company remained in existence until the mid-1850s, by which time all the land had been sold and all the debts retired.
The building was eventually sold. It became first a music school, and then a church. To support those uses modifications were made to the interior.
In 1894 the Holland Purchase Historical Society was formed to restore
the building and adapt it for museum use. Later that year the building was dedicated to Morris's memory at a ceremony attended by Morris's descendants and members of the Cabinet of President Grover Cleveland
, who had himself begun his political career in Buffalo. It was staffed by members of the local Daughters of the American Revolution
(DAR) chapter.
During World War II the DAR leased the building to the local chapter of the American Red Cross
. At that time the cinder block addition was built on the rear. After the war, in 1948, the county's Board of Supervisors voted to assume ownership.
The western frame wing, known as the Robert Morris Wing, was added around 1970. To build it and the parking lot, a house next door was demolished. Seven years later it received an east wing, originally used by the county historian. Since that office moved to separate quarters nearby it has been used for the museum. The final addition came in 1982, a small room attached to the back of the wing's rear to exhibit the county's 12½-foot (12.5 feet (3.8 m)) gibbet
.
, but the written records of the survey. An original copy of Ellicott's 1804 map, valued in the five figures, hangs on one wall.
Iroquois artifacts on display include a ca. 1700 succotash
bowl, wampum
beads and a model of a longhouse, the tribe's traditional habitation. There is also an armchair used by Seneca elder Eli Parker, and a charcoal
sketch of Seneca Wolf Clan chief Red Jacket
, wearing the silver medal George Washington
gave him. They are exhibited in a room named for Parker.
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 stone building designed by surveyor Joseph Ellicott
Joseph 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 ....
and erected in the 1810s.
It was the third and last office of 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...
, which owned almost all of what is today 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...
. Ellicott presided over the survey, sale and ultimate settlement of a vast tract of land. In 1960 it was declared 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...
, the first one in Western New YorkThe office was among the first 92 National Historic Landmarks announced when the program was created in 1960. The next property to be designated in New York State 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....
was the Fillmore House
Fillmore House
The Fillmore House, or Millard Fillmore House, was the residence of the thirteenth President of the United States, Millard Fillmore. Fillmore built this house in 1826, at 24 Shearer Avenue in East Aurora in Erie County, New York. The President lived there only four years during which time his son...
in East Aurora
East Aurora, New York
East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. The Village of East Aurora lies in the eastern half of the Town of Aurora.The population was 6,673 at the 2000 census...
in 1974. and the only one in Genesee 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 :...
. Today it is a museum, with exhibits about the history of the company and the region.
Building
The building is located on the south side of West Main between Ellicott and Thomas Avenues on the north, two blocks west of the county courthouseGenesee County Courthouse Historic District
The Genesee County Courthouse Historic District is located at the junction of Main, West Main and Ellicott streets 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...
and the commercial center of downtown Batavia. To the west is the Oak Street (New York State Route 98
New York State Route 98
New York State Route 98 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 U.S. Route 219 in the town of Great Valley in Cattaraugus County...
) intersection.
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:...
is to the south. The office occupies a narrow strip of land between it and the street. On its east the creek comes closer to West Main, leaving only enough room for a sidewalk; a parking lot is located on the west between the building and Oak Street. Across West Main is another parking lot, houses and a Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts is an international doughnut and coffee retailer founded in 1950 by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts; it is now headquartered in Canton...
. The area is level, part of the creek's former flood plain.
The land office building itself is a one-and-a-half–story limestone
Limestone
Limestone 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....
structure with a 47 by main block topped with an asphalt-shingled gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof. A wooden pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed entrance portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
projects from the north (front) elevation, and two additions are located to the southwest. One is a small one-story cinder block
Cinder block
In the United States, a concrete masonry unit – also called concrete block, cement block, and foundation block – is a large rectangular brick used in construction. Concrete blocks are made from cast concrete, i.e. Portland cement and aggregate, usually sand and fine gravel for high-density blocks...
connector to the other, a large L-shaped timber frame wing with about 12 feet (3.7 m) between it and the main block.
Four round stone columns support the pediment, where a denticulated cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
frames an entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
faced in clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
. Below the cornice are black letters spelling out "Holland Land Office Museum" on the plain frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
. The two six-over-six double-hung sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s on either side of the main entrance have louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
ed shutters
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
with stone sills and splayed lintels. Recessed panels top each window on the upper story.
On either side of the pediment small gabled dormer windows with eight-over-eight double-hung sash pierce the roof. Side fenestration consists of two windows similar to the front windows at ground level, two small windows on the second floor and a fanlight at the gable apex. The roofline has an overhanging eave with a continuation of the denticulation on the pediment.
Smooth round 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 frame the recessed main entrance, topped by a rounded fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
. It opens into a central hall. There is one room on the east and two on the west. Both are used as exhibit space. There are eight wall vaults, originally used to store records. One has its original 10 feet (3 m) metal door. Steel I-beam
I-beam
-beams, also known as H-beams, W-beams , rolled steel joist , or double-T are beams with an - or H-shaped cross-section. The horizontal elements of the "" are flanges, while the vertical element is the web...
s have been added to support the roof, and braces are visible in the west parlor. The upper stories are used for office and exhibit space, as are the additions.
History
The Holland Land CompanyHolland 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...
was formed late in the 18th century by a group of Dutch investors to dispose of lands they had acquired 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....
, originally owned by the state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and the Seneca Nation
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
of the Iroquois Confederacy until the 1797 Treaty of Big Tree
Treaty of Big Tree
Treaty of Big Tree was a formal treaty, held from August 20, 1797 until September 16, 1797, between the Seneca nation and the United States of America. The delegates for both parties met at the residence of William Wadsworth, an early pioneer of the area and Captain of the local militia, in what is...
. The company had acquired them from Robert Morris, who had financed the 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...
during the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, and needed to sell due to financial troubles in some of his other land dealings. In 1794 they hired Pennsylvania surveyor Joseph Ellicott
Joseph 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 ....
to survey the five million acres (2 million ha) they had acquired in what is now 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...
and the adjacent areas of Northwestern Pennsylvania. After the survey was finished and the land subdivided into townships
Survey township
Survey township, sometimes called Congressional township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System, refers to a square unit of land, that is nominally six miles on a side...
, Ellicott was appointed agent in 1800.
Working from the present site, Ellicott not only oversaw the sale of individual properties but functioned as the area's sole regional planner
Regional planning
Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. The related field of urban planning deals with the specific issues of city planning...
, reporting to Paolo Busti
Paolo Busti
Paolo Busti, or Paul Busti , was the principal agent of the Holland Land Company from 1800 until his death. Busti was born in Milan, Italy and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, the company's agent in Philadelphia, by mail. He was, a contemporary historian wrote, "the single most powerful person in the area for the first two decades of the century." His decision to sell the land in small parcels rather than large blocks, despite the objections of the company's trustees who wanted the land sold quickly, resulted in settlement by small farmers rather than the establishment of quasi-feudal manors as had occurred in the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
. Drawing on his experience laying out the city of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, for Pierre L'Enfant, he surveyed and planned the cities of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and Batavia.
The company's first office was a log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
. In 1809 it was replaced with a timber-frame building, in turn replaced by the existing structure in 1815, the third and last one. It was built of stone to be fireproof
Fireproofing
Fireproofing, a passive fire protection measure, refers to the act of making materials or structures more resistant to fire, or to those materials themselves, or the act of applying such materials. Applying a certification listed fireproofing system to certain structures allows these to have a...
and better protect the records it kept. At that time it stood alone on a two-acre (2 acres (8,093.7 m²)) lot. Ellicott left his position in 1820; the company remained in existence until the mid-1850s, by which time all the land had been sold and all the debts retired.
The building was eventually sold. It became first a music school, and then a church. To support those uses modifications were made to the interior.
In 1894 the Holland Purchase Historical Society was formed to restore
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
the building and adapt it for museum use. Later that year the building was dedicated to Morris's memory at a ceremony attended by Morris's descendants and members of the Cabinet of President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, who had himself begun his political career in Buffalo. It was staffed by members of the local Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
(DAR) chapter.
During World War II the DAR leased the building to the local chapter of the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
. At that time the cinder block addition was built on the rear. After the war, in 1948, the county's Board of Supervisors voted to assume ownership.
Gibbet
A gibbet is a gallows-type structure from which the dead bodies of executed criminals were hung on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. In earlier times, up to the late 17th century, live gibbeting also took place, in which the criminal was placed alive in a metal cage...
.
Museum
The museum's collection includes many artifacts of Ellicott's original survey of the region. These include not only his chains and transitTheodolite
A theodolite is a precision instrument for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical planes. Theodolites are mainly used for surveying applications, and have been adapted for specialized purposes in fields like metrology and rocket launch technology...
, but the written records of the survey. An original copy of Ellicott's 1804 map, valued in the five figures, hangs on one wall.
Iroquois artifacts on display include a ca. 1700 succotash
Succotash
Succotash is a food dish consisting primarily of corn and lima beans or other shell beans. Other ingredients may be added including tomatoes and green or sweet red peppers. Because of the relatively inexpensive and more readily available ingredients, the dish was popular during the Great...
bowl, wampum
Wampum
Wampum are traditional, sacred shell beads of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of the indigenous people of North America. Wampum include the white shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell; and the white and purple beads made from the quahog, or Western North Atlantic...
beads and a model of a longhouse, the tribe's traditional habitation. There is also an armchair used by Seneca elder Eli Parker, and a charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
sketch of Seneca Wolf Clan chief Red Jacket
Red Jacket
Red Jacket was a Native American Seneca orator and chief of the Wolf clan...
, wearing the silver medal George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
gave him. They are exhibited in a room named for Parker.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Genesee County, New York
External links
- Holland Land Office Museum (official site)
- "The Holland Land Company in Western New York", by Robert W. Silsby, Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, Adventures in Western New York History, volume VIII, 1961, (downloadable from http://bechsed.nylearns.org/, click on Adventures in WNY History)
- Holland Land Office (5 photos, exterior and interior), at Historic American Buildings SurveyHistoric American Buildings SurveyThe Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...