Genesee Country Village & Museum: A Living 19th-Century World in Mumford

In this episode of Walking Tour of New York, we head to the hamlet of Mumford in Monroe County -- about twenty miles southwest of Rochester -- to explore Genesee Country Village and Museum, the largest living history museum in New York State. Covering more than six hundred acres, the museum was founded in the 1960s by John "Jack" Wehle, son of the Genesee Brewing Company's founder, who spent a decade rescuing 19th-century structures from across the Genesee Valley and reassembling them into a fully realized historic village. The result is sixty-eight restored and furnished buildings -- from a simple pioneer log cabin to an elaborate Victorian mansion -- organized into three chronological sections representing the Early Settlement, Center Village, and Gaslight District eras of Western New York life. Costumed interpreters bring each building to life with active demonstrations of blacksmithing, coopering, pottery throwing, weaving, historic cooking, and more. The episode also explores the John L. Wehle Gallery of Sporting Art (home to works by Audubon, Remington, and Bateman, plus a 3,500-piece historic costume collection), the Carriage Museum, Silver Baseball Park -- the first replica 19th-century baseball park in America -- and the five-mile trail system of the Genesee Country Nature Center. On-site dining includes the Depot Restaurant, the Freight House Pub (featuring house craft beers brewed by Rohrbach Brewing Company), the Pavilion Garden Restaurant, and the historic D.B. Munger Confectionery. For nearby sites, the episode highlights the JELL-O Gallery Museum in LeRoy (about ten miles west), and the New York Museum of Transportation in Rush (with the only vintage trolley ride in New York State). Visit NorthStarTravelers.com to explore our other podcast shows and browse gear recommendations for wherever your next journey takes you.