Welcome To Pompey Historical Society

The Town of Pompey Historical Society was established in 1976 as a result of the United States Bicentennial Celebration. The Town of Pompey Bicentennial Committee had planned two weeks of activities to celebrate this memorable occasion. The committee wanted to have lasting tributes after July 1976. It was decided that organizing an historical society and writing and publishing a two volume book (Pompey, Our Town in Profile) would accomplish that goal.

The campus consists of the William G. Pomeroy Research Center and Museum, the Pomeroy - Coe Heritage Center, and Pompey Center One Room Schoolhouse.

      Members of the PHS collect, acquire, preserve and catalog not only objects but oral traditions and recorded information about the Town of Pompey.  We share this information through meetings, exhibits, publications, and educational programs.  We also are responding to a growing number of genealogical inquiries.

      These activities are made possible by donations, fundraisers and grants from government as well as private foundations and agencies.  Membership contributions are also a major source of income for the Society - we need your support!

      The Town of Pompey Historical Museum and Research Center is located across from the Town Hall at the corner of Pompey Center Rd. and Route 20.

History

      During the early years after establishment of the Town in 1794, New York State awarded military grants to NYS soldiers. The Town of Pompey granted 100 lots of approximately 600 acres apiece.
      This tract was set up to give land to those who fought for New York State in the Revolutionary War in lieu of cash for their service. Only one man of the hundred men entitled to the free land decided to settle here on his 600 acre plot – Conrad Bush.
      Most of the early settlers came from Massachusetts and Connecticut, bringing with them their protestant religions and their traditions of town meetings. Records show meetings held as early as 1794. The first Town supervisor was Moses Dewitt. They came here because of the advantages of the fast flowing streams which provided a good supply of sites for mills of every description, especially saw and grist mills.
      Early records show that thirty-five to forty families settling here between 1791 and 1800. By 1845, a census reported 4,112 residents in Pompey. Young Irishmen found their way to Pompey when the construction of the Erie Canal ended, making a lasting contribution to the town’s agriculture. The community grew and was prospering. New farm homes were built; some with architecture that to this day reflects the rich culture and affluence of the era.
      Roads and schools and churches were erected in the Hamlets. The Pompey Academy in Pompey Hill was chartered in 1811 In the early years it stood almost alone as an institution of higher learning and many of its graduates went on to prominence and accomplishment. Prior to 1870 Pompey had furnished to our State Legislature, thirteen members, six representatives in our National Congress, one United States Senator, two Governors, five Mayors of cities, three Supreme Court Judges, one Major-General of the Union Army and commander on Sherman’s “March to the Sea”. William G. Fargo, of the future Wells and Fargo was born and lived for 22 years in the hamlet of Watervale.

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