Historical Significance:
"The present home of Irondequoit Chapter is the lovely Hervey Ely house built in 1837. This mansion is considered to be one of the outstanding examples of the Greek Revival style of architecture in this country, and was designed by preeminent architect Hugh Hastings of New England. Hervey Ely arrived in Rochester in 1813 as a 22-year-old looking to make a living at running a general store, but soon erected a sawmill on the Genesee River. Success led to bigger mills, and Ely eventually produced as much as one third of Rochester's flour output. Unfortunately, Ely and his wife Caroline lived just four years in their handsome mansion before the collapse of the flour market forced them to sell the estate they had built in the Third Ward, once known as the "Ruffled Shirt Ward" and presently known as "The Corn Hill Neighborhood" of Rochester. To visit the Corn Hill Neighborhood of Rochester, please click on the following link: http://www.cornhill.org
The Irondequoit Chapter purchased the house in 1920, and has taken great pride in its stewardship ever since. The interior of the house maintains elaborate plaster decorations, fine marble fireplaces, an elegant curving staircase, and 12-foot ceilings. The main level of the mansion contains a genealogical library, a museum, and meeting rooms. Many antiques adorn the rooms, including a handsome sideboard used in the Newburgh headquarters of General Washington during 1780-1781, as well as a candle-lit shaving mirror used by the Marquis de Lafayette. Also on display is the drum of Alexander Milliner of Rochester, New York, who enlisted in the Continental Army at the age of 16, and served four years as a drummer in Washington's Life Guard. Most proudly displayed in the foyer of this beautiful home is the DAR application paper for our most famous Irondequoit Daughter, Susan B. Anthony, who became a member of Irondequoit Chapter in 1898. In 2006 our chapter participated in the 100th anniversary reenactment of her funeral which took place in Rochester in 1906." (Wording from the Irondequoit Chapter web site.)
