The Genesee Country Village & Museum Confronts the Legacy of Slavery in Rochester’s Founding

How a regional museum is digging deeper into history to reveal the untold stories of enslaved people and challenge the traditional narrative of Rochester’s founder.

On a warm July morning, I reached Becky Wehle by phone. Even across the line, her voice carried the kind of ease and purpose that makes you want to lean closer. Thoughtful yet brimming with energy, she spoke of her life’s work at the Genesee Country Village & Museum, not simply as a career, but as a calling.

“My grandfather had the vision for a place like this,” she said, recalling how he began relocating historic buildings to the Mumford campus in 1966. “The museum has been part of my life since I was born.”

Growing up just fifteen minutes away, Wehle spent countless afternoons wandering the village green, attending agricultural fairs, and catching glimpses of what 19th-century life might have felt like. After college and an early position at the George Eastman Museum, she joined the Genesee Country Village Board in 1997. Nine years ago, when the museum’s leader retired, she stepped into the role of President and CEO. Today, she oversees the nation’s third-largest living history museum, with a 5 million operating budget and more than 150 staff members.

But for Wehle, the work is less about numbers and buildings and more about people, and the fragile stories that risk being forgotten.

“If these buildings didn’t come here, we would’ve lost them,” she said. “And if we don’t tell these stories, we lose a part of ourselves.”

In recent years, the museum has taken a bold step to confront the complexities of history by reinterpreting the home of Nathaniel Rochester, the city’s founder, originally located in Dansville. Built in 1795, this house was Rochester’s first residence upon arriving in Western New York in 1810. The museum carefully relocated it to the Pioneer Settlement section to serve as a focal point for exploring the region’s origins.

While Rochester’s contributions to the development of Rochester are widely celebrated, the museum’s research has uncovered difficult truths about his legacy as a slave owner. Archival documents, including a 1790 ledger purchased by the University of Rochester’s Rush Rhees Library, reveal that Rochester and his partners bought and sold enslaved people.

Central to this story are two enslaved children who lived in the Dansville house: Benjamin, a 16-year-old boy, and Cassandra, a 14-year-old girl. In 1811, Rochester manumitted them both, though Cassandra was indentured to the Rochester family until she turned 18 to learn "the art and mystery of a Cook," unpaid during that period while Rochester received financial support from the state. The fate of Benjamin after his manumission remains unknown.

The museum has created a new exhibit and guided tour to present this complex legacy with honesty and nuance, balancing Rochester’s pivotal role in the region’s growth with the painful realities of slavery. “They were not just names or footnotes,” Wehle emphasized. “Benjamin and Cassandra were real people whose lives were shaped by systems of oppression, and whose stories deserve to be told.”

In an era when history can feel contested or politicized, Wehle sees the museum’s role as one of care, courage, and connection.

“When people say we’re rewriting history, we’re not. Every story we tell here actually happened in Western NY, she explained. “This region was diverse in the 19th century and still is today. Our job is to make history relevant, accurate, and engaging, even when it’s uncomfortable.”

This summer, her vision comes alive in events that blend education, culture, and a touch of flair:

On Saturday, July 12, the museum hosts Hearts in Conflict: Kinship and Citizenship in American Civic Life, a community conversation presented with Humanities New York. Using 1852 correspondence between Rebecca A. [Fitzhugh] Backus, from a Maryland family of planter-enslavers, and her abolitionist brother-in-law Gerrit Smith, the program explores how slavery and the sectional crisis strained family bonds. Visitors are invited to reflect on democracy, kinship, and how past struggles shape our civic imagination today.

The following morning, Sunday, July 13, the museum turns up the volume with Drag Me to the Past: Herstory & Hashbrowns. This vibrant 21+ drag brunch features dazzling performances by the Drag Me to the Stage production crew—including Mrs. Kasha Davis, Eva Flow, Ambrosia Salad, and Carmen Adore. Between laughter and lip-syncs, guests will discover the fascinating history of female and male impersonators who performed and thrived in the Genesee Valley in the late 1800s. It’s a sparkling collision of history, heels, and humor.

For sports fans, the excitement continues with the National Silver Ball Tournament (August 8–10). The nation’s most comprehensive 19th-century base ball program takes center field as vintage teams don wool uniforms and play by old-school rules at Silver Base Ball Park—the first and finest replica 19th-century base ball field in the U.S.

And for those seeking a slower pace, the museum offers Heirloom Garden Tours & Ice Cream Socials on select August dates. Guests can stroll through stunning heirloom gardens with GCV&M’s knowledgeable gardener, Emily Conable, then cool off with a sweet ice cream social. It’s a charming way to savor summer, perfect for sharing with friends or family.

“It’s programs like these that remind us history isn’t static,” Wehle said. “It evolves, and it connects to the questions and conversations we’re having today.”

For Wehle, those connections are deeply personal. “So many visitors, especially people of color, have thanked us for centering these stories,” she shared. “Some talk about ancestors who were enslaved. Seeing them make those connections, it’s powerful.”

We also spoke about that familiar maxim often attributed to George Santayana: Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. On the surface, the phrase can feel fatalistic, even discouraging. But at the Genesee Country Village & Museum, Wehle sees it differently.

“History isn’t destiny. It’s instruction,” she said. “The more we know, the more empowered we are to act. Ignorance is the real enemy.”

In an age when authoritarianism is on the rise and censorship threatens every institution trying to educate the public, it has become an act of defiance to simply tell people what happened.

Of course, all history involves interpretation. But for Wehle, the goal is not to dictate what people should think.

“Our job is to describe what actually took place and to make history come alive," Wehle said.

In a world flooded with screens and notifications, the Genesee Country Village & Museum offers something rare: space to slow down, listen, and reflect.

“Here, you see, hear, and even taste history,” Wehle said. “On any given day, there are 18 to 20 interpreters on site, real people telling real stories. That human connection is everything.”

When asked what she might say to a young visitor wondering why history matters, Wehle didn’t hesitate.

“History repeats itself. If we don’t understand what happened before, we can’t move forward. Women’s rights, racial justice, Indigenous histories, these are all of our stories. People need to see themselves in them.”

At the Genesee Country Village & Museum, history isn’t just preserved, it’s lived, celebrated, and given room to speak to the present. And in Wehle’s hands, that legacy feels very much alive.