Town Historian - Ronald Belczak
The
Bi-Centennial Committee meets on the third Wednesdays of every month.
For more information call the Town Clerk at 293-3880 ext 122.
For more information on the History of New York go to New
York State History Page
Riga Town History
Our Heritage:
The lands of Riga were part of the famous "Mill Seat Tract" deeded to
Phelps and Gorham, proprietors by the Native Americans. The region, however soon passed
into the hands of Robert Morris of Philadelphia, the great financier of the
Revolution, and by him were sold to Pultney Estate, (in England) alias the Pultney's,
the Pultney Associates, and Pultney heirs. The Agency for the sale and
development of these lands was entrusted to James Wadsworth, and through his
efforts they were peopled by a thrifty class of inhabitants.
The land making up present day Riga was originally part of Ontario County, which
was set up by the State Legislature in 1789. It later became part of Genesee County,
which was formed in 1802 from part of Ontario County located west of the Genesee
River and west of Steuben County. The first town to be organized in the entire
area lying between the Genesee River and Lake Erie was Northampton. The Town of
Northampton was divided in 1802 into Leicester, Batavia, Southampton,
Northampton and Riga. The part of Northampton which became Riga was first known
as East and West Pultney - after Sir William Pultney, and in 1808 it became East
and West Riga. Chili was formed from the part of the Town of Riga known as East
Riga on February 22, 1822, a year after Monroe County was set up from Ontario
and Genesee Counties.
THE CELEBRATION BEGINS???
Two Hundred years ago on April 8, 1808, the New York State Legistrature
enacted legislation that formally created the Town of
Riga
. So why are we celebrating the
Bicentennial in 2009? That answer
can be found by referring to the minutes of the New York State legislature as
follows: “Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York, represented in
Senate and Assembly, That from and after the day next preceding the first
Tuesday in April next, 1809, all that part of the town of Northampton, in the
county of Genesee, known and distinguished by the name of East and West Pulteney,
shall be erected into a separate town by the name of Riga, and that the first
town meeting shall be held at the dwelling house of Henry Widener of said
town.” At the same time, the Town
of
Northampton
was also separated into the towns of
Murray
,
Parma
and a part of the town remained as
Northampton
. East Pulteney was the area covered
by the
presentday
Town
of Chili. It will not be until 1821
that the Town of
Chili
is created from the Town of
Riga
. So this explains why we will be
celebrating the bicentennial in 2009.
In 1808, the Town of
Riga
was developing slowly. It is
recorded that Samuel Church had constructed a saw mill on Black Creek.
Its exact location is unknown. Dr.
John Darling, first physician, settles in the township at
Riga
centre. Then came Joseph Thomson
and he builds what is still considered a true landmark of our past - the Thomson
Tavern. The Thomson Tavern is a one and a half story building, considered by
some to be the first
wood framed building constructed west of the Genesee River.
It was once located at the southeast
corner of Chili-Riga Rd. and Riga-Munford Rd, in the Town of Riga, and was
removed to the Genesee Country Museum in the 1970’s where it remains on
display.
In 1807, Joseph Thomson arrived from a small township
in
Peru
,
Massachusetts
and built his tavern in 1808. It
wasn’t until 1810 that his wife and their ten children arrived in the Town of
Riga
. It is at this tavern that the
Thomson family made their home, which also served as a store, tavern, bakery and
post-office. After 1809, when the
Town of
Riga
was formed, the tavern was also the site of many town meetings.
The tavern served food and refreshments and also provided lodging for
those to those traveling to and from the Niagara Frontier.
Lodging was provided in one of three upstairs bedrooms.
Additional lodging, when required, was also available in the second floor
meeting room/ballroom. The first
floor consisted of a kitchen with a brick fireplace, pantry, several bedrooms
and store with a brick fireplace. The
basement was partially excavated and provided room for an unusually large brick
oven that was used to bake bread for the local settlers.
According to one of the store’s original record books, the business was
stocked with such items as coffee, bibles, bonnets, cake shaving soap, candles,
factory cloth, plates, mugs, calfskin (for shoes), hats, fishhooks, door
latches, codfish, tobacco, brandy, rum, cider and paper.
The Bicentennial Committee is still accepting new members.
We have a need for those individuals interested in working on the
publicity committee. Call Ron
Belczak at 293-3756 or email me at Ronbells@aol.com.
Submitted by,
Ron Belczak, Historian