History of Mount Morris
Located in the Town of Mount Morris in Livingston County, New York, the Village of Mount Morris sits proudly at the northeastern entrance to Letchworth State Park which encompasses a scenic gorge and triple waterfall thanks to the Genesee River.
The community was first called "Allen Hill" and "Richmond Hill" by early settler Ebenezer Allen. The Village of Mount Morris was incorporated in 1835. It was then named after Robert Morris, the financier of the American Revolution, and later owner of The Morris Reserve, from which the lands around Mount Morris were sold to settlers. It was suggested that these lands were sold at unfairly low prices to friends of the Morris estate, in an attempt to create something akin to an oligarchical rule by landowners in the area.
General Williams Mills Mansion is now home to the Mount Morris Historical Society.
Mary Catherine Seymour Howell
1844-1913
Daughter of Norman and Frances Metcalf Seymour of Mount Morris, Mary Catherine Seymour Howell was an exceptional orator and suffragette. In the 1890s, Mary Catherine traveled with Susan B. Anthony to Kansas and the Dakotas lecturing on women’s rights. She wrote the suffrage bill in 1892 that was passed by the NYS Assembly but was not passed by the Senate. In 1894, Mary Catherine was the main speaker at the Women’s Suffrage Convention at Fitzhugh Hall where she delivered the address “The Dawn of the Twentieth Century”. Mrs. Howell died in 1913 before the 19th Amendment to give women the right to vote became law on August 26, 1920.
John Wesley Powell
1934-1902
Powell was born in Mount Morris, New York, in 1834. He was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He is famous for the 1869 Powell Geographic Expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers, including the first known passage by Europeans through the Grand Canyon.
Major General William Augustus Mills
1777-1844
William Augustus Mills was born in New Bedford, Connecticut and settled in Mount Morris in 1794. He married Susannah Harris of Pennsylvania in 1802 after a courtship of one year to the day. They had 10 children. Major General Mills served in the War of 1812 defending the Niagara Frontier as the commander of the New York militia from six counties. In 1833, General Mills helped finance the first dam along the Genesee River and built a raceway to the Village for water power.
Ross Barnes
1850-1915
Born in Mount Morris, was one of the stars of baseball's National Association (1871–1875) and the early National League (1876–1881), playing second base and shortstop. He played for the dominant Boston Red Stockings teams of the early 1870s, along with Albert Spalding, Cal McVey, George Wright, Harry Wright, Jim O'Rourke, and Deacon White. Despite playing for these star-studded teams, many claim that Ross was the most valuable to his teams.
Annie Graham Rockfellow
1866-1954