Monroe County has 19 towns and nine incorporated villages.
Aided by short commutes, particularly between Rochester and its inner-ring of
suburbs, many of these are bedroom communities. Further out you’ll find more
farmland and genuine, rural character. Actually, newcomers are often amazed at
how quickly the city trappings can fall away if you get in your car and head
east, south, or west.
But here’s some news: Main Street, USA lives. Look at the
village centers of places like Brockport, Scottsville, Pittsford, and Honeoye
Falls. These are places that, in a time of urban sprawl and highways and
megamart supercenters, are and will continue to be destinations in themselves.
Brighton
One of Monroe County’s oldest towns, bordering Rochester and
the Genesee River, Brighton has many elegant homes and neighborhoods. Monroe
Avenue extends from Rochester through Brighton, and is a nucleus for shops,
restaurants, and bakeries, especially where it meets Winton Road and Elmwood
Avenue at Twelve Corners.
Interesting fact: Brighton
residents approved a sweeping plan to expand parkland; a new 50-acre park
should be completed this year.
Top official: Sandra Frankel, supervisor
Population: 35,588
Median home price: 124,300
Offices: 784-5250,
www.townofbrighton.org
Brockport/Sweden
The village of Brockport, within the town of Sweden, is a
charming location, with the attractive SUNY Brockport campus and a
still-thriving (thanks to careful efforts) Main Street. Sweden, the surrounding
town, is still home to a number of fruit and vegetable farms.
Interesting fact: Brockport’s
downtown commercial district is on the National and State Registers of Historic
Places; Sweden Town Park includes an outdoor skate park and a BMX trail.
Motto: Brockport,
The Victorian Village on the Erie Canal
Top official: Josephine Matela, village mayor; Nat Lester, town supervisor
Population: 8,103
(village), 13,716 (town)
Median home price: $84,700 (Brockport); $95,300 (Sweden)
Offices: 637-5300,
www.brockportny.org (Brockport), 637-2144, www.townofsweden.org (Sweden)
Chili
Chili (pronounced “schye-lye,” unlike the pepper), home to
Roberts Wesleyan College, is a western gateway to Rochester and growing. But
while the town’s population is on the rise, and it is becoming a more and more
popular suburb, it still has a lot of the charm of a rural community. Black
Creek runs through the town, and along it is one of the town’s eight parks.
Interesting fact: There
are over a dozen historic houses along Union Street; Chili has a disc golf
course.
Top official: Tracy
Logel, supervisor
Population: 27,638
Median home price: $101,700
Offices: 889-3550,
www.townofchili.org
Churchville/Riga
The village of Churchville website says, “we strive to keep
our small town atmosphere,” and both it and Riga (the town) accomplish that
goal. There is still a lot of farmland as well as green space here: Black Creek
intersects the village, the 750-acre Churchville Park has a 27-hole golf
course, sports courts and fields, and snowmobile trails.
Interesting fact: Churchville is one of the communities in the county that has municipal
utilities — residents get electricity for cheap.
Top official: Donald Ehrmentraut (village mayor), Tim Rowe (town supervisor)
Population: 1,887
(village), 5,437 (town)
Median home price: $89,600 (Churchville), $104,100 (Riga)
Offices: 293-3720, www.churchville.net (Churchville); 293-3880, www.townofriga.org
(Riga)
Clarkson
Clarkson, in the northwest corner of the county, is a rural
town with a center at the crossroads of state routes 104 and 19, where a lot of
historic architecture can be found.
Interesting fact: A
new event, Clarkson
Rodeo Days, will be held in Clarkson in 2005, including bull
and bronco riding and barrel racing.
Top official: Paul
Kimball, supervisor
Population: 6,072
Median home price: $104,400
Offices: 637-1130,clarksonny.org
East Rochester
This town-village combo is a down-to-earth corner surrounded
by the more affluent suburbs of Fairport, Pittsford, Perinton, and Penfield,
with a proud history as a factory town.
Interesting fact: In fact, an old piano factory in the village is now the Piano Works Mall, a
commercial center.
Top official: David
Bonacchi, mayor
Population: 6,650
Median home price: $79,200
Offices: 586-3553,
www.eastrochester.org
Fairport/Perinton
Fairport is a desirable address, with its quaint, thriving
canal-side downtown; plenty of parks and paths for recreation; Victorian-style
family neighborhoods; and the affordable services of Fairport Electric, a
municipally owned power company. The village of Fairport is within the town of
Perinton, which is also a family-friendly place with big houses, tons of parks,
a big community recreation center, and a brand-new Aquatics Center (complete
with an indoor water slide).
Interesting fact: The lift bridge over the Erie Canal on Fairport’s Main Street is the only
bridge in the world built on a bias.
Motto: Fairport,
Crown Jewel of the Erie Canal
Top official: Clark
King (village mayor), James Smith (town supervisor)
Population: 5,740
(village), 46,090 (town)
Median home price: $126,600
(Fairport), $143,500 (Perinton)
Offices: 223-0313,
www.village.fairport.ny.us (Fairport); 223-0770, www.perinton.org (Perinton)
Gates
The town is small in terms of land area, but has a
population of nearly 30,000, and 90 percent of that land is developed, between
industrial, commercial (the Wal-Mart megacenter on Chili Avenue), and residential
uses. A boost to the town’s 120 acres of parkland came when the owner of the
former Kodak property on Elmgrove Road (closed in 2000) donated 24 acres of the
industrial complex to the town. The next big project: Gates officials are
interested in a $40-million proposal to renovate nine district schools expand
Gates Chili High School.
Interesting fact: It was once said that more cameras were made
in Gates than anywhere else in the US.
Top official: Ralph Esposito, supervisor
Population: 29,275
Median home price:$87,500
Offices: 247-6100
Greece
Greece offers a lot for suburbanites: 775 acres of parkland
(420 of those acquired since 2002) that include a stretch of Lake Ontario
shoreline and the Braddock Bay preservation area; the hopping West Ridge Road,
along which you can find anything you’ve ever wanted; and working-class,
family-friendly neighborhoods. By the end of 2006, Greece should have a new
Town Hall complex and 35,000-square-feet community center on Vince Tofany
Boulevard.
Interesting fact: A
2003 Morgan Quitno study found Greece to be the 13th safest community out of
354 in the nation.
Top official: John
Auberger, supervisor
Population: 94,141
Median home price: $99,500
Offices: 225-2000
Hamlin
This is a very country town with a lot of elbow room (one of
the largest towns in the County and one of the smallest populations), and it is
a popular destination for Hamlin Beach State Park and its apple farms. Kids
form Hamlin attend three school districts: Brockport, Hilton, and Kendall
(Kendall’s next door in Orleans County).
Interesting fact: Town
supervisor Austin Warner has training as an auctioneer.
Top official: Austin
Warner, supervisor
Population: 9,355
Median home price: $92,000
Offices: 964-8981
Henrietta
Those who don’t live in Henrietta may only know it for its
strip-mall character along West and East Henrietta and Jefferson Roads. You’ll
find all the chain restaurants and big-box stores you could need here — and
it’s a convenient, if congested shopping destination. But off the beaten paths
there are quieter residential neighborhoods and park space. Also, Rochester
Institute of Technology and National Technical Institute for the Deaf — big
employers and centers of activity — share a campus here.
Interesting fact: Town planners are looking at creating a “town center” along Calkins Road, where
the town hall, library, and a park are already.
Top official: James Breese, supervisor
Population: 39,028
Median home price:$96,300
Offices: 334-7700
Hilton/Parma
Parma is a rural community with a Lake Ontario shoreline and
a number of family-owned farms and suburban neighborhoods within its borders.
Hilton (the village) still retains its old charm with a central business
district and draws people every October for its apple festival.
Interesting fact: Parma has an over-1000-acre park that
includes a skatepark.
Motto: Hilton, The little village with the
big heart
Top official:Bill Carter (village mayor), Richard
Lemcke, (town supervisor)
Population:5,856 (Hilton), 14,822 (Parma)
Median home price: $91,200 (Hilton), $98,000 (Parma)
Offices:392-4144, www.hiltonny.org (Hilton);
392-9461, www.parmany.org (Parma)
Irondequoit
This is a big, developed suburb, with lots of residential
neighborhoods, expanded, somewhat dingy commercial areas (including the ailing
mall), and two school districts. A Cooper-Hudson-Titus Town Center Plan is
already in motion to revamp that intersection area. The town name means “where
the land and waters meet.” Along the Lake Ontario shoreline are the Summerville,
White City, and Sea Breeze neighborhoods (Seabreeze is an old family-owned
amusement park). Irondequoit Bay is popular with boaters and fishers, and you
can find some impressive addresses there.
Interesting fact: In
Irondequoit you’ll find the Turkish Society of Rochester, a cultural center for
the 3,000 Turkish Americans living in the Rochester area
Motto: A town for
a lifetime
Top official: David
Schantz, supervisor
Population: 52,354
Median home price: $88,700
Offices: 467–8840, www.irondequoit.org
Mendon/Honeoye Falls
An agricultural, rural community with patchwork-like
farmlands, Mendon also has the fabulous Mendon Ponds Park, the largest park in
the county. Honeoye Falls is a village whose popularity is on the rise (and
along with it, housing prices). The village’s old mill buildings along Honeoye
Creek have been reclaimed with an eye to history, livability, and charm. Main
Street is an avenue of well-preserved storefronts now housing quaint
restaurants and shops.
Interesting fact: The
county’s highest elevations are inMendon.
Top official:Moe Bickwheat (town supervisor),
Stephen Gustin (village mayor)
Population: 8,370
(includes Honeoye Falls)
Median home price:$174,000 (Mendon), $123,500 (Honeoye
Falls)
Offices:624-6060, www.townofmendon.org
(Mendon), 624-1711 (Honeoye Falls)
Penfield
Penfield has significant industrial and retail areas within
its borders and is home to Paychex, Inc., a big employer. But it’s also a place
to find large homes, attractive neighborhoods, and lots and lots of parkland.
The town is working on turning back the clock at the busy Four Corners (the
intersection of route 441 and Five Mile Line Road), making it into more of the
village center it used to be.
Interesting fact: A $10 million open space plan referendum has
already protected over 1,000 acres from development.
Motto: The town of planned progress
Top official:George Wiedemer, supervisor
Population: 34,645
Median home price: $137,100
Offices: 340-8600,
www.penfield.org
Pittsford
Pittsford has a justifiable reputation as a posh locale.
Homes for the most part are large and expensive; and Pittsford Village, a
well-preserved center that still functions as a downtown, is full of specialty
shops and boutiques.
Interesting fact: The
Wegmans supermarket in Pittsford is locally renowned for its overall wow
factor; a restaurant called Tastings recently opened there.
Top official: Bill
Carpenter (town supervisor), Bob Corby (village mayor)
Population: 27,219
(town), 1,418 (village)
Median home price: $145,600 (village), $183,100 (town)
Offices: 248-6200,
www.townofpittsford.com (town); 586-4332, villageofpittsford.org (village)
Rush
Rush is a commuter suburb with a rural character and is the
town with the smallest population. This means lots of open space, including a
long border along the Genesee River, the Lehigh Valley Trail, and forested
areas.
Interesting fact: Rush has one of New York State’s best examples of an oak opening, a rare area
of trees in a savanna-like landscape.
Top official: Bill
Udicious, supervisor
Population: 3,603
Median home price: $135,400
Offices: 533-1312,
rushconnections.com
Scottsville/Wheatland
The rural town of Wheatland, named in 1821 for its
award-winning wheat crops, is complemented nicely by lovely Scottsville, with
its historic homes and storefronts clustered around Route 383. The lush Genesee
Valley Greenway, a favorite among hikers, runs through Wheatland.
Interesting fact: Oatka
Creek is a popular spot for at least two activities: trout fishing and water
tubing.
Top official: Stephen
Bowman (village mayor); Linda Dobson (town supervisor)
Population: 2,128
(village), 5,149 (town)
Median home price: $90,500 (Scottsville), $97,000 (Wheatland)
Offices: 889-4700
(Scottsville), 889-1553, www.townofwheatland.org (Wheatland)
Spencerport/Ogden
The town, Ogden, has residential neighborhoods, light
industry, and farms — which make it a great destination for U-Pick fruit
fields and farm markets. Spencerport, the village, has neighborhoods of
Victorian-style homes, a small-town-feeling center along Union Street, and the
Erie Canal running right down the middle of it all.
Interesting fact: The
Ogden Farmers’ Library is a county hub for genealogy research.
Motto: …Someplace special!
Top official: Theodore
Walker (village mayor), Gay Lenhard (town supervisor)
Population: 3,559
(village), 18,492 (town)
Median home price: $112,000 (Spencerport), $114,400 (Ogden)
Offices: 352-4771,
www.vil.spencerport.ny.us (Spencerport), 352-2100, www.ogdenny.com (Ogden)
Webster
Webster has community pride, and residents are active in the
schools, libraries, and sports and recreation programs. They’re also dedicated
to preservation: The historic look and feel of Webster Village is under watch,
and the town’s Open Space plan just saved 1,000 acres from development. A Xerox
Corporation manufacturing site and a Paychex data center are here.
Interesting fact: In
May 2004, Sports Illustrated chose
Webster as the number one “Sportstown” in New York State.
Motto: Where Life
is Worth Living
Top official: William
Ruoff (village mayor), Cathryn Thomas (town supervisor)
Population: 5,216
(village), 37,926 (town)
Median home price: $122,800
Offices: 265-3770,
www.villageofwebster.com (village), 872-1000, www.ci.webster.ny.us
This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2005.
