A history of Batavia,
since 1802
Postcards, papers and photographs of Batavia from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The current City of Batavia was an early settlement in what is today called Genesee Country, the farthest western region of New York State, comprising the Genesee Valley and westward to the Niagara River, Lake Erie, and the Pennsylvania line. The tract purchased in western New York (the Holland Purchase) was a 3,250,000 acre (13,150 km2) portion of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase that lay west of the Genesee River. It was purchased in December 1792, February 1793, and July 1793 from Robert Morris, a prominent Revolutionary banker, by the Holland Land Company, a consortium of Dutch bankers.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Batavia’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewHorse's Friend 003, 1876: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Batavia
See all 23 →
Batavia, decade by decade
1920s
LOCBatavia, New York. The Elba FSA (Farm Security Administrati…1942
LOCBatavia, New York. The Elba FSA (Farm Security Administrati…1942
LOCBatavia, New York. West Virginia migrants arriving in a dri…1942
LOCBatavia, New York. Elba FSA (Farm Security Administration) …1942
LOCBatavia, New York. West Virginia migrants arriving in a dri…1942
LOCBatavia, New York. Elba FSA (Farm Security Administration) …19421990s
10 historic places in Batavia
10 places in Batavia are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier, which fewer than 3% of listings reach.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Horse's Friend 003 (1876) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (6) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.