River Campus of the University of Rochester

History of the Campuses and Buildings of the University of Rochester
United States Hotel	Prince Street Campus	Eastman School of Music	Medical Center	River Campus	Mid-Campus	South Campus	Mt. Hope Campus	Graduate, Family and Veteran Housing	Central Utilities	Other Off-Site Buildings

River Campus

1958 Aerial Photo of the River Campus

Aerial Photos of River Campus, note that some dates may be approximate
1923	1928	1930	1930	1930	1930s	1931	1931	1935	1935	1948	1950	1950	1950	1951	1954	1955	1958	1959	1959	1962	1962	1962	1962
1962	1962	1964	1964	1968	1977	1980	1992	1999	2003	2003	2004	2006	2007	2007	2008	2012	2015	2015	2016	2017	2018	2018	2018

These three historical markers were designed by your correspondent in 2005 for the new Bausch & Lomb Riverside Park. The markers are still in place, but are a bit weather-beaten.

Elmwood Avenue Bridge	Pedestrian Bridge at Genesee Rapids	Railroad Bridge

Maps of River Campus from 1858 to 1935 (click on image for larger map) \| Also visit the City of Rochester's Historic Map Viewer \|

1858	1872	1887	1900	1910	1926	1935

The land that became River Campus was the site of an Algonquin Village around 1300 and adjacent to a ford across the Genesee River at a set of rapids near the present Pedestrian Bridge. A group of British troops known as Butler's Rangers, escaping from the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, intended to cross at the rapids, but the water was too high so they buried a cache of ammunition and traveled down to Lake Ontario. The cache was discovered by a farmer in 1816.

A dam was built across the river in 1822 to deliver water through a feeder canal for the new Erie Canal, which also allowed canal boats to travel between the river and canal. The feeder canal was abandoned after the new Barge Canal opened in 1918.

The land along the river became farmland and in 1827 Epaphras Wolcott set up a distillery next to Clarissa (now Ford) Street. When he died in 1852, Epaphras left his business to his sons, Anson and George, who in turn passed it on to Anson’s nephew James in 1880. Twenty years later James Wolcott retired and leased much of the family’s farmland south of the distillery to Oak Hill Country Club. The area was annexed by the City of Rochester in 1861 and 1874.

The Genesee Valley Canal opened on the west side of the river in 1838 and was abandoned in 1878. A new, higher dam was built to replace the 1822 dam to support the new canal, but it caused flooding upstream and was removed by the Monroe County Sheriff in 1842. The abandoned canal was sold to the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad, which opened in 1882 and later was leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad was built through the future campus in 1854 and became part of the Erie Railroad. This line crossed over to the west side of the Genesee River on the north side of the future campus. The Lehigh Valley Rail Road opened on September 1, 1892 and ran parallel to the Erie through campus before splitting to go up the east side of the river to the Lehigh Valley Station (now Dinosaur Bar-B-Que). .The railroads by campus were all abandoned and removed in the 1970s and 1980s, and the former rail bed through campus was turned into a long, skinny parking lot.

The University bought a new site for the Oak Hill Country Club in 1922, allowing the College for Men to be moved from the Prince Street Campus to be adjacent to the University's new Medical Center. The University obtained possession of the River Campus property on March 1, 1926 and ground was broken for the new Chemistry Laboratory on May 21, 1927, the same day that Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris.

The road along the Genesee River was known as Wolcott Street, Harbor Boulevard, and River Boulevard before being named Wilson Boulevard after Joseph C. Wilson in 1972.

The College for Men moved to the new River Campus in October 1930. Additional land was purchased in 1962 and later.

1935 Service Building (Taylor Hall)

1946 | Harkness | Veterans' Dormitories |

1947 | Cyclotron | Gavett Annex |

1949 Lattimore Annex

1953 | East Dorm (Hoeing) | West Dorm (Lovejoy) |

1955 | Men's Dining Hall (Douglass Commons) | Women's Residence Center (Susan B. Anthony) | Women's Gymnasium (Spurrier) |

1956 Trevor Observatory

1957 Tiernan

1958 | Administration (Wallis) | Particle Physics (New York State Optics) | Cyclotron Laboratory Addition |

1959 Gilbert

1960 | Third Floor addition to Gavett Annex | Gilbert wings completed |

1961 Third Floor Addition to Administration Building Wing

1965 | Mees Observatory | Graduate Living Center (Southside; Valentine; deKiewiet) |

1968 Summer Theater

1969 | Space Science (Wilmot) | Hill Court (Chambers, Fairchild, Gale, Kendrick, Munro, and Slater Houses) | Dewey Annex |

1970 Interfaith Chapel

1971 Mathematical Sciences (Hylan)

1972 Hutchison

1974 Psychology (Meliora)

1976 Wilson Commons

1982 Zornow Field House

1984 Maintenance-Transportation Facility (Public Safety).

1985 Meliora Hall overhang infill

1987 Computer Studies & Science Library

1991 Schlegel

2001 Gleason

2007 Goergen

2008 | University Health Service | Riverview Apartments |

2012 O'Brien

2013 | LeChase | Rettner |

2014 Brooks Crossing Apartments

2015 Riverview Apartments Building G

2016 Wegmans

2017 Genesee

2020 Fourth floor addition to University Health Service

2021 Sloan Performing Arts Center

References | Also see History of Campus Technology and History of Rochester |
1838 Genesee Valley Canal opens on the west side of the river.

1853 Deed from Anson F. Wolcott to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Company, May 12, 1853, $2,592, book 109, page 244.

1853 Deed from Simeon Lewis to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Company, October 8, 1853, $2,000, book 114, page 175.

1854 Rochester merchants fear a NYC monopoly, and a connection with another railroad is desired. The Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad is built south to Avon to connect with the Erie. The line south of Rochester is built to 6-foot gauge to interchange with the Erie. This line was essentially always under Erie control. (future Erie line into Rochester)

1855 Deed from Anson F. Wolcott et al. to the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Company, December 3, 1855, $272, book 128, page 422.

1871 Deed from State of New York Anson F. Wolcott, November 23, 1871, book 251, page 87.
Land from old feeder canal.

1882 The Genesee Valley Canal railroad was built along the abandoned Genesee Valley Canal. (later Pennsylvania Rail Road)

1884 Semi-centennial History of the City of Rochester, by William Farley Peck
Page 42: In their anxiety to distance Sullivan’s soldiers, Butler’s men rid themselves of everything possible at this ford. Ammunition and arms were buried in the ground near the springs and concealed in hollow trees in the vicinity. In 1816 Mr. Boughton found ninety-six pounds of bullets in the bottom of a rotten stump, and several other discoveries of bullets, bars of lead, etc., have been made by various parties.

1884 Map of Indian Trails about Rochester, as described by George H. Harris

1884 Semi-centennial History of the City of Rochester: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, by William Farley Peck
Pages 2-96: "Aboriginal occupation of the lower Genesee country," by George H. Harris. | also published separately |
Page 42: At the rapids in South Rochester the river passes over a ledge of limestone, and before the dam was constructed the channel was very shallow some sixty rods above and below. On the east bank a flat extended from Red creek north around the base of Oak hill. It was eaten away by the current long years ago, but it originally constituted the the east-side landing of the ford. The west end of Elmwood avenue strikes the river just south of the upper edge of the old ford. In early pioneer days there were two or three good springs in the bank of a small creek which entered the river at that point. A prehistoric town, covering all the surface of Oak hill, once existed there. Stone relics were found on every foot of the ground from the feeder dam to Red creek, by the early settlers. In their anxiety to distance Sullivan's soldiers, Butler's men rid themselves of everything possible at this ford. Ammunition and arms were buried in the ground near the springs and concealed in hollow trees in the vicinity. In 1816 Mr. Boughton found ninety-six pounds of bullets in the bottom of a rotten stump, and several other discoveries of bullets, bars of lead, etc., have been made by various parties.

1890 "Honeoye Falls Railway," Democrat and Chronicle, May 22, 1890, Page 1.
Permission to Occupy the Feeder Bank Affirmed.

1891 Deed from the City of Rochester to the Rochester and Honeoye Valley Railroad Company, October 28, 1891, $6,000, page 487, book 236.

1891 The Lehigh Valley Railroad built its new mainline to Buffalo across the landscape south of Rochester. The last of the 20th Century Class-1s to enter the region. the LV's Rochester branch, which left the mainline at Rochester Junction to enter the city from the south, officially opens on September 1, 1892.

1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Rochester, Monroe County, New York. Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 |

1901 "The Oak Hill Country Club," Democrat and Chronicle, October 2, 1901, Page 7.
Rochester has another organization of men for outdoor amusement. The Oak Hill Country Club was organized last night with 125 names of charter members attached to its roster.

1901 Lease from James E. Wolcott to the Oak Hill Country Club, October 9, 1901, $600 yearly, book 648, page 82.
About 50 acres, term of ten years from April 1, 1902 to March 31, 1912,

1901 Lease from Joseph A. Adlington to the Oak Hill Country Club, October 9, 1901, $600 yearly, book 648, page 85.
About 55 acres, term of five years from April 1, 1902 to March 31, 1907.

1902 Site of Hope Hospital
The site of Hope Hospital, a temporary hospital for smallpox patients, on the east bank of the Genesee River. In the center are some Lehigh Valley Railroad tracks. To the left is the Erie Railroad bridge across the river. The University's Public Safety Building now occupies this site.

1906 Deed from Ida J. Wolcott to Oak Hill Country Club, June 22, 1906, $1.00, book 735, page 437

1906 Deed from Joseph A. Adlington to the Oak Hill Country Club, June 28, 1906, $13,880, book 735, page 439.

1917 "Golfers of Oak Hill Club Win by Big Margin," Democrat and Chronicle, June 17, 1917, Page 37
It is well-known that Oak Hill boasts of a sporty course and the visitors found some of the holes difficult to negotiate, especially Gibraltar Hill.

1920 "University to Have Its Own Auditorium," Democrat and Chronicle, December 15, 1920, Page 25.
Mrs. Henry A. Strong Gives $200,000 for Purpose.

1921 "Greater University on New Site Proposed," Democrat and Chronicle, February 10, 1921, Page 1 | Part 2 |

1921 "Oak Hill Site Is Approved by University Trustees," Democrat and Chronicle, November 6, 1921, Page 1. | Part 2 |
Present Plan Would Place College For Men on Country Club Site and Medical School on Elmwood Avenue.

1922 "Members of Oak Hill Club Approve Plan for Providing Them with New Golf Course," Democrat and Chronicle, January 24, 1922, Page 16.
University to Take Present Club Property and Pay for New Links and Buildings.

1922 "Room for Two Eighteen-hole Golf Courses on New Site of Oak Hill Club; One Links Ready in 1924," Democrat and Chronicle, May 6, 1922, Page 21.

1923 "The Pinnacle Hills or The Rochester Kame-Moraine," by Herman L. Fairchild, Proceedings of the Rochester Academy of Sciences 6(5):141-194 (November 1923)
Page 186: OAK HILL; UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER SITE
This area is the westward extension of the ridge 111 the west side of Mt. Hope Cemetery. The cut for the railroads makes the artificial division. The area lies in a meander or sharp westward bend of the Genesee River, which is the reflex of the eastward meander in Genesee Valley Parle
Doubtless the moraine extended as a continuous ridge westward from the cemetery kames to and along Brooks Avenue, west of the river. The river has breached the moraine, and the Oak Hill area lies between the artificial railroad cut and the natural river trench.
The surface of Oak Hill has been somewhat smoothed, for the golf ground and the drives, but it yet shows the rolling morainal surface. The altitude is somewhat under the cemetery ridge. The highest point is close to the railroad cut, being 584 feet. The central ridge has elevation by the railroad cut of 580 feet, declining westward to 565 feet at the Club House.

1923 Aerial Views of River Campus

1924 "Oak Hill To Transfer Site to University Immediately: Club Votes to Accept Plan," Democrat and Chronicle, April 5, 1924, Page 1.

1924 "Big Alumni Day at Oak Hill This June," Rochester Review 2(4):73-24 (April-May 1924)

1924 "Greater University Drive Hailed as Important Step in Onward March of City," Democrat and Chronicle, September 16, 1924, Page 23.

1924 "Six Million in Sight for U. of R.," Democrat and Chronicle, November 15, 1924, Page 1.

1924 "First Reports in University Drive to be made To-Day," Democrat and Chronicle, November 17, 1924, Page 20.

1924 "University Fund Needs $1,100,000," Democrat and Chronicle, November 23, 1924, Page 1.

1924 "Rochester Gives $7,500,007.41 for U. of R. $10,000,000 Fund," Democrat and Chronicle, November 25, 1924, Page 1. | Part 2 | Part 3 |

1925 "How Old Is Oak Hill?" by Herman Leroy Fairchild, Rochester Review 4(2):34-37 (December 1925-January 1926)

1926 Petition and Order allowing Oak Hill Country Club to sell their land to the University of Rochester, March 2, 1926, book 1347, page 218

1926 Deed from Oak Hill Country Club to the University of Rochester, February 20, 1926, book 1353, page 169.

1926 "Deed to New Oak Hill Country Club Property Recorded," Democrat and Chronicle, March 7, 1926, Page 30.

1926 "Plans for Oak Hill Announced," Campus Times, December 17, 1926, Page 1.
Note the railroad line running to Gavett Hall.

1927 "Break Ground on Oak Hill Campus," The Campus, May 20, 1927, Page 4.
Ground will be broken tomorrow morning at the University's Oak Hill site for the chemistry building.

1927 "Flames Destroy Old Oak Hill Club Building Owned by University; Valuable Documents, Fossils Saved," Democrat and Chronicle, September 25, 1927, Page 1.

1927 Rochester, the making of a university, by Jesse Leonard Rosenberger, with an introduction by President Rush Rhees.
Facing page 274: Rendering of main quadrangle of new College for Men.
Page 312: Possession of the new site for the College for Men was obtained from the Oak Hill Country Club on March 1, 1926.

1928 "Cherished Traditions of the Past to be Preserved on New College Campus," Rochester Review 6(4):99-101 (April-May 1928)

1928 "Panoramic View of Main Quadrangle on New Campus of College for Men as it Appeared on October 25," Rochester Review 7(1):2 (October-November 1928)

1929 "New Campus for Men Rapidly Taking Form," Rochester Review 8(1):3-7 (October-November 1929)

1929 "Passing of Old Council Kills Bills," Democrat and Chronicle, December 31, 1929, Page 13.
River Boulevard new name given to Wolcott Road

1929 The University of Rochester; its honored past and expanding future | pdf |

1930 "Erection of New University Plant Engineering Marvel," Democrat and Chronicle, October 12, 1930, Page 1C. | Part 2 | Part 3 |

1930 The University of Rochester: A Story of Expansion and Its Background, by Hugh A. Smith.

1930 Dedication of the new buildings of the College for Men, the University of Rochester, River Campus, October 10th, 11th and 12th, 1930, Rochester, New York.

1930 Program of Dedication: New Buildings of the College for Men, the University of Rochester, October Tenth, Eleventh Twelfth 1930, Rochester, New York.

1930 The Schiff Photographs of the River Campus

1931 "The First Human Occupation of the Rochester Region," Arthur C. Parker, Rochester Historical Society Publication, 10:19-48 (1931)
Earliest known reference identifying Algonkins (or Algonquins) as the occupants of Oak Hill.

1931 "The University of Rochester," by Rush Rhees, The Phi Beta Kappa Key 7(12):764-768 (May 1931)

1932 "The Algonkin Sequence in New York," by William A. Ritchie, American Anthropologist, N.S. 34(3):406-414 (July-September 1932)

1936 The University of Rochester College for Men, Rochester, N.Y.

1937 "'Beside the Genesee' in 1669," by Alexander M. Stewart, Rochester Review 15(4):11-12 (June-July 1937)
Robert Cavalier de la Salle and Rene Gelinee's probable visit to Oak Hill in 1669.

1937 "Campus Once Glue Factory Site," Rochester Review 16(2):10-11 (December 1937 - January 1938)

1938 "Cornfed Indians Liked Oak Hill," by George D. Selden, Rochester Review 16(4):10-12 (April-May 1938)

1940 "River Campus Delighted Pioneers Who Settled There 125 Years Ago," Rochester Review 19(2):20 (December 1940 - January 1941)

1941 "Erie to Quit Service Today," Democrat and Chronicle, September 30, 1941, Page 13.
Eighty-seven years of Erie Railroad passenger service for Rochester will come to an end at 6:15 p.m. today when the last train leaves the Court Street Station for Avon. But increased freight business in and out of Rochester means a virtual rejuvenation of the line, which once had frequent passenger service to points south of the city in the Genesee Valley.
All the Rochester personnel of the passenger department is being absorbed by the freight agency because of heavy shipping, James H. Hagans, local representative of the Erie, pointed out. The Erie received permission from the Public Service Commission to abandon its Avon-Rochester passenger service because of poor financial return. In turn, the PSC authorized the Valley Bus Lines to operate a bus line via West Henrietta Road into Avon. The line seeks to change its route to the East River Road, which parallels the Erie’s tracks, along a great part of the way to Avon.

1947 "City Spurs Bridge Plan at River Bl.," Democrat and Chronicle, August 13, 1947, Page 4B.
Straightening of River Boulevard at the Lehigh Valley-Erie Railroad bridges

1947 The College for Men of the University of Rochester.

1950 "Pros and Cons of Five-Day Week Featured at Assembly Wednesday," Tower Times, March 3, 1950, Page 2.

1950 - September, Lehigh Valley RR ends doodlebug passenger service out of Rochester. But LV passengers can still take a Valley Lines bus between the LV Rochester station and Rochester Junction until 1957, and taxi service until the final run of the Black Diamond on May 12, 1959.

1950 "Lehigh Train Rolls Away, for Good," Democrat and Chronicle, September 7, 1950.
Buses to Operate from Rochester to Main Line Today

1951 "New Span Eliminates S-Curve on River Blvd.," Democrat and Chronicle, July 20, 1951, Page 21.

1952 "Women's, Men's Colleges To be Merged on River Campus," Rochester Review 13(3):5-8 (May 1952)

1953 "Improved Dormitory System Sparks River Campus Scene," by Artie Bernhang, Campus Times, September 25, 1953, Page 1. | part 2 |
A new telephone system is in the process of being installed. It will work from central switchboard in East dormitory. All incoming phone calls will be received there, and then by means of the two-way speaker system installed in the dorms, the party will be called to a convenient house phone, one on each floor. Out going calls will be made by means of pay phones in the dorms.

1953 With an eye toward us : the University of Rochester

1953 Creative Change – for the University Rochester and the Community, Text by Andrew D. Wolf, Photography by Ansel Adams.

1954 The merger story: a story of vision, by Eugene Willard Dennis and John Rothwell Slater

1955 "UR to move 10-ton statue of its 1st president today," Democrat and Chronicle, July 25, 1955, Page 18.

1955 "Women's College Moving Completed This Week," Democrat and Chronicle, September 9, 1955, Page 22.
The bursar's office in charge of Robert F. Moser will also remain at Prince Street until the new Supplies and Accounts building in Elmwood Avenue at the Medical Center is completed in the fall.

1955 "University Completes Huge Moving Project," Campus Times, September 20, 1955, Page 1.

1955 "UR River Campus is 25 Years Old," Democrat and Chronicle, October 9, 1955, Page 3B.

1955 "A Hill Steeped in History, Lore," by Arch Merrill, Democrat and Chronicle, October 30, 1955, Page 14E

1957 "Education's Growth Pattern," Democrat and Chronicle, July 10, 1957, Page 15.
Aerial photo of new buildings in the last four years.

1958 "Campus Space Problem," Democrat and Chronicle, November 23, 1958, Page 29.
Aerial photo of entire campus

1959 "Famed Train Ends Its Runs," Democrat and Chronicle, May 12, 1959.
The last Black Diamond to travel east passed through Rochester Junction at 9:46 a.m. yesterday.

1959 "UR to Seek Nearly 50 Million To Meet Long-Term 'Challenge'," Democrat and Chronicle, September 22, 1959, Page 1.

1960 "Conference Weighs County-Owned Land for UR Expansion," Democrat and Chronicle, February 5, 1960, Page 1.

1960 "Old Plans for River Campus Make UR a Garden Paradise," Campus Times, March 8, 1960, Page 2.

1961 "Plans for New Route 15 Will Take Part of Park," Democrat and Chronicle, February 8, 1961, Page 8. | Part 2 |

1961 "Outer Loop Arc to Parallel Barge Canal," Democrat and Chronicle, February 8, 1961, Page 17.

1961 "UR Students Protest Double-Up Dorm Plan," Democrat and Chronicle, March 1, 1961, Page 17.

1961 "Plans for New Route 15 Will Take Part of Park," Democrat and Chronicle, May 18, 1961, page 1 | Part 2 |
New road would run along present Intercampus Drive.

1961 "U. of R. Plans Building on Football Field," Democrat and Chronicle, October 12, 1961, Page 18.
The building would house biology and psychology departments and the Center for Brain Research.

1961 "Greater University Programs Answers Expansion Demands," Campus Times, October 31, 1961, Page 1. | Part 2 |

1961 "Exiled Co-eds Discuss Plight, Await Construction of Dorm," Campus Times, December 15, 1961, Page 3.
Twenty-two River Campus women will have to live at the nurses' residence, Helen Wood Hall.

1962 "Thompson Surveys Progress of Increased Construction," Campus Times, April 24, 1962, Page 11. | Part 2 |

1962 "$3 million in Facilities to be Opened by UR," Democrat and Chronicle, September 7, 1962, Page 17.

1962 "New Constructions Flourish on River Campus Grounds," Campus Times, September 25, 1962, Page 2.

1962 "Architect Speaks at Cabinet," Campus Times, November 9, 1962, Page 1. | Part 2 |

1964 "D&C Cites UR Involvement in Alleged Land Exchange," Campus Times, April 7, 1964, Page 1. | Part 2 |

1964 Not beyond reach : the story of how Rochesterians helped solve the problem of housing for senior citizens, [by Rochester Management]
Plymouth Gardens apartments, built in 1963 across the river from the UR River Campus.

1965 "City Acts to Sell Land to Add to UR Campus," Democrat and Chronicle, January 27, 1965, Page 1B. | Part 2 |

1965 "UR Only Bidder for City Land," Democrat and Chronicle, February 9, 1965, Page 11.
$150,000 for 16.3 acres.

1965 Deed from the City of Rochester to the University of Rochester, April 29, 1965, $150,000, book 3636, page 535.
16.285 acres.

1965 "UR Officially Asks to Buy Acreage in Genesee Park," Campus Times, March 9, 1965, Page 1
Includes map of existing and proposed property

1965 "City, UR Study Plan for Exchange of Land," Democrat and Chronicle, March 9, 1965, Page 13.

1965 "Council Favors Park Land Sale to U. of R.," Democrat and Chronicle, March 12, 1965, Page 1B.
45 acres of the city's Genesee Valley Park

1965 "$80 Million Expansion Projected by U. of R.," Democrat and Chronicle, April 30, 1965, Page 1. | Part 2 |

1965 "Ten-Year Plan Promises Greater University," Campus Times, April 30, 1965, Page 3. | Part 2 |

1965 "4.28 Acres Sold to UR by City," Democrat and Chronicle, September 9, 1965, Page 18.
The land extends north from the Erie Railroad trestle along the east side of the boulevard.

1965 Deed from the City of Rochester to the University of Rochester, October 21, 1965, $64,200, book 3687, page 241.
4.280 acres.

1966 "Tomorrow On The Campus," Democrat and Chronicle, September 25, 1966, Page 1M. | Part 2 |
Addition to Rush Rhees Library and New Campus Center

1967 "Colleges Cram for Big Expansions," Democrat and Chronicle, January 22, 1967, Page 8S.
Projects Completed during 1966 at the U. of R. included the nuclear structure laboratory, $1.7 million; a University Medical Center addition for the department of radiation biology and biophysics, $2.8 million. In progress were a medical center wing containing research facilities and quarters for animals used in research, $4.5 million; a modernization and expansion of the heating plant, $5 million. Both are scheduled for completion this year. Planned to start this year are: expansion of Rush Rhees Library with a new wing, $6.4 million; six-floor space science center, $1.5 million; six four-story undergraduate dormitories, $4.4 million; a chemistry-biology building, $11.5 million; six-story education wing at the medical center, $10 million; temporary expansion of emergency department at Strong Memorial Hospital, $500,000.

1968 "Oak Hill Becomes the River Campus," by Arthur J. May, Rochester History 30(1):1-24 (January 1968)
Page 10: In 1901, the Oak Hill Country Club of Rochester leased most of the Aldington and Wolcott farmlands, laid out golf links, and five years later bought the properties. A large farmhouse on the grounds served as club quarters until replaced by a more commodious structure situated at the western extremity of the present Eastman Quadrangle. As has been related, the club conveyed the property to the University of Rochester and moved off in 1926.

1968 "Account for a University's Uneven Growth," Campus Times, September 24, 1968, Page 3.

1968 "UR Seeks $25 Million for Buildings," Democrat and Chronicle, September 25, 1968, Page B1.
Drive over Top but U.S. Funds Cut

1969 "Campus Construction Projects Take Shape," Campus Times, September 26, 1969, Page 3.

1969 Deed from the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad to the University of Rochester, 1969, book 4029, page 499.

1969 Deed from the City of Rochester to the University of Rochester, December 29, 1969, $2,642, book 4032, page 73.
1.585 acres and 1.057 acres.

1970 "The History of the University of Rochester Libraries," by Catherine D. Hayes, The University of Rochester Library Bulletin 25(3):59-122 (Spring 1970) | also here |

1970 "Construction Strike Forces Delays, Drastic Revisions in Planned UR Buildings," Campus Times, September 25, 1970, Page 1.

1970 - October 7, Erie Lackawanna begins using Lehigh Valley between Mortimer Junction to Erie/LV interchange just north of UofR. Erie tracks between Mortimer and this point soon removed.

1970 "Thompson Announces Revised Construction Schedule for Major Building and Renovation Projects," Currents, October 15, 1970.

1970 "UR Plans 'Rail' Road," Democrat and Chronicle, November 20, 1970, page 22
The University of Rochester is planning to build a road nearly two miles long along an Erie-Lackawanna Railroad track to connect three of its campuses. The two-lane private road would run north from Crittenden Road almost to River Boulevard at the River Campus. No date has been set for construction, said George M. Angle, vice president for business affairs, but removal of the railroad track was completed last week. Erie-Lackawanna trains have been using the adjacent Lehigh Valley Railroad track for the past month, in accordance with an agreement made between the two railroads and the university in August 1969. The road probably will be completed in several phases. The first phase may connect the Medical School campus with the River Campus. Eventually the South Campus, which now consists of the Nuclear Structure Laboratory on East River Road and vacant university land, also will be connected. A parking lot, using the railroad right-of-way where it adjoins River Campus, may precede the road if funds are available, Angle said.

1971 - PRR Rochester branch removed between downtown and the Erie interchange.

1972 City ordinance changing the name of River Boulevard to Joseph C. Wilson Boulevard, January 7, 1972

1972 "Legal Notice Trustees of the property of Lehigh Valley Railroad Company," Democrat and Chronicle, May 31, 1972, page 24
Abandonment of line from River Junction to the end of the end of the line at the Rochester Subway.

1972 - Lehigh Valley abandoned between downtown terminus and UofR. (River Junction, between Erie & LV, alongside UofR)

1972 "Char-isma and the Untouchables," Democrat and Chronicle, July 6, 1972, page 16
The Lehigh Valley railroad has said that it will abandon about one mile of track leading into the site of the former freight house on July 14, Lorsong said. After that date, he said, trains will run only as far as the University of Rochester and Erie-Lackawanna Railroad interchange near the university.

1973 "UR to Consolidate Offices," Campus Times, February 14, 1973, Page 9

1973 "Rail Right-of-Way -- $1," Democrat and Chronicle, April 25, 1973 page 27

1975 "UR May Raze Morey Annex This Summer," Campus Times, April 15, 1975, Page 1. | Page 2 |

1975 Supplemental Report to the Final System Plan for Restructuring Railroads in the Northeast and Midwest Region Pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, July 26, 1975.
Pages 282-283: Rochester Branch, USRA Line No. 1000, Lehigh Valley
The Rochester Branch extends from Rochester Junction (Milepost 379.5) to Rochester, N.Y. (Milepost 390.8), a distance of 11.3 miles
The line is essential to the University of Rochester which depends upon deep-mined coal from West Virginia to heat its campus and its hospital. If the University had to truck its coal it would cost an extra $3.50 per ton and would result in 2,358 truckloads moving over local streets and highways.
Reported Traffic Carloads, University of Rochester 1973 - 462; 1974 - 468; 1975 - 602; 1976 - 786.

1975 "Annex Destruction Delayed," Campus Times, September 12, 1975, Page 1.

1975 "UR builds riverside path for bicyclists, pedestrians," Campus Times, September 16, 1975, Page 1.

1975 "Notice of Discontinuance of Rail Service," Democrat and Chronicle, December 10, 1975, page 16
Lehigh Valley Railway Company and Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Company, between Avon and Mortimer, and Lehigh Valley Railway between Crittenden Road and River Junction.

1976 Conrail was formed on April 1, 1976, taking over the Lehigh Valley and Erie-Lackawanna railroads.

1977 From Little Acorns: The Story of Oak Hill, 1901-1976 -- The Seventy-Five Year Account of the History of Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York, by Howard C. Hosmer

1977 History of the University of Rochester, 1850-1962, by Arthur J. May. Expanded edition with notes

1980 "New Home for Old Sculptures," Democrat and Chronicle, September 15, 1980, Page 1C. | part 2 |

1980 “Four restored statues unveiled,” Campus Times, October 7, 1980, Page 8. .

1980 "The Great 'Removal Project' Part I: Decision," by Betsy Brayer," Rochester Review 43(1):1-7 (Fall 1980)

1980 "A Suitable and Worthy Architecture," by Jean R. France," Rochester Review 43(1):8-9 (Fall 1980)

1980 "The Great 'Removal Project' Part II: A Dream Attained," by Betsy Brayer," Rochester Review 43(2):10-15 (Winter 1980-81)

1981 "Conrail to abandon 47 miles of line including route for coal to RG&E," Democrat and Chronicle, October 9, 1981, Page 18.
The Rochester North branch of the former Lehigh Valley line, an 11.3 mile line that runs from the UR campus to Rochester Junction, just north of Honeoye Falls.

1982 "College Pranks - 'the way everybody uses to cope'," Democrat and Chronicle, April 4, 1982, Page 1B. | Part 2 |
Freshman’s Guide to College Pranks, written by 1982 classmates Greg Seminara and Brad Wolfson. The guide, which sells for $2, is a two-page list of suggestions on how to wire a doorknob to shock the first person who touches it, short sheet a bed or hurl snowballs 150 yards.

1982 "The Search for Rochester's Earliest Inhabitants: On the Trail with George Harris, the Pathfinder," by William T. Davis, Rochester History 44(1 & 2):1-44 (January and April 1982)

1982 "The Future of the University's Residence Halls," by Donald G. Hess, Campus Times, December 3, 1982, Page 8A

1982 - Conrail abandons the former Erie between River Junction (UofR) and downtown.

1983 "UR assures groups development plan is nothing to fear," Democrat and Chronicle, December 31, 1983, Page 1B. | Part 2 |

1984 "4 Miles of Rail Line Now Being Torn Up," Democrat and Chronicle, February 17, 1984, Page 9.
Former Pennsylvania Railroad line on west side of river from Troup-Howell Bridge to near Elmwood Avenue.

1984 "City to buy 40 acres by river from Conrail," Democrat and Chronicle, September 15, 1984, Page 1B. | Part 2 |
9 acres of major acquisition to be added to Genesee Park. Included in the transaction is a railroad bridge across the river near the foot of Magnolia Street and a continuation of the bridge that crosses Wilson Boulevard and extends into the University of Rochester's River Campus.

1984 "Senate hears proposals for UR building plans," Campus Times, October 30, 1984, Page 2.

1984 "Residents want a say on river plans," Democrat and Chronicle, December 2, 1984, Page 6. | part 2 |
South River Corridor Plan

1985 Lehigh Valley torn up between River Junction (U of R) and Mortimer Junction. Was in use into the 80's by Conrail to supply coal to the UofR/Strong Hospital powerplant.

1986 "UR reaches for the top with 5-year plan," Democrat and Chronicle, April 19, 1986, Page 1. | Part 2 | Part 3 |
UR to remain the UR, cheering students told.

1986 Deed from Conrail to the University of Rochester, May 15, 1986, $330,000, book 6903, page 266
Mortimer to Rochester Junction (MP 290.1)

1986 "450 parking spaces to be added," Currents, August 8, 1986, page 1.
To achieve this, the University recently purchased the former Conrail right-of-way adjacent to Intercampus Drive. A total of 400 parking spaces will be constructed between parking area Z on the north end of the River Campus and the Central Utilities Plant to the south. At the same time, another 50 spaces will be added at the south part of parking area Z.

1986 "Down by the Riverside," Rochester Review 49(1):24-25 (Fall 1986)

1987 Refurbished ice rink opened in Genesee Valley Park, a joint project of the city and University.

1990 "Construction Projects reshape UR," Campus Times, September 23, 1990, Page 1. | Part 2 |
New buildings and a park will be constructed.

1995 "UR, city to collaborate on 'College Town' across river," Campus Times, Summer Edition 1995, Page 1.

2000 "UR Dedicates Dandelion Square," Democrat and Chronicle, September 9, 2000, Page 1B

2002 "UR plans to rebuild Wilson Boulevard," Democrat and Chronicle, April 13, 3002, Page 5B.
School hopes reopening road will boost public access to Riverside Park.

2002 "Notice of Public Hearing Town of Brighton," Democrat and Chronicle, November 28, 2002, page 65
The Town of Brighton bought the former railroad right of way between the Erie Canal and Brighton-Henrietta Town Line Road. The University reserved the right to install pipes and wires on the land.

2004 "All on-campus dorms become smoke free," Campus Times, September 9, 2004, Page 3

2005 Planning the New Campus, Curated by Nancy Martin

2009 George Eastman Tribute (video)

2011 Garden Party Address: The University and Our Community, June 6, 2011

2011 "Guess who? Unravel the mystery behind the names that mark our campus' buildings," by Julia Sklar, Campus Times, September 8, 2011

2011 Chemistry

2012 "From the Archives: Class reunion leads to statue restoration," by Kevin Scantlen, Campus Times April 26, 2012, Pages 11, 13.

2013 "Local crops fueled distillery," by Emily Morry, Democrat and Chronicle, May 6, 2013, Page B3 | Part 2 |
In 1827, Epaphras Wolcott, whose name once honored the riverside route now taken by Wilson Boulevard, set up a distillery on the northernmost section of his land. When he died in 1852, Epaphras left his business to his sons, Anson and George, who in turn passed it on to Anson’s nephew James in 1880. Twenty years later James Wolcott retired, then leased much of the family’s farmland south of the distillery to Oak Hill Country Club in 1901.

2013 "‘Meliora Madam’ to return to her sisters," by Jnnifer Roach, Currents, October 16, 2013.

2013 Oak Hill and the University of Rochester's River Campus: A Shared History (video)

2014 Charles Force Hutchison (1875-1974) and other family members, by Lauren Weber, Speaking Stones, REL 167W, December 2014

2016 The University of Rochester, Captured Through the Lens of Ansel Adams (video)

2016 Meliora Milestones: A Campus Transformed
Timeline and map of construction projects

2017 "UR Allows Mixed-Gender Housing," Campus Times, September 11, 2017, Page 1.

2018 "How UR Went Dry: A History of Alcohol on Campus," Campus Times, April 9, 2018, Page 1. | part 2 |

2018 River Campus Construction 1927-1930 (video)

2021 Environmental History of River Campus, presented October 26, 2021

Sibley Hall Statues (4 pictures from Wikipedia)

A plaque located next to Strong Auditorium honors Francis Bellamy (UR 1876) as the author of the Pledge of Allegiance. In keeping with one of the oldest academic traditions, Bellamy may have lifted the text from an earlier version written by a Hays, Kansas schoolboy. See Ellis County News Republican, May 21,1892, page 4 and "A Mystery Over Who Wrote The Pledge of Allegiance," The New York Times, April 3, 2022, page A19.