Brockport History

This month our living here takes us to Brockport- and Amanda Ciavarri takes a look at the village's history - and how it got its name.

What we know now as the village of Brockport can be traced back to 1809 when farmers first began to settle the area. The name "Brockport" was said to be a shortened form of "Brockway's Port."

"There was a man named Brockway who had quite a few children and subsequently had a lot of influence on the village," said Kathleen Gotz, Town of Sweden Historian.

Hiel Brockway, a Connecticut-born builder, moved to the area in 1817. Much of his land later became Brockport.  Over the years many there has been a lot of change for this small village.

"It originally was an agricultural base. It then developed into an area that had a lot of manufacturing there was a founders here. This is where the Cyrus McCormick reaper was first tested and built."

The history of Brockport can still be seen in a few key pieces, like the Morgan-Manning House. This home is now a museum of sorts but was built in 1854 and lived in for years until a huge fire.

"The lady who lived in the house died as a result of the fire. So her heirs, her family, wanted to will this house, because she wanted to will this house to be a representation of the time she lived."

And that is what it has been ever since.

"It certainly a representation of Victorian times and this is the Victorian Village on the Canal, so to have a house like this that we were able to bring back to the way it was in the Victorian time is really significant for the history of the town."

From the large parlor rooms to the extensive library, the Morgan-Manning House leaves most in awe.

"Well, you know, we don't have houses like this."