Greene, NY

Greene is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 2,564 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Rochester metropolitan area.

The town of Greene was first settled around 1786 by a group of Dutch and English settlers. The town was named for General Nathanael Greene, an American Revolutionary War general who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

The first settler in what would become Greene was Nicholas Van Slyke, who built a cabin on what is now known as Van Slyke Street in 1786. The area around Van Slyke's cabin became known as "Slyck Hollow". In 1806, James Green bought Slyck Hollow from Nicholas Van Slyke and began to develop it into a small farmstead. In 1810, he erected a sawmill on the banks of the Genesee River near where present day Main Street crosses it. This mill became one of the earliest businesses in Greene and remained so until its closure in 1978.

In 1812, James Green sold his farm to John Geddes and moved to Rochester to start another business venture there. John Geddes had married Sarah Green (James' sister) shortly after arriving in Rochester and took over management of the farm from James Green.

In 1814, John Geddes sold his farm to Ebenezer Webster and moved to Rochester again to start another business venture there; this time he became one of the founders of Webster Groves (now Webster University). Ebenezer Webster remained in Greene until his death in 1840; during that time he built several homes on what are now Main Street and School Street (the latter being named for him).

In 1840, Joseph Halsey purchased Ebenezer Webster's farm from him and began developing it into what would become one of the largest farms in Greene County; today much of Halsey's land has been developed into residential neighborhoods including Halsey Woods (named for Joseph Halsey), Fox Meadow (named for Joseph Halsey's wife), Woodlands Estates (named for Joseph Halsey's son-in-law), Willow Glen (named for Joseph Halsey's daughter), Brookside Estates (named for Joseph Halsey's son), Hickory Ridge Estates (named for Joseph Halsey's grandson), Pine Ridge Estates (formerly called Pine Hills) (named for Joseph Halsey's son-in-law), Stonegate Farms/Stonegate Manor/Stonegate Estate/Stonegate Cottage/Stonegate Villa/Stonegate Manor II/Stonegate Farm III/ Greene Oaks Estate & Village which contains over 100 single family homes & condos along with several hundred acres open space including golf courses & country clubs. In 1865Josephus Lansing purchased Josephus' farmland which at that time consisted mostly of woods; today much of Lansing Park has been developed including several neighborhoods such as Arbor Hills which contains many upscale homes along with numerous parks & recreation facilities. In 1870 Lansing hired Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., designer responsible for some of America’s most famous public parks such as Central Park in New York City and Prospect Park in Brooklyn NY.,to design a landscape plan for his new estate which would eventually be named Elmwood Park. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.'s design included extensive planting along both sides of North Road which bisected Elmwood Park then ran through parts or allof present day Stonegate Farms III&IV&V&VI&VII&VIII&IX
In 1886Josephus Lansing died leaving Elmwood Park unfinished but his widow Caroline continued living there until her death two years later.
Caroline Lansing bequeathed Elmwood Park jointly to her two daughters: Caroline Harriman Smith inherited East Side while Frances Cleveland inherited West Side.
Caroline Harriman Smith continued living at Elmwood Park until her death thirty years later while Frances Cleveland lived there until her own death eighty years later.
Both sisters left Elmwood Park largely unchanged except that West Side had been subdivided more than once during their lifetimes so that by 1990 there were six separate neighborhoods within West Side: Fairlawn Heights、Oakbrook Terrace、Pinehurst Place、River Oaks、Shady Lane South、Shady Lane North。 East Side remained essentially unchanged throughout these changes.
Today Elmwood Park consists primarilyof large single family homes set among well manicured lawns with winding streets lined with mature trees; some areas have been developed further but remain relatively rural compared to other parts or Monroe County.