May 2 & 16, June 6 & 20, July 18, August 1 & 15, September 5 & 19, and October 17, 2026
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Rose Hill Mansion
3373 Route 96A Geneva, NY 14456
Join us for a special behind-the-scenes tour of Rose Hill Mansion. These tours are not the same as our regular tour. They are an opportunity for visitors to see and learn about areas of the house not usually accessible to visitors, including the basement and belvedere (the square tower on the roof).
Admission for the tour is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $8 for college students with ID, and $6 for children 10-18. The tour is recommended for adults and children 10 years and older. Please be advised that there are many stairs to climb and some confined spaces included in the tour. Because of these limitations, space on the tour is limited, and advance tickets are required. Tickets can be purchased in advance here. The tour lasts about 90 minutes.
May 17 & 20, June 14 & 17, July 19 & 22, August 16 & 19, September 16 & 20, and October 14 & 18, 2026
1–2 p.m.
Rose Hill Mansion
3373 Route 96A Geneva, NY 14456
On this tour you will learn how Rose Hill Mansion was restored to become the museum it is today. We will discuss the on-going research involved in preserving Rose Hill’s buildings and landscape. Explore how Rose Hill property owners altered, removed, or added to the property throughout the years to meet their changing needs. This special tour is not the same as our regular tour.
Please be advised that this is an exclusively outdoor tour and will take place rain or shine. It will be cancelled in the event of thunderstorms or heavy downpours. The tour involves walking and standing and lasts one hour.
Advance tickets are required for this tour. You can purchase tickets here.
June 13, July 11, September 12 & October 10
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Johnston House
3523 East Lake Road, Geneva, NY 14456
The Johnston House open hours for 2026 are June 13, July 11, September 12, October 10 and by appointment. Visit the home of John and Margaret Johnston, where John Johnston became a vocal advocate of improved farming techniques, including tile drainage. Home to the Johnston family from 1822-1877, the Johnston House features exhibits, interactive spaces, and a research room. The site also includes the Mike Weaver Drain Tile Museum, which contains a large collection of drain tiles dating from ancient times to the present.
Admission to the Johnston House and Mike Weaver Drain Tile Museum is a suggested donation of $5 per person. For more information, call Rose Hill Mansion at 315-789-3848 or Historic Geneva at 315-789-5151.
August 29 & September 19
1 – 3 p.m.
Rose Hill Mansion
3373 Route 96A, Geneva, NY
Enjoy afternoon tea at Rose Hill Mansion. The traditional tea service will feature a variety of teas, finger sandwiches, scones, and desserts. During the tea service, Historic Geneva staff will lead a program about life during the 1800s. Each month the program will focus on a different aspect of the Rose Hill story.
Tickets are $35 per person. Space is limited and ticket sales close one week prior to each tea.
At Rose Hill animals and produce were raised for market and meals. Explore the diverse foods enjoyed by the Swan family. Along with farm products, see what was available for purchase at local stores.
During the 1800s, illness and death were a part of everyday life. Few families were spared from loss, including the Swan family. Learn how the Swan family grieved and celebrated the lives of their loved ones.
September 7, 2026
The Geneva History Museum will be closed September 7 for Labor Day.
October 3 & November 14
1 p.m.
Geneva History Museum
543 South Main Street, Geneva, NY 14456
Join us for a screening of footage from Geneva’s Bicentennial festivities, including the Fireman’s Parade, a festival in Pulteney Park, and performances in Genesee Park by barbershop singers, a gospel choir, and the Friendship Squares dancing club. Visit Geneva in the 1970s! Who knows? You may see someone you know or even yourself!
There will also be a screening on Saturday, November 14 at 1pm at the Geneva History Museum.
The footage lasts about 40 minutes. This program is open to the public. There is a suggested donation of $5 to support our programming.
2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Historic Geneva is commemorating the anniversary with exhibits, programs, and blog articles. Screenings of Geneva’s Bicentennial festivities are part of the 250th commemoration.
October 23 & 24
7:00 p.m.
Rose Hill Mansion
Route 96A, Geneva, NY
On Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24 at 7 p.m., Historic Geneva will offer special tours about death and mourning in the 19th century at Rose Hill Mansion.
At that time, illness and death were part of everyday life. Few families were spared from loss, including the Swan family who lived at Rose Hill from 1850 to 1890. Their five-year-old son Otis died in September 1864 from rheumatic fever. During the one-hour tour, visitors will explore 19th-century Victorian ideas about death, illness, and mourning practices. The mansion will be decorated for mourning Otis. A casket will be on display in the front parlor, while the windows and mirrors will be draped in black fabric in the mourning style of the 1800s. There will also be mourning items from Historic Geneva’s collection on view and following the tour, visitors can enjoy refreshments in the Carriage House Visitor Center and Gift Shop.
The Carriage House Gift Shop will be open for the event.
Admission is $12. The tour is recommended for adults and children 10 years and older. Space on the tour is limited, and advance tickets are required. Tickets can be purchased here. Visitors should also bring a flashlight. For more information, call Historic Geneva at 315-789-5151.
September 17, 2026
4:30-6:30 p.m.
Lake Drum Brewing
16 East Castle St, Geneva, NY
Join Historic Geneva Curator John Marks for a short and informal history program at Lake Drum Brewing. This month he will share a captioned slide show highlighting a brief history of Geneva schools over their nearly 200-year history. Enjoy photos of students at Geneva’s many school buildings over time.
Come in any time, stay as long as you like! The slides will run on a continuous loop throughout the time. John will be available to chat and welcomes people with stories and photos to share for future programs.
September 24, 2026
7:00 p.m.
Geneva History Museum
543 South Main Street, Geneva, NY 14465
In conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence our Fall Program Series is connected to the ideals of the nation’s founding. The first event in the series will be a lecture by Matthew Crow on “The Politics of Memory: Some Ways to Think about Jefferson’s Declaration for America’s 250th” on Thursday, September 24 at 7 p.m. at the Geneva History Museum.
Professor Crow will talk about the role that history and memory play in Jefferson’s thinking, especially in the Declaration, and how we can think about history and memory more productively today.
Matthew Crow is a professor of history at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He is the author of several articles and essays on Jefferson, including most recently in the Cambridge Companion to the Declaration of Independence (2026). His book Thomas Jefferson, Legal History, and the Art of Recollection came out in 2017, and later this year his second book, Even in the Lawless Seas: Legal Imagination and the Oceanic History in the World of Herman Melville, will be published. Both books are from Cambridge University Press. He is currently working on a new book, The Ocean and the American Mind.
The program series will be held at the Geneva History Museum at 543 South Main Street in Geneva and is open to the public. There is a suggested donation of $5 to support our programming.
2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Historic Geneva is commemorating the anniversary with exhibits, programs, and blog articles. “The Politics of Memory: Some Ways to Think about Jefferson’s Declaration for America’s 250th” is part of the 250th commemoration.
October 3, 2026
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Rose Hill Mansion
3373 Route 96A Geneva, NY 14456
Join the re-enactors of Reynolds’ Battery and the 148th New York Volunteer Infantry at Rose Hill Mansion for Civil War Day! The members of Reynolds’ Battery L 1st New York Light Artillery portray the Union troops servicing mounted firearms (cannons) as well as civilians associated with the war effort. Members of the 148th portray that infantry unit mustered in at Geneva’s Camp Swift in September 1862. The reenactors will be stationed on the grounds to explain life in a Union camp and demonstrate activities of daily life. There will be a cannon firing demonstration, an operating reproduction 1848 Battery Forge, a reproduction sutler’s wagon, and opportunities to talk to members of the battery and explore what camp life was like for Union artillery and infantry soldiers.
John A. Reynolds organized the original Reynolds’ Battery in Rochester in the fall of 1861. The soldiers served with the Army of the Potomac through the end of the war and saw action at Antietam, Gettysburg, and many other engagements. The current Reynolds’ Battery is chartered by the New York State Department of Education with the purpose of educating the public about the life of a Civil War artillery soldier. The original 148th NYVI was made up of men from Ontario, Seneca, and Yates Counties. It saw heavy action in 1864 including Cold Harbor and Petersburg. The current unit was formed in 1962 and is considered the oldest reenacting group in NYS.
The first floor of Rose Hill will be open for a self-guided experience with staff on hand to answer questions about the house. Additionally, civilian and military reenactors will be stationed in the house portraying southern civilians who have had their plantation house seized by Union forces and the Battery commander who has set up headquarters in the house. The Carriage House Gift Shop and exhibits on site will be open during the event. This is a free event open to the public. Donations are appreciated.
Civil War Day is sponsored by KeyBank.
October 11, 2026
2 p.m.
Seneca Presbyterian Church Cemetery
4414 Number Nine Rd Stanley, NY 14561
On Sunday, October 11, Curator of Collections John Marks will lead a tour of part of the Old Seneca No 9 Church Cemetery. Although the current church is in the Town of Seneca, prior to 1872, the village of Geneva was part of the Town of Seneca. Established in 1807 as the Associate Reformed Church of Seneca, the church cemetery includes founding family burials like Stanley, Latta, and Charlton. Learn about the history of the Town of Seneca through the people buried in the cemetery.
Directions: The most direct way to the church is to go south on Route 14, turn onto Billsboro Road (which becomes Lake to Lake Road), and turn right onto Number Nine Road. The church and old cemetery will be on the left hand side of the road. We will meet by the church. There is parking in front of the church and in a small lot north of the church.
October 15, 2026
4:30 - 6:30 PM
Lake Drum Brewing
16 East Castle St, Geneva, NY
Join Historic Geneva Curator John Marks for our February History Happy Hour from at Lake Drum Brewing. This month he will share a captioned slide show featuring images of railroads in Geneva. From 1841 to the present day railroads have been an important piece of the city’s infrastructure, come see what it looked like in the past!
Come in any time, stay as long as you like! The slides will run on a continuous loop throughout the time. John will be available to chat and welcomes people with stories and photos to share for future programs.
November 19, 2026
4:30 - 6:30 PM
Lake Drum Brewing
16 East Castle St, Geneva, NY
Join Historic Geneva Curator John Marks for a short and informal history program at Lake Drum Brewing. This month he will share a captioned slide show featuring the Smith Opera House. A fixture in Geneva since its construction in 1894, the building has been a opera house, movie theater, and home for area recitals and graduations. See images of its many incarnations over its 132-year history.
Come in any time, stay as long as you like! The slides will run on a continuous loop throughout the time. John will be available to chat and welcomes people with stories and photos to share for future programs.