Castle Farmstead
Excavations have been conducted at the Castle Farm since 2012, primarily as part of the Monroe Community College Field School. The Castle Farm, established by the Castle family, is an important site as it provides a glimpse into pioneering life in Western NY in the late 18th, early 19th centuries. The farm is located ?? miles west of Rochester and ?? miles south of Lake Ontario. This area of NY was first settled in 1796?, just following the purchase of these lands from the native peoples of the Five Nations (Seneca ?).* The first Castles, brothers Samuel, Lorenzo,??, immigrated from Connecticut, arriving in this area in 1810. Their father, Abraham, arrived the following year.
Today, Castle Farm is represented by only the cobblestone house and barn, both erected in 1830. It is unclear where the Castles resided between 1810 and 1830. Were there log cabins constructed on the property near the cobblestone or did they live on another plot of land until the house was built? Records indicate that upon first settlement, the Castles lived in log cabins 1 mile east of the farm, but do not resolve what happened over the next 20 years.