Archiving our History

Maggie Symington, Leslie Huey (ACGC President), Sue Stahl (ACGC
Historian), and Autumn Haag (Asst. Director, Department of Rare Books,
 Special Collections, and Preservation at the University of Rochester)

On October 4, 2021, Allyn’s Creek Garden Club donated its historical meeting minutes from 1928 to 1972 to the University of Rochester for archiving and preservation. The eight leather-bound binders contain meticulously hand-written or typed pages and document the club’s early focus not just on gardening, but also activism and philanthropy. Early club endeavors included consulting on designation of the lilac as the city flower, protesting billboards in Brighton and the widening of East Avenue in Rochester, and supplying milk to needy families. The collection will be made accessible to those wishing to research horticultural history as well as women’s studies. It will complement the University of Rochester’s records from other local women’s clubs and will broaden the picture of Rochester women’s organizations over time. The University’s Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation houses a collection of personal papers and business records from George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry, and ACGC’s minutes will provide another window into the history of the Flower City as a horticultural center, and the effect of that heritage on Rochester as it exists today. 

Maggie, Sue, and Elaine Davin.
Photo courtesy of Steven Levinson.

Allyn’s Creek Garden Club was founded in 1928 by         Josephine (Mrs. John W.) Force and 21 other charter members, many with notable Rochester names, such as Baird, Castle, Curtis, and Gannett. ACGC joined the Garden Club of America in 1937 and Rochester is one of very few cities represented by more than one GCA club. For its 75^th anniversary, ACGC donated $25,000 to the Town of Brighton to plant 75 trees along East Avenue near the “Can of Worms” (intersection with I490). ACGC has been a long-time benefactor of the Landmark Society’s Stone-Tolan House, and more recent organizations who have enjoyed the Club’s support include Braddock Bay Bird Observatory, the George Eastman Museum, Greentopia, the Nature Conservancy, and Sonnenberg Gardens. In anticipation of ACGC’s upcoming centennial in seven years, the Club has begun planning various fundraisers and will be assessing potential beautification and conservation projects, with the goal of raising and donating $100,000.