Geneva, N.Y.: Celebrate Mom with a tour of Rose Hill Mansion this Mother's Day weekend. From Friday, May 11 to Sunday, May 13 you can get one admission free with the purchase of one adult admission. Explore Margaret Swan's life as daughter, wife and mother at Rose Hill Mansion in the 19th century. Tours run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults.
Additionally, on Saturday May 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., youth from the 4-H Time Travelers Living History Club will be on site to share what they have learned about American life during the Civil War. They will demonstrate tasks such as grinding corn into cornmeal, churning butter, and making corn pancakes called hoe cakes on the fire. Participants will talk about military life and the drills performed by federal soldiers during the Civil War. Home Front activities will include needle felting, sewing, and children’s games from the time period.
The 4-H Time Travelers Living History Club is comprised of 4-H participants ages 6-16 from Wayne, Yates, Ontario and Seneca counties. Weather permitting, they will spend the prior night on site at Rose Hill. The demonstrations on Saturday are weather dependent. Please call in advance if the weather is inclement.
Once a working farm, Rose Hill and the surrounding grounds are now open seasonally for guided tours. Built in 1839, the elegant Greek Revival house was the center of a busy and productive farm at mid-century. Much of the guided tour focuses on the Swan family who lived there from 1850 to 1890. Through family letters, photographs, and diaries, visitors explore their joys and sorrows, and their interactions with neighbors and the many workers required to keep the large house and farm in working order. Twenty rooms of the house are restored and furnished in the Empire style, popular from the 1820s to 1850s. The property also has a terrific view of Seneca Lake and nearby farmlands.
The Rose Hill Mansion Gift Shop is open whenever the house is open. The shop carries historically-inspired and locally made items, as well as souvenirs, history books, jewelry and home decorative items.
Rose Hill Mansion is located at 3373 Route 96A, about a mile south of Routes 5&20, near Geneva, New York. The house is open May 1 to October 31, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and July 4. The last daily tour is at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, at 4 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sundays. The grounds are open year round, free of charge.
Admission is by guided tour only and is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $6 for children 10 to 18. Children 9 and under are free. A family rate of $25 is available for two adults and one or more children aged 10 to 18 in the same household.
Rose Hill is administered by the Geneva Historical Society at 543 South Main Street, Geneva, New York. For more information about visiting Rose Hill, call Rose Hill at 315-789-3848. Information is also available at www.genevahistoricalsociety.com.
