Letchworth's purchase and relocation of the Seneca Council House to the Council Grounds in 1871 inaugurated several decades of his collecting Native American Material. Over the years, the Council Grounds became a showcase for these collections. In 1898, Letchworth had a fireproof museum constructed on the Council Grounds in which he displayed the vast number of objects he had acquired. The Council Grounds became such a popular visitor destination that in 1895 Lethchworth had to hire a caretaker.

Original Museum (1898 - 1913)


Letchworth displayed many of the artifacts in his 1898 museum on the Council Grounds that you can see in the William Pryor Letchworth Museum today, including the Pike mastodon.

Rustic Entry Lodge (1873 - 1913)


This photograph shows the Rustic Entry Lodge with the original Rustic Entry Stairway. Between 1880 and 1884 the lodge was relocated and attached to the corner of the Nancy Jemison Cabin.

The first Rustic Entry Stairway, constructed in 1873, was 35 feet long and 5 feet wide and connected the Rustic Entry Lodge with the road below. The rustic arch that appears in the photograph was formed of tree trunks and stood on one of the stairway's three landings.

Nancy Jemison Cabin


In 1880, Letchworth purchased the ca. 1800 log cabin that Mary Jemison had built for her daughter Nancy on the Gardeau flats. The cabin was rebuilt on the Council Grounds in 1884.

Big Tree Pavillion (1878 - 1914)


The Big Tree Pavillion housed a section of a huge white oak trunk 11 feet in diameter. The oak had towered over the 1797 treaty negotiations at which the Seneca sold most of their holdings west of the Genesee River. The slab from the oak tree was a gift to Letchworth from the Wadsworth estate in in Geneseo, New York. The tree slab was permanently damaged in 1914 while it was undergoing repair.

Viewing Pavillion (1873 - 1913)


This rustic viewing pavillion provided a spot where visitors could contemplate the view over the railroad trestle and Upper Falls.

Swiss Cottage (removed in 1911)

The Swiss Cottage was relocated to the Council Grounds from the plateau between the Upper and Middle Falls in 1895 to serve as the Council Grounds caretaker's home. Courtesy of the Dr. Charles Bartlett Collection, Castile, New York.

This plan shows the Council Grounds in 1910 prior to the removals of several structures by the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society.

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After Letchworth's death in 1910, most of the structures on the Council Grounds were removed by the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society to create more open space. Only the Council House, Jemison Cabin, and Mary Jemison's grave and statue remained; only the grave and statue were in their original locations.

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of Letchworth's donation of his property to the State of New York, the park undertook a major project, funded by a Save America's Treasures grant. In 2005, the grant money was used to restore the log structures, which had deteriorated over the years, and to relocate them to their original positions on the Council Grounds bluff.

In 1913, the Nancy Jemison Cabin was moved from its original location to the southern edge of the bluff by the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society so that the bronze statue of Mary Jemison would be more visible to visitors arriving from the parking area. It remained in this location until 2005, when it was put back in its original position just west of the Council House

In 1913, the American Scenic and Historical preservation Society moved the Council House approximately 19 feet west and 4 feet south of its original location. According to the society's annual report, the building's new location on higher ground "shows it to increased advantage and gives a better balance arrangement of the Council House Grounds." In 2005, the building was relocated to the spot it occupied in 1871, when Letchworth first brought the building to the Council Grounds.

Over the years, water soaked and rotted the bottom logs of both buildings. Both required bracing to hold them together.

A Save America's Treasures grant funded the purchase of new logs for the historic Council House and Nancy Jemison Cabin. Using 18th-century tools and techniques, new logs were carefully hewn to replace the rotted ones. The structures now resemble the buildings William Pryor Letchworth reassembled here at the end of the 19th century.

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Welcome to the Seneca Council Grounds
Mary Jemison
Nancy Jemison Log Cabin
To the Memory of Mary Jemison
This Ancient Seneca Council House
In Grateful Memory of William Pryor Letchworth
Genesee Valley Canal
Seh-Ga-Hun-Da
Hornby Lodge
Pages of Geologic Time

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