By about 1,550 AD the Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga and Onondaga combined to form the Iroquois Confederacy.
[6] French and British soldiers passed through on multiple occasions during this time period as the two colonial powers struggled for control of the region.
[7] Following the conclusion of the American War for Independence in 1783, the new government was keen to enable its citizens to make use of the new vast regions to the west.
William Hincher (a Revolutionary War veteran and a participant in Shays’ Rebellion), his wife Mehitable, and their eight children built a cabin on the west bank of the Genesee River and purchased 627 acres of land in present day Charlotte in 1794.
Following William's death in 1817, a deed was created between Mehitable and the United States government for the establishment of the Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse on the property which was constructed in 1822.
[10] In 1805, James and Sarah Latta (natives of Big Flats) purchased large plots of land in Charlotte for their family.
The following year, their son Samuel built a home and warehouse on the property and was appointed Customs Agent for the Port of Charlotte by the President of the United States.
Seventy British marines entered the harbor and seized a United States Revenue Cutter, a vessel named the "Lady Murray", and a privately owned schooner.
The following day the British returned as the riggings for the Lady Murray were kept in a storehouse at the Commercial Hotel operated by Erastus Spaulding (on a site near the present day intersection of Stutson Street and River Street in Charlotte) and seized the missing equipment along with two gallons of whiskey.
[11] On June 15, 1813 after learning that provisions for American troops were being stored at Charlotte, a fleet of eight British vessels under the command of Commodore James Yeo entered the Genesee River.
To prevent the people of Charlotte from alerting the militia, the British troops rounded them up and locked them overnight in a building owned by Frederick Bushnell and the Samuel Latta Home.
A couple of men who managed to evade capture alerted the militia which was gathered at the Steamboat Hotel in Hanford's Landing (a distance of about 7 miles).
Under the command of Colonel Caleb Hopkins the militia marched to Charlotte and arrived just in time to see the British vessels sailing away.
At 2:30 pm offshore of Charlotte, the American fleet began closing in and came within three-quarters of a mile of the enemy ships, putting them within long gun range.
Thirty-three men from Greece, Gates, Rochester and Brighton gathered at the Hanford Inn and marched through the night arriving at the mouth of the Genesee River at dawn.
Northampton encompassed the area of present day Parma, Riga, Gates, Ogden, Chili and Greece.
The name Greece was selected in support of the contemporary Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire.
The hamlet of "South Greece" (present-day Henpeck Park at the intersection of Ridgeway Ave and Elmgrove Road) was established to facilitate the needs of travelers and workers on the canal.
Some of the stone masons who came from Europe to help build the canal remained in the area and are thought to be responsible for the construction of cobblestone homes which are somewhat unique to the Central and Western New York region.
The town’s proximity to Lake Ontario made it a famous vacation destination in the latter portion of the 19th century.
Kodak would eventually become the largest employer in the greater Rochester region and its success is directly responsible for the town's growth.
It was during this time that weather extremes, such as a severe freeze in 1934 which destroyed many of the towns orchards, resulted in a devastating loss of crops that many farmers were not able to recover from.
Due to its proximity to Kodak Park, the town transformed as residential construction to support soldiers returning from World War II attracted large numbers of factory workers and their families to Greece.
By the 1940’s thousands of Greece residents were traveling along the Ridge daily to work at Kodak often causing it to become congested.
Today shopping plazas, chain restaurants and car dealerships line both sides of Ridge Road.
[20] The highest elevation in the town of Greece is south of Ridgeway Avenue along Interstate 390, the current location of BJ's Wholesale Club, sitting 558 feet above sea level.
The town's New York State Senatorial Representative is Jeremy Cooney who represents the Towns of Brighton, Clarkson, Gates, Greece, Hamlin, Parma, as well as parts of the City of Rochester, including Charlotte, Historic Maplewood and the University of Rochester.
Education in the Town of Greece dates back to at least 1798 when the residents of then Northampton elected the first school commissioner.
[31] As the population expanded rapidly following World War II, the Greece Central School district grew to accommodate its growing number of students.