[3] The county is named after Robert R. Livingston, who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.

The twelve original towns were: Avon, Caledonia, Conesus, Geneseo (county seat), Groveland, Leicester, Lima, Livonia, Mount Morris, Sparta, Springwater, and York.

Avon, Williamsburgh, and the hamlet of Lakeville competed for the honor of becoming the Livingston County seat, but the distinction was bestowed upon Geneseo, the principal village and center of commerce.

Until construction was completed in 1823, court was held in the upper story of the district school on Center Street (east of the present-day Livingston County Museum) and prisoners were housed in Canandaigua.

On September 13, 1779, hundreds of Indians and Loyalists ambushed roughly 25 of Sullivan's scouts on a hill overlooking Conesus Lake at a site now known as the Ambuscade in the town of Groveland.

Sullivan's army found the village deserted as most of the Indians and Loyalists had retreated west to Fort Niagara to avoid confrontation.

Upon retreat, the army discovered the bodies of the soldiers of Lt. Boyd's scouting party at the Ambuscade and buried them with military honors.

After fulfilling General Washington's instructions to destroy more than 40 Indian settlements and food supplies throughout the Finger Lakes, Sullivan's army returned to Easton, Pennsylvania.

[4][1] Archived June 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine The enthusiasm generated by soldiers of General Sullivan's army prompted the rapid development of the Genesee Valley and the area that now comprises Livingston County.

Within five years following the Treaty of Paris in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War, colonists branched out from well-established settlements in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, with visions of reaping the benefits this vast wilderness land had to offer.

After the Treaty of Paris, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham purchased from Massachusetts the rights to approximately eight million acres west of what is referred to as the old Pre-emption Line.

Morris then sold the land to a company of English capitalists, with Sir William Pulteney obtaining the majority interest.

The first permanent white settlement he established was the small village Williamburgh in Groveland at the confluence of the Genesee River and the Canaserega Creek.

But as pressure by western developers increased, the Treaty of Big Tree in 1797 was negotiated in the Wadsworth brothers' log cabin in Geneseo.

[5][6] Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth of Hartford, Connecticut, one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the post-Revolutionary War era, invested heavily in land speculation in this region.

Extending the canal through to Nunda and Portage was most challenging, as workers battled the area's most rugged terrain along the Genesee River gorge.

By the time that the last segment connecting to the Allegany River was finally finished in 1862, however, railroad technology had outpaced canals.

Although the Genesee Valley Canal was short-lived, the lasting effect expanded job opportunities for thousands of new immigrants, opened markets for the area's abundant goods, and overall enriched the quality of life for residents.

The area around present-day Avon and eastern Caledonia was known by the Seneca as "Canawaugus," or "the place of stinking waters" due to the prevalence of sulfur in the springs on the west side of town.

In 1821, Richard Wadsworth was the first white man in Avon to build a showering box and promote the curative properties of the sulfur water.

[5][7] Nunda and Dansville also boasted mineral springs and attracted travelers from around the world to enjoy the medicinal effects of water therapy.

Most well-known was the sprawling resort in Dansville operated by Dr. James C. Jackson, a leading holistic health advocate and abolitionist.

Dr. Jackson is credited with inventing Granula, America's first cold breakfast cereal, and along with Dr. Harriet Austen, endorsed exercise and less constraining clothes for women.

The Groveland site was convenient as a stopping place for Shakers traveling between their western societies in Ohio and their parent village at New Lebanon, New York.

[10] Several diaries and journals from the Shakers' early years at Groveland can be found at the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.

The Genesee Valley Hunt remains active and is one of the oldest in the U.S. Salt was discovered more than 1000 feet below the surface in Livingston County in the early 1880s.

He brought his bride, Anna Vernon Olyphant of New York City, to live in a simple but elegant mansion overlooking the Genesee Valley.

Although Livingston County had a low rate of tuberculosis as compared to urban centers, the Murray Hill site was chosen as the ideal spot for this facility to serve the western region due to its central location, favorable weather, easy accessibility to rail lines and state roads, and proximity to advanced healthcare centers at Craig Colony in Sonyea and Strong Hospital in Rochester.

In addition, the campus complex included residences for staff and physicians, an auditorium, greenhouse, power plant and laundry.

The adjacent Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation was built to accommodate the growing needs of the area and the other buildings on the campus now house various county departments and agencies.