Events
The Society has many events throughout the year; History Presentations and Author Appearances, Special Exhibits, Historical Tours of various types, and Board of Trustee and Committee Meetings. Please see the calendar and below for more information.
History Presentations and Author Appearances
We sponsor lectures and presentations featuring stimulating local and regional speakers. These programs are monthly during the year starting in September and running through May and usually take place on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. Lectures are held in the lower level of the Museum. Museum hours can be viewed on the Calendar.
Membership dues and donations allow for the continuation of exhibits, monthly programs and historic tours.
The Fairport Museum highlights the history of the town of Perinton and the village of Fairport from its early days.
Events and Programs for 2023:
Program: Oak Hill Country Club
Presenter: Fred Beltz
Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Fairport Museum
Our 2023-2024 program season begins on Tuesday, September 19. Please join us at 7 p.m. at the museum as Fred Beltz shares the history of Oak Hill Country Club.
The photograph of Oak Hill Country Club was taken by Evan Schiller.
The talk will focus on the early years of Oak Hill, including the move from the river campus to Pittsford, the club patriarch and arborist Dr. John R. Williams and the club’s history of hosting golf championships.
Fred Beltz has been a member of Oak Hill Country Club for nearly 30 years, including 12 years on the Board of Governors. He has spent nearly 20 years as the Club Historian. Fred is now retired, but during his career, he was a founding partner of Beltz Ianni & Associates, a locally-based financial firm specializing in individual and corporate retirement planning.
This event is free and is open to the public. No registration required.
Program: Historic House Tour - Faircroft Neighborhood
Preseenter: Self-guided
Date: Sunday October 1, 2023
Time: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Nelson Street, West Church Street, and Fifth Avenue.
On Sunday, October 1, from 1 to 5 p.m., the Society will host its 43rd annual house tour. Mr. Rogers would approve of the name and site of the tour: a vintage tree-lined neighborhood in the Faircroft subdivision. Tour attendees will stroll in a U-shaped formation, from Nelson Street to West Church Street to Fifth Avenue.
Faircroft is an area with a rich history. Nelson Lewis purchased his large West Church Street farm in about 1870. He relocated from Greece, where he served as the town supervisor during the Civil War. His Fairport property bordered West Church Street to the south and the canal to the north. Many streets were created from his farm, including those that became the Faircroft neighborhood.
For more on Faircroft's history.
-- While October 1 is months away, the house tour committee is busily at work. One task being addressed at this time is getting house tour docents in place. This delightful task entails two commitments: first, meeting with the committee house captain and the homeowners in advance of the tour and second, working a two-hour shift the day of the tour, sharing information with tour attendees.
To volunteer, please contact Joyce Hawkinson (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 223-4991) or Maxine Nelson (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 425-4919).
Mr. Rogers would admire your willingness to serve the museum community in such a meaningful way! Thank you!

Special Exhibits
Admission to the Fairport Historical Museum is FREE and open to the public.
Membership dues and donations allow for the continuation of exhibits, monthly programs and historic tours. Museum hours can be viewed on the calendar.
Exhibits:
DeLand Family on Permanent Display
The DeLand family, perhaps more than any other, played an essential and unique role in the history of Fairport. This impressive collection, which is on permanent display at the Fairport Historical Museum, illuminates the stories of generations of the family, and their lasting contribution to Fairport and Perinton.
New exhibits for 2022 will include: WWII Soldier, Perinton Native: Lester Conover, Erie Canal Surveyor's Transits, DeLano Family Photos and Perinton's Mushroom House.
Erie Canal Surveyor's Transits, Lester Conover and DeLano Family Photos Exhibits
![]() Local members of the Engineering Corps pose in an unknown location with their surveyor transits. |
![]() Our transit display in the atrium of the Museum. |
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![]() Lester Conover display. |
![]() DeLano family photo exhibit. |
Stop by to see our ongoing exhibits on agriculture, A Centennial of Perinton Town Historians and Perinton in the Pandemic.
Agriculture
Our newly remodeled agriculture exhibit features information about the 11 century farms and sections on blacksmiths, coopers and tinsmiths.
A Centennial of Perinton Town Historians
2021 is the centennial of Perinton Town Historians. Learn about the six historians that have held the position in the last 100 years.
Perinton in the Pandemic
The perspectives of many in our community coping with this challenge are included in a notebook now on display at the Museum: The Impact of the 2020– 2021 Coronavirus Pandemic on Fairport and Perinton.
This collection of reflections, text and photos, is the work of a PHS committee capturing an array of experiences from adults and youth, the village of Fairport, the town of Perinton and local organizations and businesses.
Our Capturing Today's History for Tomorrow committee has been gathering photos and information about life in the pandemic. Send your contributions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Fairport’s Evolving Landscape
A new notebook on display is Fairport’s Evolving Landscape, photos and articles on recent developments in the village. This work in progress includes the lift bridge renovation, improvements to the banks of the canal, the train viewing platform, housing developments, and the latest addition, the remote-control car track on Cobb’s Lane.
It’s a Lovely Day in the Faircroft Neighborhood - Historic Tour 2023
On Sunday, October 1, from 1 to 5 p.m., the Society will host its 43rd annual house tour. Mr. Rogers would approve of the name and site of the tour: a vintage tree-lined neighborhood in the Faircroft subdivision. Tour attendees will stroll in a U-shaped formation, from Nelson Street to West Church Street to Fifth Avenue.
Faircroft is an area with a rich history. Nelson Lewis purchased his large West Church Street farm in about 1870. He relocated from Greece, where he served as the town supervisor during the Civil War. His Fairport property bordered West Church Street to the south and the canal to the north. Many streets were created from his farm, including those that became the Faircroft neighborhood.
For more on Faircroft's history.
-- While October 1 is months away, the house tour committee is busily at work. One task being addressed at this time is getting house tour docents in place. This delightful task entails two commitments: first, meeting with the committee house captain and the homeowners in advance of the tour and second, working a two-hour shift the day of the tour, sharing information with tour attendees.
To volunteer, please contact Joyce Hawkinson (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 223-4991) or Maxine Nelson (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 425-4919).
Mr. Rogers would admire your willingness to serve the museum community in such a meaningful way! Thank you!
Strolling South Main House Tour - 2022

This year’s tour afforded the opportunity to visit six wonderful homes at the southern entrance to the village: South Main Street, a historic area of architecturally distinguished homes. If you could travel back in time, you would see a very different area, one dotted with orchards of fruit trees and greenhouses bursting with roses and other precious flowers.
This Colonial Revival home at 208 S. Main Street was designed by C. Storrs Barrows.
The Society House Tours are a member only event. To join, see the membership page for more information.
More information about the tour can be found on the Strolling South Main House Tour page.
For many of the previous tours go to Historic Tours.