62 Second Street

The property at what is now 62 Second Street reportedly was owned at one time by Owen P. Olmstead, the first mayor of Geneseo. Its current owner is the present mayor, Richard Hatheway.  The original house on the lot was destroyed by fire in 1853 when owned by David Abel and occupied by the Chauncey Bond family.  Colonel Abel then built the present house and sold it to the Bonds.  The property included an ice house to the west, as well as a carriage house (now 12 Chestnut Street), which was in the same style as the house

Colonel Abel was at one time a state senator and during his active years was a power in politics.  In 1860 he erected a large house on the east side of Mt. Morris Road on the north corner of what is now Abel Hill Road on the site of the old village of Williamsburg.

In 1863, Mrs. Bond sold the house to Lucius Olmsted, who enlarged the house and improved it. 

Lucius Olmsted operated a flour and feed business on Main Street.  He died in 1868 and in 1874 the house became the property of one of his sons, Theodore F. Olmsted. 

Theodore accepted a position as bookkeeper in the Genesee Valley National Bank (now Key Bank on Main Street) in 1858 and over the years rose to become president.  He added the veranda to the house in 1904. 

Mr. Olmsted’s wife died in 1910 and in 1912 he married Sarah Reed Vance, widow of Charles Vance. (He built the original part of the house at 57 Second Street.)  The second Mrs. Olmsted died in 1924 but Mr. Olmsted continued to live here until his death at age 95 in 1931.  The house was then purchased by Dr. W.A. Holcomb, then the president of the Normal School, who made extensive renovations and repairs.

Following Mrs. Holcomb’s death in 1950, her son, Raymond, and his wife, Winifred, acquired the property. They converted the carriage house into apartments and added a garage to the house.

Richard and Linda Hatheway purchased the house in 1985 and have preserved the historic home beautifully.