South Street

South Street was probably the second street in the village to be developed. There have never been any houses on the south side; the land has always been part of the Homestead. On the north side, between Main and Second, was a large orchard until late 1870 when it was sold for building pur­poses. Three of the oldest houses in Geneseo are located at 17, 29, and 39 South Street.

Prior to the late 1870’s the north side of South Street from the present 41 South Street east to Prospect Street was part of the “Temple Hill Pasture Lot” which extended through to Center Street. For some time a dispute had existed between the Wadsworth Library and the Temple Hill Academy as to ownership of this land. Litigation had started, but just before the case was to come to trial the Academy withdrew its claim. The trustees of the library then marked the area off into lots and sold them in the late 1880’s.