Livingston Park Seminary collection

Livingston Park Seminary’ history begins with its notable building, located at the corner of Livingston Park and Spring Street in the Third Ward of Rochester, New York. Originally built in 1827 as a Greek Revival home for James Livingston, an early flour mill owner, the home passed into the hands of Joseph and Harriet Strong in 1835. The house was noted for its extensive detailing and use of mahogany in the interiors, along with its extensive gardens. Sold to Dr. Frederick Backus in 1838, it served as a home for his family for another 22 years, until 1860. It was on May 17, 1860, that Philip H. Curtis purchased the home and surrounding ½ acre lot, which he soon began converting it into a home for his “Young Ladies’ Seminary.” Philip and Cathro Mason Curtis had opened their original school, the Fitzhugh Street Seminary, at the corner of Troup and South Fitzhugh Streets in 1858, and its success led to their need for a new, larger building. The new seminary building opened for classes in September of 1860, under the direction of Mrs. Curtis. The tuition and board was $200 per semester; $250 if the student was to study music.

Mrs. Curtis remained principal of the Curtis Seminary until her death on January 24, 1892. Throughout that time, she maintained a school dedicated to providing young women with a classical education. The Seminary was a small, elite school; in its first 60 years (1858-1918) it graduated a total of 199 students. Despite its small size, the school’s reputation was such that pupils were drawn from as far away as California and Washington. With Mrs. Curtis’ passing, the Seminary finished out the school year under Acting Principal Georgia C. Stone. A reorganization took place over the summer of 1892, and the school reopened in the fall as the Livingston Park Seminary, with Miss Stone as Principal. In the next few years, Livingston Park Seminary established itself as a college preparatory institution and was certified as such by Wellesley and Vassar Colleges. Miss Stone married in June of 1900, and her place as Principal was taken up by Eurith Trabue Rebasz, a graduate of the Class of 1879. Miss Rebasz continued to maintain the school’s reputation, including establishing a partnership with the Mechanic’s Institute that allowed the pupils a chance to study sewing and cooking there. She also oversaw the growth of music and dance programs. Eurith Rebasz remained principal well into the 20th Century, until the Seminary closed in 1934.

The demise of the Livingston Park Seminary was largely due to changing social norms, along with the economic ravages of the Great Depression. Following the Seminary’s closure, the building passed through several different hands, finally becoming the home of the Gospel Mission. In 1954, the building was purchased by the Rochester Institute of Technology, which intended to demolish it to make space for an expansion of its campus. Through the last-minute intervention of the Rochester Historical Society and its president, architect Harwood Dryer, the Seminary building was saved, and was carefully dismantled for future reconstruction on a new site. That site would turn out to be the Genesee Country Village and Museum, where the building was reassembled in 1970. There, it is interpreted as the Livingston-Backus House, decorated in the manner of the 1850s.