Lilac Festival Collection

This collection consists of memorabilia (realia) from the annual Lilac Festival in Rochester, New York. In the 19th century, before Highland Park existed, there was a nursery. This nursery, the Mount Hope Nurseries, was owned by Patrick Barry and George Ellwanger. It was started in 1840 and by 1850 it was the largest nursery in the country. There were no modern-style parks in Rochester so people who wanted to get outside for recreation went to nearby Mount Hope Cemetery and to the extensive nursery gardens at the offices of Messrs. Ellwanger and Barry, which had been landscaped with rare plant specimens.In 1876, the Mount Hope Reservoir (later to be renamed the Highland Park Reservoir) was constructed. This utilitarian yet attractive feature added to the charm of the area.In the early 1880s, Ellwanger and Barry offered 20 acres of nursery land to the city to be used as a park. At first the Rochester Common Council declined the offer. However, Dr. Edward Mott Moore, a physician who promoted the benefits of fresh air for health, encouraged the acquisition of the land. His influence and that of others led to the City's acquiescence.Mayor Cornelius R. Parsons formally accepted the land on January 27, 1888. It was to be called Memorial Park and was to be focused around the existing reservoir. The Rochester Parks Commission was organized in that year also. Dr. Moore became the first Superintendent of Parks. The Commission began consulting with park officials at Buffalo, who recommended hiring the country's leading park designer, Frederick Law Olmsted.

When Olmsted was hired, he was placed in charge of designing what became Seneca, Genesee Valley and Highland Parks in Rochester. The Seneca Park design focused on the Genesee River gorge, the design of Genesee Valley highlighted the rolling hills of the area, and Highland Park was designed as a horticultural preserve. Civil engineer Calvin Laney was retained to prepare maps and plan the parklands and plantings. He in turn hired horticulturist John Dunbar of Long Island to be in charge of supplementing the rare specimens donated to the cause by Ellwanger and Barry. John Dunbar was the person who created the evergreen forest, or pinetum, on the north side of the hill and the lilac display on the south side. The first lilac plantings began in 1892. The lilacs had crowd-pleaser appeal right from the start. One Sunday in May 1898 over 300 people gathered to enjoy them.

The first official Lilac Sunday was held in 1905. By 1908 around 25,000 people attended. The festival gradually expanded to Lilac Time and Lilac Week. In 1978 the event became the 10-day-long Lilac festival. A day to enjoy lilacs and springtime had expanded to include Lilac Queen contests, horse-drawn carriage rides, concerts, parades, children's amusements, races, exhibitions and, of course, food.