This July and August the Geneva Historical Society will offer a new tour of the historic Rose Hill Mansion and Johnston Farm. "Up and Doin'": The Women of Rose Hill and Johnston Farms will focus on the three generations of women who lived at these farmhouses from 1822 to 1891. The tours will be 90 minutes long and will be held twice in July and August. "Up and Doin'" will be held on Thursday, July 16 and August 20 at 2 p.m. and on Saturday, July 18 and August 22 at 11 a.m. This special tour is not the same as our regular tour.
In 1822 Margaret Alexander Johnston followed her husband John to New York from Scotland to live on a farm in Fayette. Here she raised six children and two grandchildren, kept house, and managed the work of a 19th-century farm wife. Her daughter Margaret married Robert Swan, moving next door to Rose Hill farm in 1850. Despite growing up as a farm girl of modest means, as an adult Margaret Swan raised her children on a farm, but in a life of greater comfort and means than she herself had known. Born in the waning days of the Civil War, Margaret's youngest daughter Agnes inhabited a world completely foreign to her immigrant grandmother. On this tour, discover how American women's lives changed in the 19th-century through the experiences of three generations of women at Rose Hill Mansion and the Johnston House.
Admission for the tour is $10 for adults, $7 for members of the Geneva Historical Society and $4 for children 9 to 18. Participants will meet at Rose Hill and then drive to the nearby Johnston House. As space is limited, reservations are required for Up and Doin'. Reservations may be made by calling Rose Hill Mansion at 315-789-3848.
The Rose Hill Mansion Gift Shop is open whenever the house is open. The shop carries historically-inspired and locally made items, as well as souvenirs, history books, jewelry and home decorative items. A tasting room operated by Billsboro Winery is also located on the site. The tasting room is open weekends in May and daily from June to October.
Rose Hill Mansion is located at 3373 Route 96A, about a mile south of Routes 5&20, near Geneva, New York. The Johnston House is located at 3523 East Lake Road, at the junction of Route 96A. Further information and directions can be found at genevahistoricalsociety.com.
Rose Hill is administered by the Geneva Historical Society at 543 South Main Street, Geneva, New York.
The Geneva Historical Society receives major funding from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Town and City of Geneva.
