Victor

Founded: 1813
Population: 12,410 (c.2000)

Victor is a peaceful and scenic community in northwestern Ontario County. The town's home sites are nestled among the glacially formed, gently rolling hills. The hills are rich in heritage beginning with the first inhabitants-the Seneca Indians.

Victor was originally purchased by Enos Boughton as part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase in 1788, at a cost of 20 cents per acre. In 1790, members of the Boughton family, along with other settlers from New England, began to settle the land named Boughtontown. By 1812, the town was officially established through an act of the state legislature and named in honor of Claudius Victor Boughton (who had distinguished himself in the War of 1812).

With the establishment of the Auburn and Rochester Railroad in 1840, Victor grew quickly in the years following the Civil war. In 1910, it had a population of around 2,500 and had schools, four churches, a municipal water supply system, electric street lighting, a newspaper and a bank.

Today, the village continues its revitalization of the downtown business area, while still preserving the small town charm that has attracted many residents. Victor is home to many specialty shops and attractions, including: EASTVIEW Mall, Ganondagan Historic Site and Valentown Museum. Corporate business includes: AVANT! (computer software manufacturers), Horizon Aerospace (manufacturers of aerospace flight equipment), and Kodak Polychrome Graphics (graphic arts industrial products).

Below is a video about the opening of the Time Capsule on September 8, 2007. This Time Capsule was placed in the cornerstone of Victor's Town Hall in 1900.

Did you Know?

1. Fred M. Locke (Victor) invented a type of low-expansion glass that is currently used in America's spacecraft and space shuttles.
    
2. Ganondagan of Victor is the only Historic Site in New York State dedicated to Native Americans.
    
3. Built in 1879, Valentown (Victor) was America's first indoor shopping mall and housed shops, offices, horse stables, dining halls, lodges carriages and sleighs. Today it has been preserved as a museum and restored to its original condition.
    
4. Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech from the platform of his railroad car at the Victor station in 1898.
    
5. The last surviving combat veteran of the Civil War was James A. Hard (of Victor). Mr. Hard died in 1953 at the age of 111.

For more information go to the Town of Victor, the Village of Victor, or here for the Victor Chamber or the site Destination Victor, NY.