Dennis Upton Portrayed Joseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott, the great surveyor, made his first trip back to Lancaster in nearly 200 years on Sunday, as a guest speaker at the Senior Center. Ellicott, as portrayed by local presenter and reenactor Dennis Upton, gave an interesting historical portrayal of his life as part of the monthly Speaker Series recognizing the Village of Lancaster’s 175th anniversary.
This is the man for whom Ellicott Creek, the Ellicott building, Ellicottville and numerous Ellicott roads is named. Ellicott was a detailed-oriented, short-tempered woodsman. He conducted the great survey of Western New York from 1798-1800. The tract of land was the 3.3-million acres, west of the Genesee River.
After conducting the survey, he became the resident-agent for the Company selling plots for $2 an acre. Lanson Eggleston became the first Lancaster man to purchase land in 1803. He bought 118 acres along Genesee St.
Dennis Upton as Joseph Ellicott
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Gavin O’Brien Chairman 175th
Joe Ellicott 1760-1826 agent Holland Land Co., founder WNY
Joseph Ellicott 1
Joseph Ellicott and his survey team
Joseph Ellicott at Senior Center 3-24-24