Holland Land Office Museum
Wife. Mother. Grandmother. Madam.
That’s the curious caption under a Prohibition-era photo of Batavian Edna Gruber. Its disparate nature reflects the complexity of human individuality—a characteristic that’s equally evident among the varied holdings of the Holland Land Office Museum.
The handsome stone and pillar affair is named for its original role as a storehouse for the monies, maps, and deeds generated by the enormous Holland Land Purchase of 1792. So how does multi-faceted Edna figure in? She doesn’t exactly; at least not as part of the purchase. But she does belong at the Museum nonetheless, along with many other interrelated characters and items. That’s because the place also serves as a treasure chest for the Genesee County Historical Society. There’s a remarkable collection of presidential photographs (check out dynamic politician and World Bank President Barber Conable Jr. as he grins and grips with Ford, Reagan, and Bush Sr.); a bust of Iranian Hostage Crisis survivor Terry Anderson (he’ll be on hand this fall for the dedication of the proposed Peace Garden); a priceless collection of autographed calling cards (Thomas Nast, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Robert E. Lee to name a few), and an authentic gibbet (no link provided to spare the faint of heart). And that’s just a small sampling.
It’s famously been said that “history only remembers brilliant successes and brilliant failures.” But what makes this place special is its deliberate celebration of everyday humanness. Sure there are heroes and rogues at the Holland Museum. It’s just that you’ll find them mixing with artistic store clerks, svelte servicemen (check out the waist size on the uniform in back), and at least one largely pregnant, yet unabashedly fashionable bride.
Nope, it wasn’t Edna.
That would just be too predictable.
Holland Land Office Museum
131 W. Main Strteet
Batavia, New York 140200
585.343.4727
Directions
hollandlandoffice.com
