My Hometown History
A First for Chili
Chili Presbyterian Church Photo by Dick Halsey
Excerpt from the “Historical Digest of Early Chili,” by Jay Widener, former Town Historian and written by Melissa Cunningham, Chili Bicentennial Committee Member February 22, a significant date for the Town of Chili, a “first” birthday if you will, as the New York State Legislature passed an act that annexed a portion of the Town of Riga (eastern section), into the current day Town of Chili, in 1822. Judge Joseph Sibley, known as the “Father of Chili,” was the town’s first supervisor, holding the town’s initial town meeting on April 2, 1822, at the home of James Coleman. Sibley operated an early mill on Black Creek. Sibley’s Mill (located on Black Creek near Stuart Road and Chili Avenue) was later operated by Gertrude Hertz. The property on which the mill was located is now on the National Register of Historic Sites. Judge Sibley was said to have remarkable memory, excellent judgement, but was most known for his willingness to help his neighbors …a strong trait, 200 years later, that is the heartbeat of our community.
The Sibley-Stuart-Dillenbeck House in Chili was built in 1834. Photo courtesy of Phillip Supernault.
In discussing “firsts” below are a few “firsts” for the Town of Chili…
There are two theories concerning the origin of the name of our town, “Chili.” The first theory is that the town was named after Chile, South America, and that the name was somehow mispronounced. Local people may have been sympathetic to Chile in its struggle for independence. Early authors when writing about this theory always qualified their statements with words such as “maybe,” “perhaps,” “possibly,” etc. The second theory was that the Town of Chili was named after the Chiliast or Chilian religion. This was the religion of some of the earliest settlers in the South Chili area. They came from Pennsylvania and they were of German, Dutch, and Flemish origins. They believed that one thousand years of peace would be followed by the return of the lord. The first road was Scottsville Road. It was laid out by Peter and Jacob Sheffer in 1792. It ran from Oatka, or Allen’s Creek, to the falls of the Genesee River in present day Rochester.
4 | My Hometown February 2022
The first land owner in what is now Chili was Peter Sheffer. He arrived in 1789 and purchased his land from Ebeneezer Allen. Though he owned land in Chili, Peter Sheffer actually lived in Wheatland. The first recorded settlers, arriving in 1792, were Captain Joseph Morgan and his family. He was a Revolutionary War veteran like many of the early pioneers. He purchased his land from Peter Sheffer in the Scottsville Road area, south of what is present day Morgan Road. Morgan was followed in 1794 by Andrew Wortman, Stephen Peabody, and Leonard Widener. Josiah Fish settled at the mouth of Black Creek in 1794 and later became the first supervisor of the old Town of Northhampton. Henry Widener and his family of 11 adult children and step-children arrived in 1796. Stephen Peabody operated the first business, a distillery, in the Town of Chili. Another early business was the Jacob-WidenerJoseph Carey Saw and Grist Mill. The first tavern was the Checkered Tavern. It was located near the intersection of Morgan Road and Chili Scottsville Road and was built by Henry Widener. The first church was the Chili Presbyterian Church on Chili Avenue at Stottle Road. It was erected in 1832. Other businesses quickly followed which included taverns, hotels, schools, and churches. Most of the first settlers were German and Belgian from the Pennsylvania and New Jersey areas. They probably heard about the Chili area and its fertile land from soldiers returning from Sullivan’s expedition against the Indians in 1779. The settlers used the Williamson Road through Tioga to New Town (now Elmira) and then followed the Sullivan route from Kanadesago (now Geneva) to the Genesee River. After the war of 1812, there was a major immigration from New England. The first road to the interior was the Braddocks Bay Road. It ran from Braddocks Bay to the present-day Morgan Road where it turned east towards the river and Scottsville. The road is now known as Union Street. The first railroad ran from Rochester to Buffalo in 1812 and the old Genesee Valley Canal was opened in 1862 connecting Rochester to the Allegheny River.
