Charles Williamson

    In 1792 Charles Williamson was sent to what is now Wayne County by Sir William Pultney as a land agent. Sir William Pultney had purchased the land from Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham in 1789.

    Charles Williamson's job as a land agent was to develop the land and make it easier for settlers to live here. He had the land surveyed, made maps and decided where towns and roads should be built. The towns were Geneva, Bath, Great Sodus on Lake Ontario, and Williamsburg on the Genesee River. Of these towns the one that never came to be was Williamsburg.

    Charles Williamson made it easy for settlers to live here by building necessary saw mills and grist mills, stores and houses. Families had to live on their land and clear it in order for them to become the owners. In his attempt to help families in every way he could Williamson lost over $850,000 for the Pultney Estate Land Company, but is remembered for his contribution to the settling and development of Wayne County.

    Charles Williamson is also remembered for bringing the County Fair to Wayne County from his home in Scotland. The County Fair had two purposes; to be an entertainment for the settlers living in the area and to also encourage visitors form other areas.