Program

NYS Historic

Subject

House

Location

211 E. Main Street, Batavia, NY

Lat/Long

42.997595, -78.18078

Grant Recipient

City of Batavia

The Cary Mansion was built on this site in 1817. The mansion remained in the family for three generations before George Cary, the grandson of the original owner, donated the structure to the City of Batavia in 1934. It was Cary’s wish that “it be preserved as a colonial home with the possibility of development into an art or historical museum.” It was his hope that it would be used the same as Mt. Vernon, Monticello or the Schuyler Home in Albany. The city initially accepted the donation, but then returned it to the Cary family shortly after. The mansion served several commercial uses until 1959 when it was acquired by St. Jerome Hospital. It was the stated intention of the hospital to use the building for the McAuley School of Nursing. However, just five years later, the hospital razed the structure after declaring it too expensive to maintain.