Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Industry & Commerce, Site, Transportation

Location

1351 Lodi Point Rd, Lodi, NY 14860, USA

Lat/Long

42.618904, -76.875224

Grant Recipient

Town of Lodi

Lodi Point, previously known as “Goff’s Point” and “Lodi Landing,” is a geographical landmark located along the eastern shoreline of Seneca Lake. During the destructive Sullivan-Clinton Campaign of 1779, the Cayuga and Seneca Nations were forcibly dispossessed and found refuge among other communities. Americans and Europeans gradually inhabited the region, and by the 1820s, Seneca Lake became an essential branch of the Erie Canal system. The “Seneca Chief,” among the earliest steamboats on Seneca Lake, was believed to have stopped at Lodi Point during its inaugural voyage in 1828. Steamboats transported goods and people along the lake daily, with service to and from Lodi Point continuing into the early twentieth century. Several warehouses were built here, which featured items such as dry goods and groceries, coal, lime, salt, lumber, and grains; however, these mercantile businesses were gone by 1905.

The accessibility of Lodi Point made it an ideal location to establish amenities for resident and travelers. Also known as the “Bennett Hotel” and the “Lake Breeze Hotel,” the “Willow Hotel” was a prominent venue for reunions and picnics hosted by families, veterans, schools, and other organizations here as early as ca. 1869. The July 11, 1893 edition of the Geneva Advertiser described the hotel as the “coolest point on the lake, always shady, and it gets the breeze from every direction – just a quiet, cozy place to lie down and fan, taking complete rest.” In 1923, the former hotel and surrounding property was gifted to the Geneva YMCA by Dr. and Mrs. Hopkins; it then became Camp Young and operated summer camps here until 1936. While it was closed for renovations, the building was destroyed on July 7, 1936, in fire believed to have been caused by a picnic campfire.

After nearly three decades of inactivity and considerable community debate, plans for revitalizing Lodi’s former commercial and recreational hub began to take shape in 1962. New York State acquired the property and later opened the Lodi Point State Marine Park ca. 1968, featuring a boat launch, docks, picnic and parking areas, playground, and other amenities.

As of 2023, the marker commemorating Lodi Point stands at the entrance of Lodi Point State Marine Park, which remains a popular recreational site.