Willie Robinson moved to Rochester from North Carolina in the mid-1980s. That’s when he met Cynthia, who had moved to Rochester from Arkansas at age 4. They married, had careers, children, and grandchildren, all in Rochester.
And during an Abolition Commemoration Day ceremony this weekend, they shared one more thing: astonishment.
After nearly four decades in the Flower City, the Robinsons had no idea what Kelsey’s Landing was.
The landing was built in 1844, down a steep cliff from what is now Maplewood Rose Garden. It was a popular place in that era for moving goods — including flour, timber, and salt — up and down the Genesee River and through the Great Lakes. They used the stairs and an elevator to reach today’s garden area.
This secluded landing became a hotspot on the Underground Railroad, where Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and the Rochester Anti-Slavery Society helped at least 100 runaway slaves to freedom. A fire after the turn of the 20th century wiped out much of Kelsey’s Landing.
“It was definitely an eye-opening experience,” said Willie Robinson. “ It's certainly a hidden gem in Rochester. A lot of folks likely don't know that this exists. It's critically important that we let the younger generation know about spaces like this because there are so many trying to make sure that our history is erased.”
“ I grew up in the public school system here,” Cynthia Robinson added. “I am a preschool teacher in the Rochester City School District. I have never heard about this area.”
This is the kind of "aha" moment that Pamela Reese Smith, president of the Rochester Chapter of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, or ASALH, is working to foster.
Founded in 1915, ASALH’s goal is to “promote, research, preserve, interpret, and disseminate information about Black life, history, and culture to the global community.”
Smith said ASALAH’s New York chapters are working toward making Abolition Commemoration Day a holiday in New York state. The day focuses on New York’s 1827 Abolition Act, which ended slavery in the state.
In Rochester, Smith’s focus is on bringing her primarily virtual meetings into real life by highlighting spaces like Kelsey’s Landing.
Smith would like to make it easily identifiable.
“ I really would love to see Kelsey's Landing developed into an actual tourist attraction, a spot where people come here, and they're looking for this,” Smith said. “And I’m hoping that the city and the county find a way to actually make that happen.”
Willie Robinson agrees.
“We could just really make it a big deal,” Robinson said. “Because it's a part of our history, not just Rochester history, but it's a part of our American history.”
