Holand Land Office Museum

West Side Batavia Ghost Walks
2025-10-24 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-24 19:30 - 21:30 UTC
Back and expanded by popular demand, please join the Holland Land Office Museum for a West Side Ghost Walk on Fridays in October. The walks led by Connie Boyd will take place on October 10 and 24 at 7 pm and 7:30 pm. Take a walk on the west side and hear tales of murders, hangings, grave robbing, ghosts, and other eerie happenings from Batavia’s past. Hear stories of Joseph Ellicott, E. N. Rowell, and other famous and infamous Batavians. Admission is $15.00 or $10.00 for museum members and reservations are required with purchase. Museum members will receive a promo code for discount tickets. Tours are limited to 25 people each. The tour begins and ends at the museum and is approximately 1 1/2 to two hours long. For tickets or more information, please follow the link below
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holland-land-office-museum-batavia-west-side-ghost-walks-tickets-1455026626809?aff=oddtdtcreator

Trivia Night @ the Museum: The 1980s
2025-11-13 19:00 - 20:00
Join us at the Holland Land Office Museum for our monthly Trivia Night on Thursday, November 13th at 7 pm. Get ready because we are heading back to the 80s, so take a trip back in time to hair bands and leg warmers and see how well you know the 1980s. Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. Contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

25th Annual Wonderland of Trees Opening Gala
2025-11-21 18:00 - 20:30
Come and experience the 25th annual Wonderland of Trees! The opening gala will occur on Friday, November 21st from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the Holland Land Office Museum. This year’s theme is “Nutcrackers”. It is also the Silver Anniversary of Wonderland of Trees. Visit the museum to see all the wonderfully decorated trees and displays by local businesses and organizations. This year’s opening gala will feature many great gift baskets to win. Food and refreshments will be provided by The Alabama Hotel. The night will also feature holiday music by the DSP Jazz Trio.
Tickets are $20 or $15 for museum members, and $5 for children 12 and under. You can find the link to the ticket site below. Or contact the museum for further information.
The Wonderland of Trees will run through the end of December, so there is plenty of time to stop by during the holiday season. Admission to the Wonderland of Trees is included in regular museum admission: listed on the homepage of the website.

Concert Series: Holiday Concert with Genesee Symphony Orchestra Brass Quartet
2025-12-05 19:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum welcomes back as part of our Concert Series the Brass Quartet of the Genesee Symphony Orchestra. The quartet will be playing all of your holiday season favorites at the museum on Friday, December 5th at 7 pm. Seating will be limited. Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. If you plan on attending, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

Trivia Night @ the Museum: The 1990s
2025-12-11 19:00 - 20:00
Join us at the Holland Land Office Museum for our monthly Trivia Night on Thursday, December 11th at 7 pm. Come and test your knowledge of the end of the last Millenium, and think back to a time before Y2K in the 1990s. Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. Contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

Concert Series: Classical Guitar Holiday Music by Mike Whyman
2025-12-12 19:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum welcomes back our good friend and local classical guitarist, Mike Whyman to play some of your favorite holiday music. The concert will take place on Friday, December 12th at 7 pm. Seating will be limited, so please call ahead. Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. If you plan to attend, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

Night @ the Museum: Wonderland of Trees Edition
2025-12-17 17:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum will have extended hours on Wednesday, December 17th from 5 to 8 pm. This will give you a perfect opportunity to come and see the Wonderland of Trees if you have not been able to already. All 30 wonderfully decorated trees will be fully lit and on display. You can also get tickets for our nearly 100 basket strong basket raffle. All of the exhibits will be open to see as well. Admission follows the regular museum admission.

Holiday Concert Series: String Duo, Refoundry Strings
2025-12-19 19:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum welcomes as part of our Concert Series the String Duo of the group Refoundry Strings. The duo will be playing all of your classic holiday season favorites at the museum on Friday, December 19th at 7 pm. Refoundry Strings is a chamber music collective based in the southtowns of WNY. The group plays a variety of concerts and events locally and is excited to join the Holland Land Office Museum’s holiday concert series with two of its esteemed members: Jessica Tufte and Amy Kelly. Both are lifelong violin players, with Amy also playing viola. Today’s concert will feature a number of duets selected by both players that they will discuss with the audience. Refoundry Strings will be playing a series of concerts in 2026 in fulfillment of the Arts Services Grant that will be open to the public. You can follow the group on Instagram for more information. Seating will be limited. Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. If you plan on attending, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

Trivia Night @ the Museum: 1776
2026-01-08 19:00 - 20:00
Join us at the Holland Land Office Museum located at 131 W. Main Street in Batavia for our first Trivia Night of 2026 on Thursday, January 8th at 7 pm. In celebration of our nation’s 250th birthday, come and test your knowledge of the amazing events that occurred in the year of the USA’s founding. Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. If you plan on attending, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

Java with Joe E.: Ryan Duffy, "Robert Morris"
2026-01-29 09:00 - 10:30
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to present the first Java with Joe E. event for 2026 on Thursday, January 29th at 9 am. Museum Director, Ryan Duffy, will be presenting on a Founding Father with a local connection, Robert Morris. Morris owned all of Western New York, and was responsible to selling it to the Holland Land Company. Before that he was a signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Admission is free with coffee and donuts. If you plan to attend, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.
Thank you to Tim Horton’s of Batavia for sponsoring Java with Joe again for 2026.

Night at the Museum: Museum Scavenger Hunt
2026-02-04 17:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is bringing back is Night at the Museum on the first Wednesday of every month. The museum will be open extended hours on Wednesday, February 4th from 5-8 pm. In February, you can stop by the museum and participate in our museum scavenger hunt activity. Admission follows the regular admission rates for the museum.

Trivia Night @ the Museum: George Washington
2026-02-12 19:00 - 20:00
Join us at the Holland Land Office Museum located at 131 W. Main Street in Batavia for our next Trivia Night of 2026 on Thursday, February 12th at 7 pm. In celebration of our nation’s 250th birthday, and the birthday of the leading Founding Father, come and test your knowledge of George Washington. Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. If you plan on attending, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

Guest Speaker Series: Dyder Smith, "My Life in the South"
2026-02-13 19:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the next presentation of our 2026 Guest Speaker Series on Friday, February 13th. Oakfield resident, Dyder Smith, will be sharing the perspective of a former slave living in the south. Ms. Smith grew up in the state of Alabama and will be sharing stories from her life and the life her ancestors living in the southern states.
Admission is by suggested donation, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you would like to attend.
Thank you to Tompkins Community Bank and the Batavia Rotary Club for sponsoring in part the Guest Speaker Series.
“This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!.”
“GO ART! acknowledges that the land on which this project takes place is the ancestral territory of the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. GO ART! recognizes the historical and ongoing presence of Indigenous peoples in Western New York and honors their enduring relationship to this land.”

Guest Speaker Series: Joe Buscaglia, "Williamsville in the War of 1812"
2026-02-19 19:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the first presentation of our 2026 Guest Speaker Series on Thursday, February 19th at 7 pm. Joe Buscaglia of Buffalo will present on his research of the War of 1812 encampment in Williamsville, the Cantonment. This presentation explores the forgotten history of Cantonment Williams Ville, a major War of 1812 encampment in the Village of Williamsville. Drawing on letters, legal records, and early land‑ownership, it reveals how U.S. Infantry troops built huts on private property, leading to lawsuits from landowner Jonas Williams. The research also identifies the area in the Village of the Cantonment and a previously unknown War of 1812 burial ground connected to the site the lost Cantonment Burial Ground. Together, these findings restore an important but long‑overlooked chapter of the region’s wartime past.
Admission is by suggested donation, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you would like to attend.
Thank you to Tompkins Community Bank and the Batavia Rotary Club for sponsoring in part the Guest Speaker Series.
“This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!.”
“GO ART! acknowledges that the land on which this project takes place is the ancestral territory of the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. GO ART! recognizes the historical and ongoing presence of Indigenous peoples in Western New York and honors their enduring relationship to this land.”

Java with Joe E.: Rachel Bellis, "Black Cloth: Mourning Dress & Drapery at the White House"
2026-02-26 09:00 - 10:30
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the next edition of its Java with Joe E. series on Thursday, February 26th at 9 am. Rachel Bellis, Museum Curator, will be presenting “Black Cloth: Mourning Dress and Drapery at the White House.”
“Black cloth was a powerful part of the public and private displays of bereavement at the White House. Rachel Bellis, the Holland Land Office Museum’s curator, created a digital exhibit for the White House Historical Association, which explores the draping of the White House façade and its interiors with black fabric for the eight presidents who died in office, and the black mourning gowns and accessories worn by their spouses. Through her investigation into the complex rituals of mourning at the White House, Rachel highlights the use of black cloth as a key part of these historic moments of grief.”
Admission is free with coffee and donuts. If you would like to attend, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.
Thank you to Tim Horton’s of Batavia for again sponsoring Java with Joe E. for 2026.

Night at the Museum: Curator Artifact Demonstration
2026-03-04 17:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is bringing back is Night at the Museum on the first Wednesday of every month. The museum will be open extended hours on Wednesday, March 4th from 5-8 pm. In March, you can stop by the museum take in a demonstration by our curator Rachel Bellis as she gives a behind the scenes glimpse of some of the work she does on the artifacts of the museum’s collection.

Saturday Afternoon Curator Workshop
2026-03-07 14:00 - 15:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce our new Saturday Afternoon Curator Workshops. The first will be Saturday, March 7th at 2 pm. Museum curator Rachel Bellis will be hosting a “Make Do & Mend” workshop. Based on the campaigns of World War I and World War II, the workshop will include a short lesson on the historical significances of these campaigns, and will also feature a lesson for participants to learn how to repair old garments that they may have. Sewing kits and fabric will be provided. Admission is $5 or $4 for museum members. If you would like to attend, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

Trivia Night @ the Museum: Women of the Revolutionary War
2026-03-12 19:00 - 20:00
Join us at the Holland Land Office Museum on Thursday, March 12th at 7 pm for our next Trivia Night at the Museum. This month’s topic is “Women of the Revolutionary War.” Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. Please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

Concert Series: Irish Music with No Blarney!
2026-03-13 19:00 - 21:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to welcome back No Blarney for our St. Patrick’s Day tradition, as they play all your favorite Irish music tunes from throughout the years. The concert will be Friday, March 13 from 7-9 pm. Admission is by suggested donation. Please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com. Seating is limited to reserve your spot early.
Thank you to Tompkins Community Bank and Batavia Rotary Club for sponsoring in part the Concert Series.
“This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!.”
“GO ART! acknowledges that the land on which this project takes place is the ancestral territory of the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. GO ART! recognizes the historical and ongoing presence of Indigenous peoples in Western New York and honors their enduring relationship to this land.”

Guest Speaker Series: Holly Watson, "Sullivan Campaign of the American Revolution"
2026-03-18 19:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the next presentation of our 2026 Guest Speaker Series on Wednesday, March 18th at 7 pm. Holly Watson, Livingston County Historian will present on the “Sullivan Campaign of American Revolution.” The Sullivan Campaign is a complex event of the American Revolution that has had a lasting impact on indigenous people and the trajectory of Western New York. The Genesee Valley is at the heart of the events of almost 250 years ago. Admission is by suggested donation, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you would like to attend.
Thank you to Tompkins Community Bank and the Batavia Rotary Club for sponsoring in part the Guest Speaker Series.
“This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!.”
“GO ART! acknowledges that the land on which this project takes place is the ancestral territory of the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. GO ART! recognizes the historical and ongoing presence of Indigenous peoples in Western New York and honors their enduring relationship to this land.”

Guest Speaker Series: Chris Mackowski, "Atlas of Independence: John Adams and the American Revolution"
2026-03-19 19:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the next presentation of our 2026 Guest Speaker Series on Thursday, March 19th at 7 pm. Popular historian and author Chris Mackowski is returning and will be presenting his new book, “Atlas of Independence: John Adams & the American Revolution.”
Admission is by suggested donation, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you would like to attend.
“When the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, no one doubted who was responsible. Said one delegate: “The man to whom the country is most indebted for the great measure of independence is Mr. John Adams. . . . I call him the Atlas of American independence.” Born of humble means outside Boston, Massachusetts, Adams’s work ethic led him to become one of the colony’s most successful attorneys. Yet he burned with a powerful ambition and yearned for more. “I never shall shine, till some animating Occasion calls forth all my Powers,” he fretted. Festering tensions with Great Britain provided the occasion Adam longed for, and soon he found himself at the center of the storm, thrust onto the national stage where all his “Powers” transformed him into the intellectual architect of American independence. Perhaps more than any other American, he rose to the historical moment, urging his contemporaries into the unknown future.” Admission is by suggested donation. If you plan to attend, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.
Thank you to Tompkins Community Bank and the Batavia Rotary Club for sponsoring in part the Guest Speaker Series.
This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!.”
“GO ART! acknowledges that the land on which this project takes place is the ancestral territory of the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. GO ART! recognizes the historical and ongoing presence of Indigenous peoples in Western New York and honors their enduring relationship to this land.”

Java with Joe E.: Dr. Michael Eula, "Hidden History of Genesee County"
2026-03-26 09:00 - 2026-03-27 10:30
The Holland Land Office is proud to announce the next edition of its Java with Joe E. series on Thursday, March 26th at 9 am. Genesee County Historian, Dr. Michael Eula, will be presenting on his latest book, “Hidden History of Genesee County.”
“Historian Michael J. Eula offers a story of one region in upstate New York that reveals drama and relevancy for our own day. It is the story of Genesee County and its Links with the story of America over the last three centuries. It is a story revealing the often-overlooked aspects of such central developments as the Civil War and the First World War. It is a tale of religion replete with a heresy trial in the twentieth century and the study of human skulls. It is the duplicity of hidden presidential illnesses, along with the emergence of food fads and healthy eating. It is also the story of enslaved people in New York. There are topics that are explored that do not make it into the typical history book.”
Admission is free with coffee and donuts. Please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.
Thank you to Tim Horton’s of Batavia for again sponsoring Java with Joe E. for 2026.

Night at the Museum: History Kids Story Time
2026-04-01 17:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is bringing back is Night at the Museum on the first Wednesday of every month. The museum will be open extended hours on Wednesday, April 1st from 5-8 pm. Museum Curator Rachel Bellis will be in full historical costume to share stories with youngsters and teach them some interesting things about life in the past of Genesee County. Feel free to also check out the museum in a different light in the evening and see some of our new exhibits.

Trivia Night @ the Museum: Benjamin Franklin
2026-04-09 19:00 - 20:00
Join us at the Holland Land Office Museum for the next edition of our Trivia Night at the Museum on Thursday, April 9th at 7 pm. Come and test your knowledge of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. For that night it is all about the Benjamins. Admission is $5 or $3 for museum members. If you plan to attend, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.

Concert Series: Henry Grace
2026-04-10 19:00 - 20:00
Join us at the Holland Land Office Museum for the next edition of our Concert Series on Friday, April 10th at 7 pm. We welcome Henry Grace, guitarist and song writer, as he shares his own music as well as some popular covers. Henry Grace has become part of the burgeoning Batavia, New York music scene as co-founder of the folk duo Parris and Holly, guitarist for clamor pop band Rose Mary Christian’s Babies, host of the Saturday Morning Acoustic Series. Admission is by suggested donation. Please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
Thank you to Tompkins Community Bank and Batavia Rotary Club for sponsoring in part the Concert Series.
“This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!.”
“GO ART! acknowledges that the land on which this project takes place is the ancestral territory of the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. GO ART! recognizes the historical and ongoing presence of Indigenous peoples in Western New York and honors their enduring relationship to this land.”

Guest Speaker Series: Richard Chamberlain, "John Newton Chamberlain"
2026-04-16 19:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the next presenter in its Guest Speaker Series on Thursday, April 16th at 7 pm. Richard Chamberlain will be presenting on second great uncle John Newton Chamberlain. John Newton came from humble origins and grew up on a farm in central New York. He entered the army in 1861 and mustered out in 1866. He obtained the rank of Captain in charge of the 97 th Regiment, Company E in the United States Colored Infantry. He was a prolific letter writer and kept an extensive diary. He served in the Pensacola, New Orleans area and as a junior officer understood many of the “big picture” issues of the war. His is the story of a farm boy who went to war and did his best. John Newtons, great grandson John Bisbee, edited a book entitled “Captaining the Corps d’Afrique” which is comprised of his diaries and letters. Admission is by suggested donation. If you plan to attend, please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com.
Thank you to Tompkins Community Bank and the Batavia Rotary Club for sponsoring in part the Guest Speaker Series.
“This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!.
“GO ART! acknowledges that the land on which this project takes place is the ancestral
territory of the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee
Confederacy. GO ART! recognizes the historical and ongoing presence of Indigenous
peoples in Western New York and honors their enduring relationship to this land.”

Concert Series: Bart Dentino
2026-04-17 19:00 - 20:00
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the next edition of its Concert Series on Friday, April 17th at 7 pm. Bart Dentino will be playing an acoustic selection of music that will include original compositions and songs by such artists as James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, The Beatles, and others. Bart was twice selected Best Performer and Best Vocalist of the Year by Freetime Magazine. It was the first time in the magazine’s history an artist was selected in two individual categories. Admission is by suggested donation. Please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com if you would like to attend.
Thank you to Tompkins Community Bank and the Batavia Rotary Club for sponsoring in part the Concert Series.
“This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!.”
“GO ART! acknowledges that the land on which this project takes place is the ancestral territory of the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. GO ART! recognizes the historical and ongoing presence of Indigenous peoples in Western New York and honors their enduring relationship to this land.”

Java with Joe E.: Ryan Duffy, "Joseph Ellicott's Ghost: The Lasting Impact of the Holland Land Company"
2026-04-23 09:00 - 10:30
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the next edition of our Java with Joe E series on Thursday, April 23rd at 9 am. Museum Director Ryan Duffy shares, “Joseph Ellicott’s Ghost: The Lasting Impact of the Holland Land Company.” The presentation touches upon some of the remaining vestiges set down over 200 years by the Holland Land Company. Admission is free with coffee and donuts. Please contact the museum at 585-343-4727 or hollandlandoffice@gmail.com. Thank you to Tim Horton’s of Batavia for again sponsoring Java with Joe E. for 2026.
