Lancaster Garden walk History - By Rich Groblewski, Chairman
Before I share the future of the Lancaster Garden Walk, I would like to share with you a look back to the past to appreciate how the whole thing came to be.
The time is 1976 and funds were needed to restore the "Little Red Schoolhouse" on Bowen Road. The Lancaster Historical Preservation Group sought a way to raise the necessary funds for this restoration and hold true to their mission of promoting and reserving the historical part of the Village of Lancaster. The idea was to tour historical homes in the village. Each person paid a nominal fee for the privilege to ride a bus and be guided on a tour of historic properties in Lancaster. This event happened every year and on the odd years the tour became a road show to places like Niagara-on-the-lake, Canandaigua, Rochester and other one-day venues featuring historical sites.
The tour became quite popular with 4-5 bus loads of people making the trip each year. By 1990, the organizational leaders of the tour left the board of the historical preservation group and the event just seemed to "fizzle" out. Then in 2003, the Lancaster "streetscape" was completed and the papers are full of commentary by citizens who voiced varied opinions on the new look.
As a private citizen, reading all the feedback on the new streetscape, I began thinking of how I could help make a difference: how to help others view the village "makeover" as a positive achievement and not a negative for the village. How could I involve others in the process of rebuilding pride in our village history and in our community became my goal, my mission. I love gardening and have worked very hard on my home to create surroundings that many people come to each year and appreciate my efforts.
I had hoped that through this endeavor, other homeowners would be proud of their properties within the village and be willing to show others the existing beauty of the village and as important its potential. I decided to contact friends and local politicians about an idea for a "Stroll through the Village" that would create a garden walk and revive the historic home tour, combining them into one big event and bring people together for a whole day. The responses from everyone that I spoke to about this idea were extremely positive. As the idea took off, others including then Mayor Cansdale, Village Board members and the Lancaster Special Events Department helped to lay the foundation for the annual experience that is now part of the event series. We started June 24, 2004 with seven historic homes and 30 gardens. No admission was charged for the first event and there still is no admission fee today. Garden Walk Lancaster has grown beyond its original size and scope.
In 2009, five brave town gardeners were permitted to participate in the walk. In 2010, the Lancaster Garden walk became part of the Buffalo National Garden Festival. In 2012, Lancaster became one of 12 "clusters" of open gardens showcasing six local gardens among 80 total for the region. In February 2014, the Garden Walk Buffalo, the oldest local garden walk and the nations largest garden walk, are merging with the National Garden Festival to create one of the countries great horticultural events.
The future role of the Lancaster Garden Walk has been launched to create a genuine point of distinction and competitive advantage, one that gives our region a very real opportunity to tell a new story and create a new brand for all of Western New York. We hope many more will share in our enthusiasm and passion for gardening and join our growing group of dedicated gardening enthusiasts right here in Lancaster NY.
