Nathaniel Rochester, William Fitzhugh and Charles Carroll, the trio who famously purchased the One Hundred Acre Tract of land that grew into the city of Rochester, were Southerners from Hagerstown, Maryland. As such they were an anomaly. For the most part, the earliest settlers in Western New York came from New England, bringing with them […]
After Thoughts by Jim DeVinney
Recalling Corn Hill's Illustrious Past
Before he retired, Corn Hill Historian Jim DeVinney produced many award-winning shows for PBS. He earned his first Emmy for an adaption of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. He won two more Emmys as writer of shows for the highly acclaimed documentary series Eyes on the Prize, which chronicled the history of the Civil Rights Movement; one of his shows in this series was also nominated for an Academy Award. After that, Jim went on to produce more historical documentaries for the PBS series American Experience earning another Emmy as part of the writing team for “The Kennedys.” His American Experience program, “The Wizard of Photography,” describes how George Eastman built the Kodak Empire. It can still be viewed in one of the galleries at the George Eastman Museum. Jim has been Corn Hill's historian since 2014.
