January 29th of this year marks the 200 anniversary of the founding Macedon. On Saturday January 28th, the town will be holding a birthday celebration from 10-2pm at the Macedon Public Library, with displays set up including the Wayne County Bicentennial quilt, speakers and a birthday cake celebration at noon. The 1780s were an incredible time of change with the first settlement of the Phelps & Gorham Pur- chase taking place in July 1789. The land was surveyed into sixmile square townships that were laid out in a grid of ranges and tracts. The ranges ran from east to west and tracts were from south to north. The township was divided into 72 lots of 320 acres. Macedon would eventually be designated Tract 12, Range 3.

It wasn’t until 1823 that legislation was passed creating the Town of Macedon from what was then Palmyra, Ontario County. It was on April 11th the same year that Wayne County was officially acknowledged by the New York State Legislature, formed from both Ontario and Seneca Counties.

The town has several families that can trace their roots back to the founding. Many of these families still exist in our area, some even having streets named after them. Local names include Airy, Aldrich, Allen, Allyn, Baker, Bastian, Beal, Bills, Billing, Durfee, Hance, Herendeen. Hoag, Jennings, Lapham, Mann, Norton, Osband, Packard, Porter, Ramsdell, Reed, Smith, Taber, Willits to name just a few.

Agriculture was an important part of our community. The Packard family was one of Macedon’s original settlers. The family celebrates their bicentennial in 2025.

Macedon will be joining Wayne County in many events planned throughout the year including the April 11, 2023 – Founding Day Celebration at the The Lyons Community Center. August 14-19, 2023 – Wayne County Fair, including a Torch Relay through each town in Wayne County.

For more info, check out facebook. com/macedonbicentennial and web.co.wayne.ny.us/541/Bicentennial- Events.

Information provided by Linda Braun, Macedon Town Historian