A LANDMARK

125 Years of Hospitality and History

Complete History of Big Tree Inn

In 1792 a treaty was signed between the Seneca Nation and the U.S. government. Chief Goondahgowah stipulated that for a set sum we could buy as much land as we could ride over by horseback in one day. The treaty was signed in the shade of a giant white oak tree. Chief Goondahgowah called it “Treaty of the Big Tree”. Hence, came the name of our illustrious Big Tree Inn.

Today, Big Tree Inn is one of the most familiar landmarks on Main Street in Geneseo, New York – a historic community listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Town documents and the writings of Margaret E. Gilmore, Town Historian (circa 1958), describe over 125 years of hospitality and elegance.