The hamlet of Egypt has been a part of this community since the 1790’s, which qualifies it as one of the town’s oldest settlements. In a certain sense, Egypt mirrors the history of the area as it developed from a pioneer agricultural settlement to a village, to a suburban part of a 20th and 21st century community. First inhabited by Native Americans, the Ramsdells and the Packards were among the earliest eastern families to settle in the area.
Thomas Ramsdell purchased 320 acres of land in 1802 in the part of Perinton that would become known as Egypt and built a house at what would become 7516 Pittsford-Palmyra Road. In 1807 he sold 197 acres of that land to his son Gideon who was both a surveyor and a teacher in Macedon and who built his house at 173 Mason Road The Cyrus Packard family also purchased land in Egypt and Cyrus opened a tavern there in 1806. Settlers were drawn by the fertile soil and the abundant water supply, and the area became not only a significant agricultural settlement, but also an important stagecoach village.
The Egypt of the early 1800’s had Roswell Everett’s tannery, Daniel Whitman’s blacksmith shop, a school, a Methodist church that served as both a social and religious gathering place, a cemetery, three popular taverns, and a grist mill, in addition to its homes and farmsteads. Egypt was about half-way between Rochester and Canandaigua on the main stage route, making the “honorable business” of running a tavern lucrative and popular. Cyrus Packard’s tavern was the site of Perinton’s first town meeting on April 6, 1813, when Packard himself was named Perinton’s first Supervisor. According to various accounts, the tavern was later moved to the Ranney property and partly incorporated into the barn which burned in 1918. In 1950, Leander Conover of Mason Road recalled a large hollow filled with stones which was uncovered every time it was plowed. This, he felt, was the cellar hole of the old tavern. Packard also ran a store and the grist mill.
Oliver Loud, who moved to Egypt in 1806, owned and operated a tavern in the area of today’s Town Centre Plaza. The two-story structure with its ample porches served not only as a tavern and inn, but also as a store, a mail drop, a salesroom for traveling salesmen, a place for transient shows, and a courtroom where Loud’s father-in-law, a justice of the peace, attempted to settle arguments among hot-headed canal workers. Loud’s Tavern was used by various owners as a tavern and hotel up to the turn of the twentieth century. In 1985, the building was moved to Bushnell’s Basin where for a time it became a 21st century version of a tavern and inn, before being converted into a private residence.
Olney Staples ran the third and largest tavern in the hamlet, which was located in the vicinity of the Quailbush subdivision. Its size, location, and facilities, particularly its stable and change of horses, made it particularly attractive to the stage line, splitting the 25 mile six-hour trip between Palmyra and Rochester in half. The building was a frame structure with a deep rubblestone foundation. Six fireplaces heated the rooms. As with most taverns, the first floor included a tap room, as well as a ladies’ parlor, a dining room, and a kitchen. The second floor had a 12’x20′ ballroom and guest bedrooms.
Around the turn of the century, Egypt became one of several food processing centers in Perinton. At the corner of Loud and Pittsford-Palmyra Roads, Frank Monihan and John Martindale opened a small evaporating plant or dry house, which dried and sold local produce. By 1904, they had developed a working system of canning those products, and the Egypt Canning Company was born. The business was incorporated in 1916 and became known as Comstock Canning Company. The company provided regular employment for Egypt area residents as well as for seasonal migrant workers. During the first half of the 20th century, while not the center of activity like the village of Fairport, the hamlet of Egypt was a viable community with a definite identity within the town of Perinton.
Long known as Nelson’s Store, this business was located at the southeast corner of Pittsford Palmyra and Loud Road.
Egypt’s early District 4 schoolhouse was located on Pittsford Palmyra Road, across from Victor Road. It was replaced by a new school in the early 1900s.
The Egypt Canning Company, with employees gathered for this photograph. The business later became Comstock Canning.
The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Perinton was organized in 1825 and located about a quarter mile west of the four corners area of Egypt. It was lost to fire in the 1920s.
1950s aerial photo of the four corners area of Egypt.
This early landmark home, circa 1815, was owned by Thomas Ramsdell, and later, Hiram Ranney. It is just east of the four corners area of Egypt. It is well preserved and is used as a commercial property.
This is a view to the west near the corner of Pittsford Palmyra Road, Mason Road and Loud Road. On the left is the Egypt Canning Company, which later became Comstock Canning.
