The main attraction at Griffith Park
Griffith Park Open field
Just a mile away from Route 490 in Pittsford is a park that isn’t really identified officially: Griffith Park. According to the Town Board minutes, the Town of Pittsford met with residents to discuss the establishment of Griffith Park in May of 2000. In July of 2000, it was resolved that the town would begin Phase I of their environmental survey and boundary assessment. Just a year later at a meeting in August of 2001, the Town shared that it was on track with the improvements it had planned including tearing pavement up, seeding the field and adding the property to its mowing list. That was the last of the official mentions of Griffith Park. When Rochester Parks visited in mid September of 2012 (more than 10 years since its establishment) we found a single open field, a parking lot and two very short trails.
Griffith Park trailhead
Why does this park exist?
While the trails and open field are certainly well-maintained and enjoyable to visit, there is absolutely nothing else here. There is no eating area, no play area and no other major attraction to draw people to the park. Couple those issues with a distinct lack of awareness about this park and I can’t imagine why anyone would actually come here. If you have a more intimate knowledge of this park, please share your thoughts with us! If there is a single reason for this park’s existence, I would consider it a tremendous place to have an open-air festival or concert. The open field at Griffith Park is beautiful, flat and (if electricity is available) perfect for hosting something of that nature.
I grew up in 362 Marsh Rd, the house immediately next to the road that leads into Griffith Park. When my family moved there in 1960, there was a pump station that pumped water from a well that supplied much of the water then used in Pittsford. Surrounding the pump station was an area intentionally left undeveloped as a ‘watershed’. Looking at your pictures of Griffith Park and the Google map, I think that the concrete pad shown in Google is probably where the pump station was. The road running off of Marsh Rd to the pad used to be a gravel-on-dirt-base road that was used by town trucks to service the well. Back in the 1960s, that ‘road’ then turned into a rutted dirt track that led to the housing subdivision behind the park. The two trails that you speak of appear to be in the same locations as two rutted dirt roads used to access the watershed. There used to be a very large oak tree that the neighborhood kids used as a hangout just off the junction of the pump road and the road that branched off into the watershed. I think that the park may be named Griffith Park because all of the land in the area along both sides of Marsh Rd up to the Pittsford-Palmyra road and down to the cemetery belonged to a family that was named Griffith during that mid-20th century period.
I grew up living at 409 Marsh Road. The property was Griffith Farms….a large horse farm. The farm is where the church is now. I rode my horse all over the property. Susan…..my sister Barb and I remember you and your sister Laurie. I remember swimming in your pool!
The Pumping station from the 1930’s on was leased to the Town by my grandfather, Frederick A. Griffith who owned the horse farm where the Church now resides. After he passed away in 1978
the property was sold and cleared of the House, Barn and indoor riding track for the Church. My Grandfather was from Palmyra, the older son of Senator Frederick Winter Griffith and Mary Adams
of Phelps and Palmyra respectfully.
Dear Mr. Griffith:
My mother’s maiden name was Beverly Ann (Griffith) Geer. I am wondering if you have any genealogical records. This branch of my family is murky. My grandfather was George F. Griffith of Scottsville< NY.
Sincerely,
Gregory C. Geer, Ph.D.
I just moved in to the area, and this park is dog friendly
(provided you bring a poo bag)
It would also serve as a nice open field for kids to play: tag, soccer, kick ball, football, etc.
Good place for a picnic on a blanket, assuming the grass is dry.
Just a decent place to relax and pass a little time. A park does not have to be big or “fully loaded” in order to be worthwhile.
So, in terms of why anyone would or should come here, I hope I gave a reasonable answer. As someone who enjoys nice wooded areas to walk… I believe the park’s existence is worth defending on those grounds.