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Land of the Seneca

The Overlook at South Bristol
The Overlook at South Bristol

The Overlook at South Bristol provides one with a sense of timelessness and respect for the great creativity of God. This was indeed the land of the Seneca Indians as Bare Hill is the legendary birthplace of the Seneca (read History and Legends of the Town of Middlesex). Bare Hillis is no longer bare but covered with many trees. Nestled between Bare Hill and South Hill is Vine Valley. South Hill was the site of a large Seneca Indian Village.

As one gazes from the southern end of Canandaigua Lake along the base of South Hill and to the north to Vine Valley and Bare Hill, it is the sense of timelessness that overtakes you. And indeed historians have long argued that this area was occupied by Native Americans much earlier than the Seneca. These people probably came from the Athena (Mound Builders) in Ohio many hundreds of years before the Seneca.  But these people left few clues as to their living here except for what was perhaps a fort on the top of Bare Hill. The white man came and used the stones in the fort to build a road, so that part of the region’s history will never be fully understood. Along with a sense of timelessness, one does indeed come away with the feeling that you have seen and witnessed something that is special and perhaps even a bit mystifying.

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