About Meadowbrook

The materials and resources contained in this website are mostly referenced from the Meadowbrook Brighton neighborhood website which can be found here. The Meadowbrook Brighton neighborhood website material is mostly derived from 98 Acres …the story of Meadowbrook, compiled and written for the 70th anniversary of the Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association by Meadowbrook resident Robyn Schaefer in October, 2001.

MEADOWRBOOK HISTORY (from the Meadowbrook Brighton neighborhood website)

The Early History of Brighton

A brief sketch of the early history of Upstate New York, our broader “neighborhood.” More…

A Tale of Two Abners

Abner B. Buckland was an early Rochester settler and he built a brick home that still stands on Winton Road. In time the Buckland Farm, comprising 98 acres of land that is now Meadowbrook, became the property of his grandson Abner M. Buckland and his wife and children. In 1926 Abner M., then being upwards of 70 years old, sold the Buckland Farm to the Kodak Employees Realty Corporation and Meadowbrook as we know it was born. More…

Location, Location, Location: The Selling of Meadowbrook

This section traces the development of Brighton and the rise in the 1920s of the Kodak Employees Realty Corporation to address a severe housing shortage. The Realty Corporation bought the Meadowbrook Tract with a unique vision, and the planning and preparation for this neighborhood displayed the same attention to detail that can be observed in its architecture. More…

Racial Covenants in Meadowbrook

Sadly, the deed of every home in the original Meadowbrook tract was encumbered with a discriminatory covenant that excluded Blacks and created an environment that fostered discrimination against other minorities as well. This section details the role that racial covenants played in creating patterns of housing segregation in Rochester that persist to this day. Although covenants of this kind have long-since been outlawed, they remain a part of our recorded deeds. In 2020, a group of Meadowbrook residents began an initiative they called “CORD” — Confronting our Racist Deeds — to revoke that covenant, replace it with anti-discriminatory language, and create a curriculum that would help Brighton students understand this painful piece of our history. This section is summarized on a Fast FAQs page.

A Trip Through Meadowbrook

An attractive promotional booklet entitled “A Trip Through Meadowbrook” described a young and growing neighborhood. This is a must-read! More…

The Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association

The story of Meadowbrook is intimately tied to that of the Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association. Read the story of the Meadowbrook Association here. More…

Why Is It Called The Dandelion?

Our neighborhood newsletter, the “Meadowbrook Dandelion” has been well-loved by Meadowbrook residents since its first publication in 1933. More…

Black Friday

On September 21, 1951, two Meadowbrook children were among the casualties in the “Brighton Blast,” a natural gas explosion that destroyed fifteen homes in our neighborhood. More…

South Meadowbrook (a.k.a. The Danburys)

Twenty years after the first houses were built in our neighborhood, homes were built on Danbury Circle North and Danbury Circle South to meet the growing demand for homes of great quality. This is the story of South Meadowbrook. More…