For centuries, Ithaca was a Cayuga Indian settlement. In 1779 General John Sullivan's Revolutionary War troops drove the local Indians away and burned down their orchards and cornfields. The first white settlers arrived in 1788 and set up farms in fields that had earlier been cleared by the Indians. In the 1790s the first grist mill was built. In 1798 Simeon DeWitt, a surveyor-general of New York State, acquired more than 2,000 acres of land at the southern end of Caygua Lake. In 1804, DeWitt named the new town Ithaca, after the island home of Ulysses, a popular figure from Greek mythology. In 1817, Tompkins County was formed with Ithaca as its heart.

Today Ithaca is best known for being home of Cornell University, an Ivy League school with almost 20,000 students. Ithaca College is also located just south of the city in the Town of Ithaca. Both colleges are strongly linked to the city and adds to Ithaca’s strong “college town” focus and atmosphere.

Upon our arrival, we will visit Sage Hall on the Cornell University Campus. Built in 1875 the building was originally designed to be a residential building, however, it currently houses the Johnson Graduate School of Management. We will tour the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. This art museum is well known for its controversial concrete façade. Its collection includes two windows from Frank Lloyd Wrights Darwin D. Martin House (in Buffalo) and more than 30,000 other works.

We will lunch at Taughannock Falls Inn. Located across the entrance to Taughannock Falls State Park (Taughannock means “great fall in the woods”) the building was erected in 1873 as a private, summer residence for John Jones of Philadelphia. Many of the lavish furnishings he brought with him are still in use today.

After lunch we will enjoy a private tour of Cornell Plantations including a walking tour of the botanical gardens.

Cost of tour: $144 per person. Included is transportation, all tours, lunch gratuities and guide service for the group activities. Call Cheryl at 546-7029 x23 for a reservation form.

Reservation deadline: August 27, 2010

(photo credit Jennifer Cleveland)