Aurora, New York

The Cayuga Indians gave Aurora its name because they believed it was "The Land of Eternal Dawn." Aurora is nestled on the western shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes--the only geological formation of lakes and natural waters of this kind on the planet.

This area of central New York is rich in history. It was a center for the abolition of slavery, and Aurora is just down the road from Seneca Falls, the home of women's suffrage. A long list of notable Americans lived and worked throughout the Finger Lakes (which flourished in the nineteenth century as a result of the Erie Canal). These include: Henry Wells, founder of Wells Fargo and Wells College; Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Emily Howland, Ezra Cornell and many others. Collectively, these people made huge strides on behalf of human rights in America.

Today this central New York region is enriched by the delightful combination of wineries, art, and higher education.

Aurora has always been a prestigious meeting place for educators, politicians, and champions of social reform. It was a center for the abolition of slavery. It was a key location for “the pistol-packing Harriet Tubman” and the Underground Railroad. William Seward and Slocum Howland, in cooperation with Abraham Lincoln during pre-Civil War America before Lincoln’s presidency, illegally smuggled slaves in pork barrels from the east shore of Cayuga Lake to the Erie Canal and Seneca Lake then on to Canada where the slaves found freedom. Seward also made the purchase of Alaska from the Russians one hundred years ago. This acquisition shaped history by becoming a key military strategic position for protecting North America before, during, and after the cold war.

Aurora was a special meeting place for Emily Howland, a tough, dignified leader who became one of the most important people in American education. Some folks say you can see her ghost strolling along the shores of Aurora on cold winter nights when the Aurora Borealis occurs.

Aurora is the home of Wells College, a leading institution of education founded by Henry Wells of Wells Fargo in 1868. Aurora is also in close proximity to many other leading educational centers of the world including: Cornell University, Ithaca College, Syracuse University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Le Moyne College, to name but a few of the thirty plus institutions in the area.

Aurora is an enchanted nook akin to the likes of “Sleepy Hollow” where magic lives and ethereal beings roam the earth invisible to the human eye. Aurora (the Roman Goddess of Dawn) and Boreas (the Greek God of the North wind) combined to form Aurora Borealis; the spectacle-of-light carried in and tossed about on the wind from the North, a phenomenon the Cree people called “Dance of the Spirits.” Benjamin Franklin first brought attention to this electromagnetic light show, which he called “the mystery of the northern lights,” a spectacular display intensified by snow and other forms of moisture.

The majestic nature that surrounds Aurora makes it a breath-taking wonderland year round, throughout the four seasons. The northern lights and magic of the lakes and forests make for the perfect setting for the poetry of William Shakespeare whose work is filled with fairies, spirits, demons, ghosts, and other inhabitants of the “Astral Plane.” Shakespeare, higher education, wine vineyards, quaint old inns, wonderful restaurants, history, and breath-taking nature help form "the Aurora experience."

Whether we visit you on tour, or you journey here to the land of eternal dawn, we invite you to take part in the “Poetry Borealis” with the Aurora Shakespeare People.

 

Home   •   About Us   •   Board of Governors   •   Aurora, NY   •   Contact Us

Educational Outreach   •   Eddie Foy III & the Hollywood Pro Series   •   Video / Media