Geneseo

Geneseo lies in the valley of the Genesee River, in the country of the Seneca, the westernmost of the original nations of the Haudenosaunee. Nearby stood the Seneca town of Jo'néhsi:yo:h, known to American soldiers as Little Beard's Town. Its houses and fields were among several Seneca settlements in this fertile valley.

In 1779, during the American Revolution, General John Sullivan led an expedition against Haudenosaunee communities allied with the British. His army reached the Genesee valley in September and destroyed Little Beard's Town and its crops, along with other villages. The campaign was intended to weaken Britain's allies after a series of frontier raids. The destruction of homes and food stores forced many inhabitants to seek shelter elsewhere as winter approached.