Levis Davis, Pioneer

From a 1935 newspaper article (not sure, but probably Hornell)

Levis Davis cut his way through the forest from Canisteo to Greenwood in 1824, three years after the first settlers began to clear the ground. The journey was something of a tragedy, for on arrival long after nightfall, Davis discovered one of his sons was missing. Investigation revealed the boy, who had fallen asleep on a pile of goods in one of the wagons, had fallen off and been crushed to death under the wheels of the next vehicle.

With his wife, one daughter and two sons, the pioneer settler set about improving his property. He erected a store, a towering tavern three stories high.

On July 4, 1830; he put up the tavern sign, which bears his name, the date, and the Masonic emblem. Masonry was in ill repute at the time, but Levi Davis was a man of his convictions and not one to hide his beliefs.

Twelve years later in 1842, he and others organized the Masonic Lodge. The sign was taken down in the 1970s; but kept by the Davis family. Levi's grandaughter, Mary D. Webster, who was killed in an auto accident in October of 1934, gave it to W. G. Kellogg, a great grandson of Levi Davis, who in turn, gave it to the Greenwood Masonic Lodge. It now hangs in their lodge room, protected from wind and rain, but steeped in memory of one of Greenwood's oldest residents.

For more about life at this time, ask someone at the Historical Society about "Pioneer Life in Greenwood" from 1888 by Levi's nephew, Dennis McGraw.