This site, platted by John Van Nortwick, was directly affiliated with the Van Nortwick family for 115 years, from 1835 to 1950. John Van Nortwick relocated from western New York to Batavia in 1846 to manage his interests and join his father, William, a civil engineer who had arrived in 1835.

The Methodist settlers in Batavia first met in William’s home on the southwest corner of this block, later the location of William Mallory Van Nortwick’s residence, in which the Batavia Woman’s Club was organized in 1892.

William, in partnership with John, built the first successful dam across the Fox River in 1837 to power grist- and sawmills. John, a civil engineer, and his descendants had extensive land, water-power, manufacturing, railroad, banking, and windmill interests, and helped shape Batavia’s development from a pioneer settlement to a growing city.

The Board of Education purchased most of this property from the Van Nortwick family in September 1911 for Batavia High School. John Van Nortwick’s former residence in the center of the block, a landmark built of limestone in the Greek Revival style, housed the Board of Education’s offices and, from 1915 to 1950, served as the high school’s Home Economics Building.