Town of Torrey 175th Anniversary Time Capsule Contribution Deadline Approaches

Town of Torrey 175th Anniversary 
Time Capsule Contribution Deadline Approaches  
 
Dresden, New York, Town of Torrey - As the Town of Torrey honors the 175th Anniversary of its founding within Yates County in 2026, a Commemoration Committee is organizing a Time Capsule to be filled with appropriate memorabilia to be opened in 2051, the 200 Year Anniversary of the Town of Torrey’s establishment. 
Among the items being collected for inclusion in the Time Capsule are official Town records such as budgets, listings of the boards and supervisors, official plans, maps, newsletters, proclamations, copies of noteworthy newspapers, magazines, messages from public officials, and a photo album featuring area businesses and notable locations within the Town of Torrey which includes the Village of Dresden.  
The deadline to submit items for inclusion is Monday, June 1, 2026. All items should be dropped off at the Town of Torrey Municipal Building, 56 Geneva Street, Dresden, NY 14441. 
Details of the exact Time Capsule burial location and a summertime celebration are in the planning stages, but officials are already intrigued by the variety of items being submitted and considered by the Committee. Photos, maps, news articles, government records and samples of regional products, an array of interesting collectibles has already been gathered. Participation from local businesses and families including the farming and agricultural community is being sought, and the greater the variety the better. 
“We will have a selected bottle or two of Town of Torrey wine that will appropriately age through the next 25 years, but the small sample of digital devices will likely have ‘aged-out,’” Grant Downs, chairman of the Commemoration Committee said in good humor. “The project ties into our nation’s 250th Anniversary and we hope that the camaraderie that this project is creating throughout our community today will be rekindled by the next generation when the Time Capsule is opened in 2051.”
Any Town of Torrey business and/or family farm that would like assistance capturing a photograph of their organization or enterprise, should contact Donna Rae Sutherland before May 31, 2026. Email draesutherland@gmail.com or call/text 585-409-9216. 
In 1851, the Town or Torrey was formed from parts of Milo and Benton and was named after Henry Torrey, supervisor of Potter and chairman of the Yates County Board of Supervisors at that time. Despite being the first area to be settled in the Finger Lakes region by European colonists in 1788, the Town of Torrey was the last of Yates County's nine townships to be officially formed. 
The village of Dresden lies entirely within the town, and the two municipalities form a single district allowing the town clerk to serve as Registrar of Vital Records for both. The Town of Torrey includes nine miles of Seneca Lake’s scenic western shore (22.5%), and farms and vineyards constitute over 72% of the land area featuring small scale/market gardens, produce and dairy farms with an increasing emphasis on organic. The population is 1,300 and the land mass covers 40 square miles.The downstream terminus of the Keuka Outlet Trail, a popular tourist destination in Yates County is in Dresden. 
For further information or sign up as a committee member contact Grant Downs at gjdowns1946@gmail.com or Donna Rae Sutherland at draesutherland@gmail.com. 
Click here to access the Town of Torrey webpage featuring over 30 links to historical information.