History & Culture · Finger Lakes
Leicester's History Has an Airplane in the Crowd
Leicester's town historian ties the place to old county lines, Little Beard's Town, the Moscow name change, and a 1911 monument dedication with a large crowd and airplane demonstration.
Published July 6, 2026 · Last verified July 6, 2026
Leicester has a history page with a detail that wakes the whole story up: an airplane over a monument crowd in 1911.
Start earlier. Leicester originated in 1802 as part of Genesee County. When Livingston County formed in 1821, Leicester became part of the new county. The Village of Moscow was established in 1814, Cuylerville was incorporated in 1848, and Moscow was renamed Leicester in 1917.
Then the story gets heavier. Cuylerville was once the site of Little Beard’s Town, a significant Seneca village, and it was destroyed by the Continental Army of General Sullivan during the Revolutionary War. In 1841, the remains of Lt. Boyd and Sgt. Parker were exhumed and taken to Rochester.
Now back to that crowd. Leicester’s Civil War Soldiers monument was placed in the village in 1911. The ceremony featured an early airplane demonstration, and nearly 4,000 people attended.
That mix makes Leicester memorable. Genesee County, Livingston County, Moscow, Cuylerville, Little Beard’s Town, Boyd and Parker, the Civil War monument, and early aviation all pass through a small Livingston County town before the story settles down.