Cayuga County > Aurora
Wells College, long the center of this small community on Cayuga Lake, announced in April 2024 that it would close at the end of the semester. The campus was later bought by the nonprofit Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge. The site is part of the Cayuga Nation’s ancestral lands.
Pleasant T. Rowland, wealthy founder of American Girl, is a Wells alumna who gave $40 million to her alma mater. Her efforts to invigorate the village were met with opposition by some residents.
Her foundation does not show up as a recent donor to Wells or other Aurora organizations. Among the assets listed by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation in its tax forms: a $12 million Stradivarius violin.
School districts: Southern Cayuga Central School District
Libraries: Aurora Free Library
Emergency services: Aurora Fire Department
Fraternal organizations: Masons
State parks: Long Point State Park – Finger Lakes
Recent grants:
Aurora Free Library
Fred L. Emerson Foundation - Auburn, NY - $2,500 (2024)
Aurora Free Library
Pleasant T Rowland Foundation - Brookfield, WI - $1,000 (2024)
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network
Park Foundation - Ithaca, NY - $50,000 (2024)
Howland Stone Store Museum
Cayuga Foundation Pfdn - Brooklyn, OH - $3,000 (2024)
Howland Stone Store Museum
Fred L. Emerson Foundation - Auburn, NY - $25,000 (2024)
Howland Stone Store Museum
Nelson B Delavan Foundation - Chicago, IL - $5,000 (2024)
King Ferry Food Pantry
Columbian Foundation - Auburn, NY - $5,000 (2024)
King Ferry Food Pantry
De French Foundation - Auburn, NY - $5,000 (2024)
King Ferry Food Pantry
Stanley W Metcalf Foundation - Auburn, NY - $15,000 (2024)
Peachtown Elementary School
Cayuga Foundation Pfdn - Brooklyn, OH - $12,000 (2024)
Peachtown Elementary School
De French Foundation - Auburn, NY - $3,000 (2024)
Peachtown Elementary School
Stanley W Metcalf Foundation - Auburn, NY - $7,000 (2024)
Wells College
Cayuga Foundation Pfdn - Brooklyn, OH - $141,000 (2024)
Wells College
Edward E & Marie L Matthews Foundation - Wilmington, DE - $50,000 (2024)
Wells College
Ethel Harkness Grace Perpetual Scholarship - Pittsburgh, PA - $9,301 (2024)
Wells College
Human Spirit Foundation - Kennett Square, PA - $5,000 (2024)
Wells College
Virginia A McGuire Foundation - Pennington, NJ - $15,000 (2024)
Largest nonprofits in Aurora (by assets) include:
Howland Stone Store Museum
Aurora Free Library Association
Aurora Volunteer Fire Department
Peachtown Elementary School
Arthur J Bellinzoni Foundation
Caspar Gregory Camp