Rushville was incorporated in 1876 and lies in both Ontario and Yates Counties, in the towns of Gorham and Potter respectively.
The first settlement within what are now the village limits was made in 1791 by Elias Gilbert, who purchased the extreme northwest lot in the town of Potter and built a house there of poplar poles, on a site already cleared by the Indians for the growing of corn, with a few of their apple trees still remaining. His house was near an old Indian trail which became the main road between the settlement and Canandaigua, then and now the seat of Ontario County which at that time included most of western New York.
Many of the settlement's first settlers were from Massachusetts and it was known initially as Federal Hollow from the Federalist politics of the inhabitants. After the turn of the century, however, the Jeffersonian party grew more popular, and the place was renamed after Dr. Benjamin Rush of Revolutionary fame, said to be the first place in America to be named for Jefferson's good friend.
The first tavern in Rushville was opened by Beza Whitman, and in 1801 his son Marcus was born in a house belonging to the elder Whitman's brother-in-law Henry Green. The boy, who grew up in Rushville, pioneered the Oregon Trail in 1836; his wife Narcissa Prentiss and her sister were the first white women to cross the Rockies. Not too far from Whitman's tavern was a store opened in 1812 by Philander Woodworth. The store was in a small house that still stands on Main Street; the county line passes right through it.
The village was incorporated in 1876. Its commercial section and the majority of its population (about 400 persons) are located within Yates County. The village hall is at 1 Main Street, on the east side nearly opposite the intersection with Gilbert Street.
The following series of records have been microfilmed and with the exception of the vital records registers may be viewed at the village office, at the County Historian's office in Penn Yan, or at the NY State Library in Albany.