In 1687 Marquis de Denonville led an army of French soldiers and Huron warriors on a punitive expedition against the Iroquois through Irondequoit Bay, beginning the long enmity between the Iroquois and the French.
During the last part of the 19th century the north edge of the town was developed as a tourist and vacation area for the City of Rochester residents, and was once known as the "Coney Island of Western New York." .