Watson Homestead & Conference Center

Nestled between green ridges in New York’s historic Finger Lakes region, Watson Homestead encompasses the farm where IBM founder Thomas J. Watson Sr. was born in 1874. Just a short drive from Watson Homestead, which has been welcoming Road Scholars since 1982, are the award-winning wineries, gorges, waterfalls and museums along the shores of Seneca and Cayuga lakes. Even closer for Road Scholar adventurers’ educational field trips are the resources of Corning, home of the Corning Museum of Glass and its hands-on teaching Studio, and the Smithsonian-affiliated Rockwell Museum. The Homestead’s rural acres include six miles of trails, part of the extensive Finger Lakes trail network.