Cattaraugus County, New York
42°14′N 78°41′W / 42.24°N 78.68°W
Cattaraugus County | |
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UTC−4 (EDT) | |
Congressional district | 23rd |
Website | www |
Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a
Cattaraugus County comprises the
History
In ancient times, the largely unsettled territory was the traditional homeland of the now-extinct Wenrohronon Indians. It later became the territory of the Seneca people, one of the five Nations of the Haudenosaunee.
During the
When counties were established in the Province of New York in 1683, the territory of Cattaraugus County was included within Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York as well as all of the modern-day state of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. As additional areas were settled, the county was reduced on July 3, 1766, by the creation of Cumberland County, and on March 16, 1770, by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady. The county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County is represented in the 21st century by 37 counties of New York. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.
In the years before 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled across the Niagara Frontier into modern day Ontario, Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the Revolutionary War (and a treaty with Massachusetts that finally settled who owned Western New York), the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in honor of the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec. This replaced the name of the hated British governor.
In practice, however, these counties did not cover modern Cattaraugus County or Western New York. Most of that area lay within the
The newly independent United States sought to extinguish Native reserves after the British ceded their territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes to the United States. This included Iroquois territory in New York; the four nations that had been allies of the British mostly relocated to Ontario, Canada where the Crown gave them land grants in some compensation for losses. The Treaty of Canandaigua, in 1794, extinguished what was left of native title, with the exception of several reservations, three of which were at least partially located in what is now Cattaraugus County.
Cattaraugus County was formed in 1808, split off from Genesee County. At first there was no county government due to the sparse population. From 1812 to 1814, Cattaraugus County was incorporated in Allegany County; from 1814 to 1817, records of the county were divided between Belmont (Allegany County) and Buffalo (then in Niagara County).
The name "Cattaraugus" derives from a Seneca word for "bad smelling banks," in reference to the odor of natural gas leaking from rock seams.[5] In 1817, a county government was established for Cattaraugus County in the southwestern corner of the town of Hebe, now Ellicottville.
Numerous towns in the county are named after agents of the Holland Land Company, including Ellicottville (Joseph Ellicott), Franklinville (William Temple Franklin, a speculator and grandson of Benjamin Franklin), and Otto and East Otto (Jacob Otto).
The first settlement in the county was in
The Allegany Indian Reservation is within the county boundaries and is one of two controlled by the federally recognized Seneca Nation of New York in the western part of the state; the Seneca's other territories, Cattaraugus Reservation and Oil Springs Reservation, are both partially within county boundaries. South of Salamanca, New York, a small city located within the reservation, is Allegany State Park, which is contiguous with the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania.
Geography
According to the
Cattaraugus County is in the southwestern part of the state, immediately north of the
The plateau is an extension of the
A continental divide between the Mississippi River and Great Lakes watersheds runs through Cattaraugus County.
The northern border of the county is formed by Cattaraugus Creek and the Allegheny River flows through the county.
Notable geographic features
Mountains
- Mount Tuscarora in Coldspring (formerly Elko)
- Mount Three Sisters, Mount Seneca, Mount Cayuga, Mount Onondaga, Mount Oneida, Mount Mohawk, and Blacksnake Mountain in Red House
- Mount Irvine in Carrollton
- McCarty Hill in Great Valley
- Hartzfelt Mountain and Mount Hermanns in Olean
Lakes
Rivers and streams
- Allegheny River
- Ischua Creek
- Tunungwant Creek
- Great Valley Creek
- Little Valley Creek
- Red House Brook
- Conewango Creek
- Cattaraugus Creek
- Cattaraugus Creek South Branch
Adjacent counties
- Erie County - north
- Wyoming County - northeast
- Allegany County - east
- McKean County, Pennsylvania - southeast
- Warren County, Pennsylvania - southwest
- Chautauqua County - west
Transportation
Major highways
- Southern Tier Expressway
- U.S. Route 62
- U.S. Route 219
- New York State Route 16
- New York State Route 98
- New York State Route 240
- New York State Route 242
- New York State Route 353
- New York State Route 417
Airports
Great Valley Airport is located in Cattaraugus County, one nautical mile (1.85 km) southeast of the central business district of Great Valley.[8][9]
Cattaraugus County-Olean Airport is located outside of Olean located in the Town of Ischua.
Bus service
Intercity bus service is provided through
The county does not have a unified public transit system. The Seneca Nation serves much of the county through its own bus line, which connects its reservations; another service, the Olean Area Transit System, connects the cities of Salamanca and Olean.
Rail
There is no regular passenger rail service in Cattaraugus County; Amtrak does not serve the county. The WNY & PA Railroad, based in Olean, provides freight service on most of the rail routes in Cattaraugus County; the New York and Lake Erie Railroad serves the northwest corner and the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad runs a north-to-south route.
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1820 | 4,090 | — | |
1830 | 16,724 | 308.9% | |
1840 | 28,872 | 72.6% | |
1850 | 38,950 | 34.9% | |
1860 | 43,886 | 12.7% | |
1870 | 43,909 | 0.1% | |
1880 | 55,806 | 27.1% | |
1890 | 60,866 | 9.1% | |
1900 | 65,643 | 7.8% | |
1910 | 65,919 | 0.4% | |
1920 | 71,323 | 8.2% | |
1930 | 72,398 | 1.5% | |
1940 | 72,652 | 0.4% | |
1950 | 77,901 | 7.2% | |
1960 | 80,187 | 2.9% | |
1970 | 81,666 | 1.8% | |
1980 | 85,697 | 4.9% | |
1990 | 84,234 | −1.7% | |
2000 | 83,955 | −0.3% | |
2010 | 80,343 | −4.3% | |
2020 | 77,042 | −4.1% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12] 1990-2000[13] 2010-2020[1] |
2020 Census
Race | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White (NH)
|
67,554 | 87.68% |
Black or African American (NH)
|
996 | 1.29% |
Native American (NH)
|
2,261 | 3.45% |
Asian (NH)
|
560 | 0.72% |
Pacific Islander (NH)
|
9 | 0.01% |
Other/Mixed (NH)
|
3,647 | 4.73% |
Latino
|
1,615 | 2.09% |
2000 Census
As of the
There were 32,023 households, out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 26.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.20% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,404, and the median income for a family was $39,318. Males had a median income of $30,901 versus $22,122 for females. The
Government and politics
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 22,155 | 63.74% | 11,879 | 34.17% | 726 | 2.09% |
2016 | 19,692 | 63.19% | 9,497 | 30.48% | 1,972 | 6.33% |
2012 | 16,569 | 55.66% | 12,649 | 42.49% | 549 | 1.84% |
2008 | 17,770 | 54.48% | 14,307 | 43.86% | 540 | 1.66% |
2004 | 20,051 | 58.52% | 13,514 | 39.44% | 701 | 2.05% |
2000 | 18,382 | 54.49% | 13,816 | 40.96% | 1,535 | 4.55% |
1996 | 12,971 | 40.99% | 13,029 | 41.17% | 5,643 | 17.83% |
1992 | 13,944 | 39.74% | 10,150 | 28.92% | 10,998 | 31.34% |
1988 | 19,691 | 60.72% | 12,447 | 38.38% | 290 | 0.89% |
1984 | 24,162 | 70.10% | 10,194 | 29.58% | 112 | 0.32% |
1980 | 17,222 | 52.65% | 12,917 | 39.49% | 2,570 | 7.86% |
1976 | 19,469 | 58.25% | 13,768 | 41.19% | 185 | 0.55% |
1972 | 21,906 | 66.53% | 10,909 | 33.13% | 112 | 0.34% |
1968 | 16,594 | 53.27% | 12,733 | 40.88% | 1,821 | 5.85% |
1964 | 10,907 | 33.12% | 21,994 | 66.78% | 32 | 0.10% |
1960 | 21,749 | 59.47% | 14,797 | 40.46% | 27 | 0.07% |
1956 | 25,282 | 72.45% | 9,613 | 27.55% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 24,808 | 68.58% | 11,333 | 31.33% | 34 | 0.09% |
1948 | 18,246 | 60.03% | 11,289 | 37.14% | 858 | 2.82% |
1944 | 19,907 | 62.61% | 11,787 | 37.07% | 101 | 0.32% |
1940 | 22,987 | 65.57% | 11,924 | 34.02% | 144 | 0.41% |
1936 | 20,484 | 62.10% | 11,901 | 36.08% | 599 | 1.82% |
1932 | 18,071 | 58.70% | 11,467 | 37.25% | 1,248 | 4.05% |
1928 | 22,135 | 67.07% | 10,229 | 31.00% | 637 | 1.93% |
1924 | 17,307 | 63.94% | 5,369 | 19.84% | 4,390 | 16.22% |
1920 | 16,083 | 66.93% | 6,693 | 27.85% | 1,253 | 5.21% |
1916 | 8,825 | 54.49% | 6,565 | 40.53% | 807 | 4.98% |
1912 | 4,820 | 33.56% | 4,886 | 34.02% | 4,657 | 32.42% |
1908 | 9,320 | 56.93% | 6,096 | 37.24% | 955 | 5.83% |
1904 | 10,182 | 63.96% | 4,923 | 30.93% | 814 | 5.11% |
1900 | 9,948 | 59.52% | 6,224 | 37.24% | 541 | 3.24% |
1896 | 9,337 | 58.76% | 6,088 | 38.32% | 464 | 2.92% |
1892 | 7,973 | 52.78% | 5,753 | 38.09% | 1,379 | 9.13% |
1888 | 8,586 | 54.57% | 6,173 | 39.23% | 975 | 6.20% |
1884 | 7,463 | 50.32% | 6,065 | 40.90% | 1,302 | 8.78% |
Cattaraugus County is run by a
The legislators are elected independently by districts (while some also serve as mayors of the villages they represent, their status as mayors does not affect in any way their seats on the legislature and thus it is not a
All but one of those serving on the county council are Republicans, and only two years in the entire history of the county legislature (1992 to 1994) have seen the Democrats in the majority.[17] Howard VanRensselaer, Sr. of Randolph serves as chairman, and Andy Burr serves as vice-chairman. In 2023, the lone Democrat's seat was redistricted out of existence, prompting the local Democratic Party to withdraw from all county legislature races that year in protest.[18]
Cattaraugus County is entirely within the boundaries of the 148th
The county generally votes for Republicans in most statewide and national offices. For instance, in 2004
An emerging trend among Cattaraugus County's villages has been consolidation with their surrounding towns.
Additional facts
Two geological formations, both called "Rock City," have the appearance of a town laid out with streets. One is in
Cattaraugus County is considered part of
The sales tax in Cattaraugus County is 8% (4% from New York, 4% from the county).
A large Amish community is located in the western part of the county; with an estimated 2,500 residents, they constitute slightly under 3% of the county's population.[19] A portion of this community maintains an exceptionally older order that eschews indoor plumbing, which, combined with a small number of Seneca who still live on traditional subsistence, gives the county a high rate of homes without indoor plumbing compared to nearby counties.[20]
Media
Newspapers
- Salamanca Press (weekly, serving central and western Cattaraugus County)
- Olean Times Herald (daily, serving all of the western Twin Tiers)
- Olean Source (free weekly)
- Franklinville Mercury-Gazette (free weekly)
- The Villager (free weekly, based in Ellicottville)
- Randolph Register (monthly)
- Ellicottville Snowed In / The Summer Local (monthly)
- Gowanda—Silver Creek Pennysaver (weekly, published out of Fredonia)
- Pennysaver News (weekly, published by The Buffalo News, which is also distributed throughout the county)
Radio stations
- WPIG (95.7, Olean)
- WOLY (1450, translator on 107.1, Olean and 105.5 in Carrolton)
- WOLN (91.3, Olean, operated out of Buffalo)
- WQRS (98.3, Salamanca, operated out of Olean, transmitter in Carrollton)
- WGGO (1590, Salamanca, transmitter in Kill Buck, operated out of Williamsville)
- WOEN (1360, translator on 96.3, Olean)
- WMXO (101.5, translator on 101.1, Olean)
- WSBU (88.3, St. Bonaventure)
- WTWT(90.5, transmitter in Allegany, licensed to Bradford, PA, operated out of Russell, PA)
- WCOI (91.9, Ellicottville, operated by Family Life Networkout of Steuben County), broadcast return
WGWE previously operated from 2010 to 2021 out of Little Valley on 105.9. The station's license was later substantially altered to form the basis for WCOI.
WCOR previously operated from 2008 to 2021 out of Portville on 96.7. It has since been relicensed to Lewis Run, Pennsylvania and has been off-air since September 2021.
Television stations
- WWHC-LD(Ch. 20, Olean)
- WVTT-CD (Ch. 25, licensed to Olean, transmitter on Machias/Yorkshire town line)
- WBUO-LD(Ch. 30, licensed to Olean, transmitter in Ellicottville)
Education
A branch of
Geographical K-12 school districts include:[21]
- Allegany-Limestone Central School District
- Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School District
- Cuba-Rushford Central School District
- Ellicottville Central School District
- Forestville Central School District
- Franklinville Central School District
- Frewsburg Central School District
- Gowanda Central School District
- Hinsdale Central School District
- Olean City School District
- Pine Valley Central School District (South Dayton)
- Portville Central School District
- Randolph Central School District
- Salamanca City School District
- Springville-Griffith Institute Central School
- West Valley Central School District
- Yorkshire-Pioneer Central School District
Additionally Randolph Academy Union Free School District includes two institutions that care for children, with one of them being in the county.
Communities
Larger Settlements
# | Location | Population | Type | Sector |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Olean | 13,437 | City | Southeast |
2 | Salamanca
|
5,929 | City | Southwest |
3 | ‡Gowanda | 2,709 | Village | Northwest |
4 | St. Bonaventure | 2,044 | CDP | Southeast |
5 | Allegany
|
1,816 | Village | Southeast |
6 | Franklinville | 1,740 | Village | Northeast |
7 | Weston Mills | 1,472 | CDP/Hamlet | Southeast |
8 | ††Randolph | 1,286 | CDP/Hamlet | Southwest |
9 | Yorkshire
|
1,180 | CDP | Northeast |
10 | †Little Valley | 1,143 | Village | Northwest |
11 | Delevan | 1,089 | Village | Northeast |
12 | Portville | 1,014 | Village | Southeast |
13 | Cattaraugus | 1,002 | Village | Northwest |
14 | Lime Lake | 867 | CDP | Northeast |
15 | ††East Randolph | 620 | CDP/Hamlet | Southwest |
15 | South Dayton | 620 | Village | Northwest |
17 | West Valley | 518 | CDP | Northeast |
18 | Machias | 471 | CDP | Northeast |
19 | ††Perrysburg | 401 | CDP | Northwest |
20 | ††Limestone | 389 | CDP/Hamlet | Southeast |
21 | Ellicottville | 376 | Village | Northeast |
†† - Former Village
† - County Seat
‡ - Not Wholly in this county
*Note that data is only available for Salamanca and Olean.
Towns
- Allegany
- Ashford
- Carrollton
- Coldspring
- Conewango
- Dayton
- East Otto
- Elko (dissolved 1965)
- Ellicottville
- Farmersville
- Franklinville
- Freedom
- Great Valley
- Hinsdale
- Humphrey
- Ischua
- Leon
- Little Valley
- Lyndon
- Machias
- Mansfield
- Napoli
- New Albion
- Olean
- Otto
- Perrysburg
- Persia
- Portville
- Randolph
- Red House
- Salamanca
- South Valley
- Yorkshire
Hamlets
Indian reservations
- Allegany Reservation
- Cattaraugus Reservation
- Oil Springs Reservation
Notable people
- Bill Bergey, professional football player
- Governor Blacksnake, Seneca war chief and possibly the world's oldest man
- Ray Caldwell of Salamanca, MLB pitcher
- William R. Caseof Little Valley, founder of the eponymous knife company
- Anna Botsford Comstock, 1854–1930, artist, Cornell professor, leader of nature study movement
- Chuck Crist of Salamanca, professional football player
- Carlos L. Douglass, farmer and Wisconsin State Assemblyman
- Brian Dunkleman of Ellicottville, co-host of the first season of American Idol
- Ray Evans (1915–2007) of Salamanca, member of famous songwriting duo alongside Jay Livingston
- Ira Joe Fisher of Salamanca and Little Valley, poet and television weatherman at CBS
- James F. Hastings of Olean, retired former U.S. Congressman (served from 1969 to 1976)
- William C. Hayward (1847-1917), Iowa Secretary of State
- Marvin "Marv" Hubbard of Red House, professional football player
- Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- Riki Lindhome of Portville, actress and member of the satirical musical group "Garfunkel and Oates"
- Ted Marchibroda, NFL Head Coach of Baltimore Colts/Ravens, attended St. Bonaventure University
- Paul Owens (1924–2003) of Salamanca, professional baseball player, manager, and executive
- Terrence Pegulaof Allegany, multibillionaire natural gas tycoon and professional sports investor
- Kimberly Pressler of Franklinville, Miss USA 1999
- Isaac Seneca of Cattaraugus, professional football player
- Margaret Shulock of Franklinville, cartoonist, part of the ensemble behind the Six Chix comic strip
- Peter Tomarken (1942–2006) of Olean, host of Press Your Luck
- Lyman M. Ward, Union Army Brigadier General
- Louis Zamperini of Olean, Olympic distance runner and World War II prisoner of war
See also
- List of counties in New York
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Cattaraugus County, New York
References
- ^ a b "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Cattaraugus County, New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
- ^ "US Census 2020 Population Dataset Tables for New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "New York: Individual County Chronologies". New York Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- ^ "The Origins of New York State's County Names" (PDF). New York State Department of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
- ^ "Cattaraugus County Geology Trail".
- PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 8, 2010.
- ^ "Great Valley Airport (N56)" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
- ^ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Cattaraugus County, New York".
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ Herald, RICK MILLER, Olean Times (April 2018). "Longtime Cattaraugus County legislator Joseph K. Eade dies". oleantimesherald.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ MILLER, RICK (October 24, 2023). "Don't look for Democratic candidates on county legislature ballot". The Salamanca Press. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
- ^ Herald, RICK MILLER Olean Times (May 8, 2019). "Health officials worry about Cattaraugus County's Amish amidst U.S. measles outbreak". Olean Times Herald. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- ^ "1.6 million Americans don't have indoor plumbing. Here's where they live" Archived May 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, The Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 26, 2022. - Text list
Further reading
- Sullivan, James; Williams, Melvin E.; Conklin, Edwin P.; Fitzpatrick, Benedict, eds. (1927), "Chapter II. Cattaraugus County.", History of New York State, 1523–1927 (PDF), vol. 2, New York City, Chicago: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., p. 543-51, Wikidata Q114149636
External links
- Cattaraugus County CattCo.org
- Cattaraugus County at Curlie
- Cattaraugus County webpage
- Western Southern Tier information
- Cattaraugus historical links/information
- Summary early history of Cattaraugus County and its communities
- Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency
- Enchanted Mountains of Cattaraugus County (Tourism Site)
- Little Valley Area Chamber of Commerce