PhotosLocation


Cattaraugus_County,_New_York Latitude and Longitude:

42°14′N 78°41′W / 42.24°N 78.68°W / 42.24; -78.68
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

42°14′N 78°41′W / 42.24°N 78.68°W / 42.24; -78.68

Cattaraugus County
Ellicottville Town Hall
Flag of Cattaraugus County
Official seal of Cattaraugus County
Map of New York highlighting Cattaraugus County
Location within the U.S. state of New York
Map of the United States highlighting New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°13′49″N 78°38′18″W / 42.230316°N 78.638206°W / 42.230316; -78.638206
Country United States
State  New York
FoundedMarch 28, 1817
Seat Little Valley
Largest city Olean
Area
 • Total1,322 sq mi (3,420 km2)
 • Land1,308 sq mi (3,390 km2)
 • Water14 sq mi (40 km2)  1.1%
Population
 ( 2020)
 • Total77,042 Decrease
 • Density58.9/sq mi (22.7/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 ( Eastern)
 • Summer ( DST) UTC−4 ( EDT)
Congressional district 23rd
Website www.cattco.org

Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. [1] [2] The county seat is Little Valley. [3] The county was created in 1808 and later organized in 1817. [4]

Cattaraugus County comprises the Olean, NY Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Buffalo- Cheektowaga-Olean, NY Combined Statistical Area. Within its boundaries are the Allegany Indian Reservation of the Seneca Nation of New York, and the Allegany State Park. The Allegheny River runs through the county.

History

Entering Cattaraugus County on Interstate 86

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 colonial era, it was claimed by at least three Territories of the United States: New York Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the Province of Pennsylvania, each of which extended their colonial claims to the west until after the Revolutionary War.

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 Indian Reserve established in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix by the British; it was intended to be reserved for Native Americans and was ruled off-limits to European settlement.

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.

Ontario County was split from Montgomery County in 1789 as a result of the establishment of the Morris Reserve. In turn, Genesee County was split from Ontario County in 1802 as a result of the Holland Purchase. This period was the beginning of more significant European-American settlement of this western territory. Shortly afterward, Genesee County was reduced in 1806 by the creation of Allegany 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 Olean. After 1860, in response to the construction of a railroad (where the Pat McGee Trail is now), the county seat was moved to Little Valley.

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 U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,322 square miles (3,420 km2), of which 1,308 square miles (3,390 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36 km2) (1.1%) is water. [6]

Cattaraugus County is in the southwestern part of the state, immediately north of the Pennsylvania border, bordering the counties of McKean County, Pennsylvania and Warren County, Pennsylvania. The southern part of Cattaraugus County is the only area of western New York that was not covered by the last ice age glaciation. It is noticeably more rugged than neighboring areas that had peaks rounded and valleys filled by the glacier. The entire area is a dissected plateau of Pennsylvanian and Mississippian age, but appears mountainous to the casual observer. It is this string of mountain-like peaks that gives the county its promotional name, the Enchanted Mountains. [7]

The plateau is an extension of the Allegany Plateau from nearby Pennsylvania. Southern Cattaraugus County is part of the same oil field, and petroleum was formerly a resource of the area. It is now mostly played out, but natural gas continues to be extracted.

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

Lakes

Rivers and streams

Adjacent counties

Transportation

Major highways

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 Coach USA, which runs through the county on its twice-daily Jamestown to Olean route (with connections to Buffalo and New York City). Trailways offers a once-daily north-to-south run between Buffalo and points south in Pennsylvania.

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

Historical population
Census Pop.Note
18204,090
183016,724308.9%
184028,87272.6%
185038,95034.9%
186043,88612.7%
187043,9090.1%
188055,80627.1%
189060,8669.1%
190065,6437.8%
191065,9190.4%
192071,3238.2%
193072,3981.5%
194072,6520.4%
195077,9017.2%
196080,1872.9%
197081,6661.8%
198085,6974.9%
199084,234−1.7%
200083,955−0.3%
201080,343−4.3%
202077,042−4.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [10]
1790-1960 [11] 1900-1990 [12]
1990-2000 [13] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 Census

Cattaraugus County Racial Composition [14]
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%
Hispanic or Latino 1,615 2.09%

2000 Census

As of the census [15] of 2000, there were 83,955 people, 32,023 households, and 21,647 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile (25 people/km2). There were 39,839 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile (12/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.63% White, 1.06% Black or African American, 2.60% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. 0.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 26.8% were of German, 13.2% Irish, 11.3% English, 9.1% Polish, 8.2% Italian and 7.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.2% spoke English and 1.4% Spanish as their first language.

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 per capita income for the county was $15,959. About 10.00% of families and 13.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 9.90% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

United States presidential election results for Cattaraugus County, New York [16]
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 unicameral legislature who appoint a county "administrator". This individual serves many executive duties of a county executive but has no legislative veto power and is not elected.

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 Board of Supervisors). The county uses a system of proportional representation in which each legislator's vote is weighted to the number of persons in their district; each district can have between one and three legislators. This system was imposed in the 1960s in the wake of the one man, one vote federal court rulings of the era; before this, the county operated under a true board of supervisors model. There are currently 17 members of the legislature with 16 Republicans and 1 Democrat. Each legislator serves a four-year term, with a limit of three terms.

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 New York State Assembly District (served currently by Joseph Giglio), the 57th New York State Senate District served currently by George Borrello, and the U.S. House of Representatives 23rd district represented by Nick Langworthy. In the last of these, Cattaraugus County's votes proved pivotal in the 2008 elections: incumbent Republican Randy Kuhl, who had strongly carried the county in 2004 and 2006, lost Cattaraugus County to Democrat Eric Massa in the 2008 elections.

The county generally votes for Republicans in most statewide and national offices. For instance, in 2004 George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in Cattaraugus County by a 60–40 margin, although Bill Clinton won Cattaraugus County very narrowly in 1996. In 2006, the county narrowly chose Eliot Spitzer over John Faso by a margin of about 1 percent in the governor's race, and Hillary Clinton defeated John Spencer in the county by a 10 percentage point margin. In all other positions up for office in 2006, Republicans won all congressional and state legislature representatives. In 2008, the county voted for the Republican presidential candidate, with John McCain defeating Barack Obama by a 55-44% margin. In 2010, Republican Carl Paladino carried Cattaraugus County over Democrat (and eventual winner) Andrew Cuomo 65% to 31%. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Chuck Schumer, both incumbent Democrats, carried the county by 51% to 46% and 54% to 43% margins, respectively. The county regularly has high turnout for presidential elections, with upwards of 70 percent of eligible voters typically voting in the county. Only three Democrats have carried the county since 1900, with Democrats winning in 1912, 1964, and 1996.

An emerging trend among Cattaraugus County's villages has been consolidation with their surrounding towns. Limestone voters approved dissolution into the Town of Carrollton in September 2009; that took effect at the beginning of 2011. On March 18, 2010, three other villages ( East Randolph, Randolph and Perrysburg) followed suit and approved dissolution into their surrounding towns ( Town of Randolph for the first two, and Town of Perrysburg for the third); these three villages dissolved at the beginning of 2012.

Additional facts

Two geological formations, both called "Rock City," have the appearance of a town laid out with streets. One is in Olean and the other is in Little Valley.

Olean is the largest city in the county and is the major center for business. Ski country runs through Cattaraugus County; two ski resorts, popular with Canadians, lie in the town of Ellicottville: Holiday Valley Resort and HoliMont; Cattaraugus County once had numerous ski resorts within its bounds, scattered throughout the county, before contracting into Ellicottville alone by 1980. In addition, several snowmobile trails cross the county, including the Pat McGee Trail, a flagship for the county's trail system, and the North Country Trail.

Cattaraugus County is considered part of Appalachia, as well as Western New York, upstate New York, the Southern Tier, the Twin Tiers and the Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean Combined Statistical Area. As a result of being at a geographic crossroads, the people of Cattaraugus County speak a variety of accents, ranging from mild variants of Appalachian English to Inland Northern American English, with a handful of people speaking in the more loud and nasal Buffalo English.

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 Network out 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 Jamestown Community College, in Olean provides higher education for residents. Olean Business Institute provided specialized education and is also in Olean; it closed in 2013 due to financial and enrollment declines. Jamestown Business College operates a satellite campus in Salamanca. Cornplanter College, a tribally controlled college, opened in 2014 in Salamanca. St. Bonaventure University is located in its own census-designated place just west of Olean.

Geographical K-12 school districts include: [21]

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

Cattaraugus County divisions
# 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

Hamlets

Indian reservations

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Cattaraugus County, New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  2. ^ "US Census 2020 Population Dataset Tables for New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  7. ^ "Cattaraugus County Geology Trail".
  8. ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for N56 PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 8 April 2010.
  9. ^ "Great Valley Airport (N56)" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012.
  10. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  11. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Cattaraugus County, New York".
  15. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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)
  18. ^ MILLER, RICK (October 24, 2023). "Don't look for Democratic candidates on county legislature ballot". The Salamanca Press. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "1.6 million Americans don't have indoor plumbing. Here's where they live" Archived 2014-05-03 at the Wayback Machine, The Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  21. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cattaraugus County, NY" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 26, 2022. - Text list

Further reading

External links