Alfred

History

"The Seneca Indians were the original owners of this land, but following the American victory in the American Revolutionary War, "all foreign claims of ownership were extinguished, and the power of the Indian Confederacy was broken... but New York and Massachusetts each claimed ownership under conflicting patents. In 1786 New York conceded the lands to Massachusetts but retained the sovereignty." Ownership of the land changed hands several times until 1791, when "most of the lands of Alfred were sold to the settlers at from $2 to $4 per acre." "The earliest settlers followed Indian trails, the chief one leading from Fort Niagara to and down the Canisteo, Chemung and Susquehanna rivers. This passed near the northeastern corner of Alfred and had become well worn by war parties during the Revolution. Settlers from the far east might come by Albany, and the Schoharie and Susquehanna valleys or by Schenectady, Utica, Geneva and Bath. Whatever way they chose the roads were mostly bridgeless and of the most primitive kind, making travel tedious and difficult. From Hornellsville westward for many years the only roads were little more than wood paths marked by 'blazed trees'." "The naming of Alfred has traditionally been attributed to Alfred the Great. That attribution may never be definitively verified because there appears to be no extant document from the period when the town was named that ties it to King Alfred – i.e., no town, county, or state record regarding the source of the name. Despite that missing documentation—There is, however, evidence in support of the legend, and there are no records that point to any other source for the name. Nineteenth-century accounts do cite Alfred the Great as the source. In addition, there was no early settler named Alfred (first or…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 31.6 square miles (81.8 km2), of which 31.5 square miles (81.7 km2) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km2) (0.19%) is water. New York State Route 244 passes across the town and terminates at New York State Route 21 near Alfred Station. County roads 10, 11, 12 and 42 pass through the Town of Alfred. There is a small stream known as Canacadea Creek, that flows throughout the year from south to north. This stream flows to the Canisteo River, which is a tributary to the Susquehanna River watershed. The topography is steep hill country as it is part of the Allegheny Plateau, being the northern part of the Appalachian Mountain chain. This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Alfred has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,543
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,460
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,390
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,388
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  1,268
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,100
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,087
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,015

Largest nearby schools

• ALFRED-ALMOND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · ALMOND · 279 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• ALFRED-ALMOND JUNIOR-SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · ALMOND · 272 students · 9.4:1 ratio
• ANDOVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Other · ANDOVER · 249 students · 13.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2022-03-15
  5 km SSW of Warsaw, New York
• M 2.6 — 2018-04-05
  24 km WSW of Liberty, Pennsylvania
• M 2.91 — 2009-06-05
  4 km SSE of Attica, New York
• M 2.6 — 2007-12-13
  7 km NW of Warsaw, New York