Angelica

History

Prior to European settlement, the Seneca name for the area was Ga-ne-o'-weh-ga-yat or "head of the stream". The area was first settled around 1802 at Angelica village. The town of Angelica was formed in 1805 from the town of Leicester in Livingston County, before Allegany County was formed. Angelica is the oldest town in Allegany County. The town hall is housed in the Old Allegany County Courthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Belvidere was also listed in 1972, and the Moses Van Campen House was listed in 2004.. In May 1796, Church accepted a mortgage on of land, a portion of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase in present-day Allegany County and Genesee County, New York, against a debt owed to him by his friend Robert Morris. After Morris failed to pay the mortgage, Church foreclosed, and his son Philip Schuyler Church acquired the land in May 1800. Philip traveled to take possession of the land, with his surveyor Moses Van Campen. A planned village was laid out with the plots and design to be reminiscent of Paris, France (a circular drive in the center, streets coming to that drive to form a star, and five churches situated around the circle). In the center of the circular drive is the village park. Philip named his planned village Angelica, after his mother. The historian John S. Minard wrote of the town's establishment in Allegany County and Its People (1896):"The town was formed by an act of the Legislature, passed Feb. 25, 1805, and described as "being in width twelve miles," just that of the Morris Reserve, and in length "from south to north extending thirty-four miles from the Pennsylvania line," taking in about two-thirds of the towns of Granger and Grove. It was taken from Leicester, and when]"Philip left to marry Anna Matilda…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.10%, is water. The Southern Tier Expressway (Interstate 86 and New York State Route 17) – passes through the town. Angelica is accessible from the highway at Exit 31, mile 109 *The Genesee River – flows northward through the southwest part of the town. *Angelica Creek – A tributary of the Genesee River flows through the town and village. *Bald Mountain – A prominent hill northeast of Angelica village.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,097
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,061
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,890
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,682
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,378
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  2,269
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,073
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,990

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2023-02-06
  1 km NE of West Seneca, New York
• M 2.6 — 2022-03-15
  5 km SSW of Warsaw, New York
• M 2.91 — 2009-06-05
  4 km SSE of Attica, New York
• M 2.71 — 2008-03-08
  5 km ENE of Clarence Center, New York
• M 2.6 — 2007-12-13
  7 km NW of Warsaw, New York