Cattaraugus

History

In 1828, the brothers Calvin and Arad Rich settled in the hills surrounding the area. Cattaraugus developed most after the arrival of the Erie Railroad in 1851. Shortly after, the village became a boomtown growing to 1,500 inhabitants and even being visited by US President Millard Fillmore. By 1860 the township boasted 305 dwellings, 1557 oxen, 383 horses, and 8 school districts with 649 children in school. In the same year, it is well documented Abraham Lincoln had come to visit. Other prominent visitors include US Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt. As well as Mark Twain who then named his housecat “Cattaraugus" The village was incorporated in 1882. Its name derives from Cattaraugus Creek. The Cattaraugus Village Commercial Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

Geography

Cattaraugus is located in the northern part of the town of New Albion at (42.330044, -78.865673). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. NY Route 353 and Skinner Hollow pass through the village. Cattaraugus County Route 12 (which follows the briefly designated NY 264 of the 1930s), the only county route in the county to enter a village, enters the village from the northeast and terminates within the village. The village is built primarily on a hillside; the southwestern portion of the village (around Route 353) is on the highest ground, while a series of side streets run downhill from Route 353 heading northeast. Only two of the village's streets run uphill from Route 353: Rumsey Street (the easternmost tip of Waite Hollow Road) on the village's southern boundary and West Street at the peak of the hill. Since 2013, the Seneca Transit System has provided public bus service to the village. The New York and Lake Erie Railroad terminates at a Setterstix plant in Cattaraugus after the portion of the railway southeast of Cattaraugus was decommissioned in the early 1990s. The rail service has been disrupted by floods and landslides since the late 2000s. The right-of-way of the portion heading southeast from Cattaraugus is now the Pat McGee Trail, which was established in 2005.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,426
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,300
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,271
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  1,242
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,183
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,097
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,063
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,029

Largest nearby schools

• CATTARAUGUS-LITTLE VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · CATTARAUGUS · 334 students · 9:1 ratio
• CATTARAUGUS-LITTLE VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · CATTARAUGUS · 255 students · 8.8:1 ratio
• CATTARAUGUS-LITTLE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
  High · CATTARAUGUS · 251 students · 10.5:1 ratio

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
• M 2.93 — 2004-06-16
  11 km NNW of Angola on the Lake, New York