Elba

History

The area was first settled in 1803. The town of Elba was established in 1820, from a partition of the town of Batavia. In 1842, part of Elba was used to form the town of Oakfield. In 1884, the community of Elba set itself off from the town by incorporating as a village. In 1948, Harry S. Truman in an off handed comment referred to Elba as "Smell-ba" during his "Whistle-stop" tour because of the smell coming from the muck fields during the onion growing season. It was later proven as a fact in 1949 that the Elba muck fields do produce a distinctive odor. On July 27, 1949, Secretary of Agriculture Charles F. Brannan responded a team to the farming community and found that the soil samples, combined with the air quality, and wind breakage created a distinctive smell in the community.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.7 square miles (92.5 km2), all land. The north town line is the border of Orleans County (town of Barre). Part of the Alabama Swamp is in the northwest corner of the town, through which flows Oak Orchard Creek. North-South NYS 98 and east-west NYS 262 intersect in Elba village. USGS maps of the area name the section including Ridge Road as "Bulgary Ridge". Prior to more recent maps, in 1897 USGS maps, the area was called "Vulgary". Torrey Farms, one of the largest farms in New York, is located in the town of Elba.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  7,287
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,231
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  6,917
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  6,468
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,402
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  6,146
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,783
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,463

Largest nearby schools

• BATAVIA HIGH SCHOOL
  High · BATAVIA · 645 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• BATAVIA MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · BATAVIA · 595 students · 8.3:1 ratio
• JOHN KENNEDY SCHOOL
  Elementary · BATAVIA · 481 students · 9.4:1 ratio
• BYRON-BERGEN JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · BERGEN · 434 students · 9:1 ratio
• JACKSON SCHOOL
  Elementary · BATAVIA · 418 students · 9.5:1 ratio
• BYRON-BERGEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · BERGEN · 410 students · 10.8:1 ratio
• OAKFIELD-ALABAMA MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL
  High · OAKFIELD · 385 students · 8.4:1 ratio
• OAKFIELD-ALABAMA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · OAKFIELD · 351 students · 9.2:1 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 2.6 — 2020-03-29
  11 km N of Lyndonville, New York
• M 3 — 2018-05-08
  14 km SSE of Ajax, Canada
• M 2.52 — 2017-07-11
  11 km NNW of Barker, New York
• M 2.46 — 2014-02-13
  34 km N of Lyndonville, New York