Editing Angola, New York (section)

==History==
The community was previously called "Evans Station". ''Circa'' 1854 or 1855, the earliest recorded reference to Angola is in an 1824 publication, when it was one of 3 townships divided from Collin’s. A Post Office was established there in 1823 bearing the name "Angola".<ref> Horatio Gates Spafford. A Gazetteer of the State of New-York: Embracing an Ample Survey and Description of its Counties, Towns, Cities, Villages, Canals, Mountains, Lakes, Rivers, Creeks, and Natural Topography . . . Albany: Published by B. D. Packard, . . . . and by the Author, at Troy, 1824. </ref> The first postmaster was John H. Andrus, who later became county clerk. The new name was apparently chosen because, at that time, local residents (primarily [[Quakers]]) were supporting missionary efforts in the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] colony of [[Portuguese Angola|Angola]] in Africa. The economy of the village improved with the arrival of a railroad line in 1852.

The Village of Angola was incorporated in 1873. In June 2004, an attempt to dissolve the village was thwarted by a judicial ruling that the petitions for a referendum were invalid. In 2007, the village agreed to dissolve its police department and contract with the Town of Evans for police services. Angola officers would be hired by Evans.

In February 2008, local officials rejected the urging of local politician [[Kevin Gaughan]] to reduce the size of the village board, stating that no financial savings would result. Gaughan, a proponent of reducing the number of government entities in Erie County, is also a proponent of metro government. The [[United States Post Office (Angola, New York)|US Post Office—Angola]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1988.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

The Friends of the Village of Angola is a non-profit group of volunteer members whose purpose is to bring more foot traffic to the village. They work to improve and maintain many behind-the-scenes things in Angola. The Friends are responsible for organizing  the annual Christmas in the Village, funded by the annual summer Drifters Car Cruise and Donations from individuals and local businesses.

===Angola Horror train wreck===
{{main|Angola Horror}}
On December 18, 1867, just after 3&nbsp;pm, the last coach of the Buffalo-bound ''New York Express'' of the [[Lake Shore and Michigan Southern]] railway derailed. It plunged off a truss bridge into Big Sister Creek just after passing Angola. The next car was also pulled from the track and rolled down the far embankment. Stoves set both coaches on fire. Sixty-nine people were killed, with an additional forty being injured.