Editing Erie County, New York (section)

==History==

When counties were established by the English colonial authorities in the [[Province of New York]] in 1683, present-day Erie County was inhabited by the [[Iroquois]]. Significant colonization by [[White Americans]] did not begin until after the [[United States]] had gained independence with the end of the [[American Revolutionary War]] in 1783.<ref>https://brittlebooks.library.illinois.edu/brittlebooks_open/Books2009-06/johncr0001cenhis/johncr0001cenhis.pdf</ref> The U.S. forced the Iroquois to cede most of their lands, as many had been allies of the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] during the conflict.

About 1800, the [[Holland Land Company]], formed by American businessmen and their Dutch associates, extinguished aboriginal claims by purchasing the land from New York, acquired the title to the territory of what are today the eight westernmost counties of New York, surveyed their holdings, established towns and began selling lots to individuals. The state was eager to attract settlers and have homesteads and businesses developed. At this time, all of western New York was included in [[Ontario County, New York|Ontario County]].

As the population increased, the state legislature created [[Genesee County, New York|Genesee County]] in 1802 out of part of Ontario County. In 1808, Niagara County was created out of Genesee County. In 1821, Erie County was created out of Niagara County, encompassing all the land between [[Tonawanda Creek]] and [[Cattaraugus Creek]].<ref>''The Burned-Over District: Evolution of County Boundaries.'' [http://olivercowdery.com/census/BurnEvlv.htm Oliver Cowdery Home Page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129121521/http://olivercowdery.com/census/BurnEvlv.htm |date=January 29, 2009 }}, accessed December 7, 2008.</ref> The first towns formed in present-day Erie County were the [[Town of Clarence]] and the [[Willink, New York|Town of Willink]]. Clarence and Willink comprised the northern and southern portions of Erie county, respectively. Clarence is still a distinct town, but Willink was quickly subdivided into other towns. When Erie County was established in 1821, it consisted of the towns of Amherst, Aurora, Boston, Clarence, Collins, Concord, Eden, Evans, Hamburg, Holland, Sardinia and Wales.

The county has a number of houses and other properties listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Erie County, New York]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>

In 1861, the hamlet of [[Town Line, New York|Town Line]] in the Town of [[Lancaster, New York|Lancaster]] voted 85–40 to secede from the Union.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/news/civil-war-secession-new-york-town |title=This New York Village Seceded from the Union...for 85 Years |last=Klein |first=Christopher |date=October 18, 2018 |publisher=[[History (American TV channel)]] |access-date=March 29, 2020 |archive-date=March 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329232709/https://www.history.com/news/civil-war-secession-new-york-town |url-status=live }}</ref> Town Line never sought admission into the [[Confederate States of America]] and there is no evidence that men from the community ever fought for the Confederacy. Some reporting from that time indicates the vote was a joke. On January 24, 1946, as part of a nationally reported event, Town Line voted to officially return to the Union after 85 years of Union secession.<ref name=bn9711>{{cite news
 |last        = Kwiatkowski
 |first       = Jane
 |date        = September 7, 2011
|newspaper   = [[The Buffalo News]]
 |url         = http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article547531.ece
 |title       = Secessionist hamlet takes stroll down memory lane; Hamlet of Town Line marks its unique role in the Confederacy
 |access-date = September 7, 2012
|url-status     = bot: unknown
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20120730041300/http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article547531.ece
 |archive-date = July 30, 2012
}}</ref>