Editing Williamson, New York (section)

==Prohibition never ended==
On January 16, 1920, Williamson became "dry" along with the rest of the United States when the [[Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eighteenth Amendment]] to the [[Constitution of the United States]] took effect. Unlike the rest of the country, however, [[Prohibition]] was not completely repealed in Williamson in 1933; this didn't occur until more than six decades later, in 1996.<ref>Kristin Star, [https://web.archive.org/web/20060117225110/http://www.co.wayne.ny.us/departments/historian/HoffmanEssays/Essays01-13.pdf ''Standing Up to King Alcohol: The Temperance Movement of Wayne County'', 2001], Hoffman Essays. Archive of 
http://www.co.wayne.ny.us/departments/historian/HoffmanEssays/Essays01-13.pdf last accessed July 30, 2021.</ref> While consumption of [[alcoholic beverages]] in private homes was permitted in Williamson after the [[Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-first Amendment]] ended Prohibition, the sales of such beverages were illegal within the town.

In 1996 residents of the town voted to liberalize the laws and the sales of [[wine cooler]]s and [[beer]] were permitted in the town's [[grocery stores]]. Prior to this change, town residents purchased these beverages in neighboring towns, such as [[Sodus (town), New York|Sodus]] and [[Ontario, New York|Ontario]]. It wasn't until after the turn of the century, in 2004, that voters again loosened the regulations and allowed alcohol service in restaurants, as well as permitting [[winery]] licenses for farms and the opening of [[liquor store]]s. [[bar (establishment)|Bars]] and [[taverns]] were banned until 2004.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802E3DB1E3DF932A35752C1A9629C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fS%2fSales "Dry Town Puts Drink To A Vote"], ''[[The New York Times]]''. November 1, 2004. Last accessed October 31, 2006.</ref> Today, the town only bans beer sales at race tracks, outdoor athletic fields and sports stadia where admission is charged.<ref name="Dry Towns PDF">Boyle, Daniel; {{cite web|url= http://www.sla.ny.gov/system/files/drytowns.pdf |title=List of Dry and Partially Dry towns }}, [[New York State Liquor Authority]]; September 19, 2007; retrieved March 22, 2012.</ref>