Erie County, New York

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York State. As of the 2020 census, the population was 954,236.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> However, in the 2023 census, the Erie County population was 946,147.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Buffalo, which makes up about 28% of the county's population.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Both the county and Lake Erie were named for the regional Iroquoian language-speaking Erie tribe of Native Americans, who lived in the area before 1654. They were later pushed out by the more powerful Iroquoian nations tribes. The county is part of the Western New York region of the state.

Erie County, along with its northern neighbor Niagara County, makes up the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area, the second largest in the State of New York behind New York City. The county's southern part is known as the Southtowns.<ref name="WNY">Template:Cite book</ref> The county has seen one of the highest growth rates of any county in the State of New York from the 2010 to 2020 census, although, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erie County has faced some population decline,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> due to the harsh economic hit many businesses dealt with, leaving them to either close down completely or move to a larger city.

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 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.

As the population increased, the state legislature created 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. Oliver Cowdery Home Page Template:Webarchive, accessed December 7, 2008.</ref> The first towns formed in present-day Erie County were the Town of Clarence and the 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">Template:NRISref</ref>

In 1861, the hamlet of Town Line in the Town of Lancaster voted 85–40 to secede from the Union.<ref>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite news</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (85%) is land and Template:Convert (15%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Erie County is in the western portion of upstate New York, bordering on the lake of the same name. Part of the industrial area that has included Buffalo, it is the most populous county in upstate New York outside of the New York City metropolitan area. The county also lies on the international border between the United States and Canada, bordering the Province of Ontario.

The northern border of the county is Tonawanda Creek. Part of the southern border is Cattaraugus Creek. Other major streams include Buffalo Creek (Buffalo River), Cayuga Creek, Cazenovia Creek, Scajaquada Creek, Eighteen Mile Creek and Ellicott Creek. The county's northern half, including Buffalo and its suburbs, is known as the Northtowns and is relatively flat and rises gently up from the lake. The southern half, known as the Southtowns,<ref name=WNY/> is much hillier. It has the northwesternmost foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The highest elevation in the county is a hill in the Town of Sardinia that tops out at around Template:Convert above sea level. The lowest ground is about Template:Convert, on Grand Island at the Niagara River. The Onondaga Escarpment runs through the northern part of Erie County.

Amherst State Park, Town of Amherst
Beaver Island State Park, Town of Grand Island
Buckhorn Island State Park, Town of Grand Island
Buffalo Harbor State Park, City of Buffalo
Evangola State Park, Towns of Brant and Evans
Great Baehre Swamp Wildlife Management Area, Town of Amherst
Hampton Brook Woods Wildlife Management Area, Village of Hamburg
Knox Farm State Park, Town of East Aurora
Motor Island Wildlife Management Area, Town of Grand Island
Onondaga Escarpment Unique Area, Town of Akron
Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, Town of Cheektowaga
Spicer Creek Wildlife Management Area, Town of Grand Island
Strawberry Island State Park, Town of Townawanda
Tillman Road Wildlife Management Area, Town of Clarence
Woodlawn Beach State Park, Town of Hamburg
Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area, Town of Collins

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Demographics

Template:US Census population As of the 2023,<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 954,236 people living in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 438,747 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 77.8 White, 13.9% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 5.0% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.4% from other races and 5.4% from two or more races. 6.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.6% were of German, 17.2% Polish, 14.9% Italian, 11.7% Irish and 5.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.1% spoke English, 3% Spanish and 1.6% Polish as their first language.

File:ErieCountyPopulation 2.jpg

Erie County population<ref name="empire.state.ny.us">Template:Cite web</ref>

There were 380,873 households, out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 36.1% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% older than 65. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,567 and the median income for a family was $49,490. Males had a median income of $38,703 versus $26,510 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,357. About 9.2% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under 18 and 7.8% of those older than 65.

2020 census

Erie County racial composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	678,236	71%
Black or African American (NH)	129,874	13.6%
Native American (NH)	4,667	0.5%
Asian (NH)	46,090	4.83%
Pacific Islander (NH)	199	0.02%
Other/mixed (NH)	35,512	3.72%
Hispanic or Latino	59,658	6.25%

County government and politics

Prior to 1936, Erie County predominantly backed Republican Party candidates, with only four Democratic Party candidates winning the county in a presidential election - James Buchanan in 1856, George B. McClellan in 1864, Grover Cleveland in 1892 and Woodrow Wilson in 1912. However, starting with the 1936 election, it has turned predominantly Democratic since then, with only two Republicans carrying the county in a presidential election-- Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956 and Richard Nixon in 1972, with Nixon being the most recent. In 2016, like many other counties in the Rust Belt, Donald Trump expanded the Republican vote share thanks to his appeal to working-class whites and Ethnic-Catholic voters, keeping the margin in single digits for the first time since 1984. Four years later, in 2020, Joe Biden won 267,270 votes in Erie County, more than Barack Obama in 2008. Biden's margin of victory, however, was smaller than Obama's 2008 victory within the county and Trump's margin, though declining, was still higher than any Republican since 1988 (aside from his 2016 margin).

Erie County executives

Name	Party	Term
Edward C. Rath	Republican	1962–1969
B. John Tutuska	Republican	1969–1971
Edward Regan	Republican	1972–1978
Ed Rutkowski	Republican	1979–1987
Dennis Gorski	Democratic	1988–1999
Joel Giambra	Republican	2000–2007
Chris Collins	Republican	2008–2011
Mark Poloncarz	Democratic	2012–Present

Elected officials

Office	Name	Party	Hometown
County Executive	Mark Poloncarz	Democratic	Buffalo
County Comptroller	Kevin R. Hardwick	Democratic	Tonawanda
County Clerk	Mickey Kearns	Republican	Buffalo
District Attorney	John J. Flynn	Democratic	Buffalo
County Sheriff	John C. Garcia	Republican	Buffalo

County legislature

As of 2024, there are seven Democrats, three Republicans, and one Conservative in the county legislature.

District	Title	Name	Party	Hometown
1<ref>https://www2.erie.gov/johnson/</ref>		Howard Johnson	Democratic	Buffalo
2<ref>https://www2.erie.gov/baskin/</ref>	Chairwoman	April McCants-Baskin	Democratic	Buffalo
3<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>		Michael Kooshoian	Democratic	Kenmore
4<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>		John Bargnesi	Democratic	Town of Tonawanda
5<ref>https://www2.erie.gov/vinal/</ref>		Jeanne Vinal	Democratic	Amherst
6<ref>https://www2.erie.gov/rath/</ref> Template:Webarchive		Christopher D. Greene	Republican	Clarence
7<ref>https://www2.erie.gov/meyers/</ref>	Majority Leader	Timothy J. Meyers	Democratic	Cheektowaga
8<ref>https://www2.erie.gov/todaro/</ref>		Frank J. Todaro	Republican	Lancaster
9<ref>https://www2.erie.gov/gilmour/</ref>		John Gilmour	Democratic	Hamburg
10<ref>https://www4.erie.gov/malczewski/</ref>		James Malczewski	Conservative	Elma
11<ref>https://www4.erie.gov/mills/</ref>	Minority Leader	John J. Mills	Republican	Orchard Park

Education

School districts

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School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

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"Special act" school districts

Randolph Academy Union Free School District - In 2011 it took the territory of another special act district, Hopevale Union Free School District<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, some parts of this county were not in a defined school district, with some undefined land and some undefined water.<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

Higher education

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Attractions and recreation

Erie County is home to three professional teams—the NFL's Buffalo Bills, the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and the NLL's Buffalo Bandits, along with Division I's Buffalo Bulls and MILB's Buffalo Bisons. The city of Buffalo also features the Buffalo Zoo, The Buffalo History Museum, Burchfield-Penney Art Center and Albright-Knox Art Gallery (all located within a mile of each other in the Delaware Park System), Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens and Buffalo Museum of Science, the Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House Complex in addition to tourist districts such as Canalside and Larkinville. The Erie County Fair, held every August in the Town of Hamburg from 1820 to 2024 (the 2020 event, like much everything else across the country, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), is one of the largest county fairs in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry

The Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry was established in 1925 with four parks spanning Template:Convert. As of 2003, the county managed 38 properties, totaling approximately Template:Convert of land. Management objectives include providing and maintaining recreational space and the conservation of the county's natural and historic resources.<ref name="ECParkMasterPlan_summary">Template:Cite book</ref> A 2003 Master Plan identified several broad categories of parks operated by the county, including heritage parks, waterfront parks, conservation parks, special purpose parks and forest management areas.<ref name=ECParkMasterPlan_summary/>

Heritage parks

File:Eternal flame falls 7252.jpg

Eternal Flame Falls in Chestnut Ridge Park

Erie County's heritage parks include the five original county parks that were established during the 1920s and 1930s. These parks are examples of multiple-use sites with significant scenic, natural and historic features. Each park has unique man-made structures of historical character, many constructed as part of the Works Progress Administration movement in the 1930s.<ref name="ECParkMasterPlan">Template:Cite book</ref>

Akron Falls Park (established in 1933, acquired by Erie County in 1947)
Chestnut Ridge Park (established by Erie County in 1926)
Como Lake Park (established in 1923, acquired by Erie County in 1926)
Ellicott Creek Park (established by Erie County in 1926)
Emery Park (established by Erie County in 1925)

Waterfront parks

Waterfront parks include the significant scenic sites and recreational trail systems along the county's Lake Erie shoreline.<ref name=ECParkMasterPlan/>

Bennett Beach Park
Isle View Park
Riverwalk Park
Wendt Beach Park

Conservation parks

File:Scobey Power Plant and Dam 1.jpg

View of the Scoby Dam at Scoby Dam Park

These largely-undeveloped parks are managed primarily for conservation of the natural environment and passive nature-based outdoor recreation activities. These lands are intended to generally remain in a natural state.<ref name=ECParkMasterPlan/>

Boston Forest
Eighteen Mile Creek Park
Franklin Gulf Park
Scoby Dam Park
Sgt. Mark A. Rademacher Memorial Park (commonly known as Hunters Creek Park)

Special purpose parks

Special purpose parks have unique characteristics that provide specific recreational functions within the county's park system.<ref name=ECParkMasterPlan/>

Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens
Elma Meadows Golf Course
Grover Cleveland Golf Course
Sprague Brook Park

Forest management areas

Forest management areas are managed by the Erie County Bureau of Forestry, which was established in 1927. These areas include several thousand acres of mostly-coniferous plantation style forest, much of which was planted on abandoned farmland by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. These areas are located mostly in the rural southern portion of the county.<ref name="ECFB">Template:Cite web</ref> These lands have limited recreation potential, mostly in the form of trails. Management of these lands is focused on natural resource conservation, in addition to potential commercial resource extraction of timber products or maple syrup.<ref name=ECParkMasterPlan/><ref name="ECFB"/>

Communities


#	Location	Population (2010)	Type	Area
1	†Buffalo	278,349	City	Greater Buffalo
2	Cheektowaga	75,178	CDP	Greater Buffalo
3	Tonawanda	58,144	CDP	Greater Buffalo
4	West Seneca	44,711	CDP	Greater Buffalo
5	Lackawanna	19,949	City	Greater Buffalo
6	Kenmore	15,423	Village	Greater Buffalo
7	Depew	15,303	Village	Greater Buffalo
8	Tonawanda	15,130	City	Greater Buffalo
9	Eggertsville	15,019	CDP	Greater Buffalo
10	Lancaster	10,352	Village	Greater Buffalo
11	Hamburg	9,409	Village	Greater Buffalo
12	East Aurora	6,236	Village	Greater Buffalo
13	Harris Hill	5,508	CDP	Greater Buffalo
14	Williamsville	5,300	Village	Greater Buffalo
15	Grandyle Village	4,629	CDP	Greater Buffalo
16	Springville	4,296	Village	Southern
17	Lake Erie Beach	3,872	CDP	Southern
18	Sloan	3,661	Village	Greater Buffalo
19	Eden	3,516	CDP	Southern
20	Orchard Park	3,246	Village	Greater Buffalo
21	Wanakah	3,199	CDP	Greater Buffalo
22	Akron	2,868	Village	Northeast
23	‡Gowanda	2,709	Village	Southern
24	Clarence	2,646	CDP	Greater Buffalo
25	Alden	2,605	Village	Northeast
26	Elma Center	2,571	CDP	Greater Buffalo
27	Blasdell	2,553	Village	Greater Buffalo
28	North Boston	2,521	CDP	Southern
29	Town Line	2,367	CDP	Northeast
30	Angola	2,127	Village	Southern
31	Billington Heights	1,685	CDP	Greater Buffalo
32	Angola on the Lake	1,675	CDP	Southern
33	North Collins	1,232	Village	Southern
34	Holland	1,206	CDP	Southern
35	Farnham	386	Village	Southern
-	Highland-on-the-Lake	N/A	CDP	Southern
-	University at Buffalo	N/A	CDP	Buffalo