Cattaraugus County, New York

Cattaraugus County, often called Catt County, is a place in Western New York that touches the border with Pennsylvania. According to the United States 2020 census, about 77,042 people live there. The main town, called the county seat, is Little Valley. This area was created in 1808 and began operating in 1817, making it part of the beautiful Western New York region.

The county includes the Olean, NY area, which is a smaller part of the bigger Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY area. Inside Cattaraugus County, you can find special places like the Allegany Indian Reservation belonging to the Seneca Nation of New York, and the large Allegany State Park. The Allegheny River flows through the county, adding to its natural beauty.

History

Long ago, the land that is now Cattaraugus County was home to the Seneca people, part of the Haudenosaunee Nations. During the time when Britain ruled parts of North America, the land was claimed by several British colonies, including New York Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the Province of Pennsylvania.

Over time, as more people settled in the area, the land was divided into smaller parts. Cattaraugus County was officially created in 1808, taken from a larger county called Genesee. At first, there was no county government because very few people lived there. Later, a government was set up in a small place called Hebe, which is now known as Ellicottville.

Many towns in the county are named after people who helped buy and sell the land. The first town settled was Olean. In the 1860s, the county's main town, or county seat, was moved to Little Valley after a railroad was built there.

Today, the Allegany Indian Reservation is located within the county and is home to some of the Seneca Nation of New York. Near the town of Salamanca, New York, there is Allegany State Park, which connects to a big forest in Pennsylvania.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Cattaraugus County covers 1,322 square miles (3,420 km²), with 1,308 square miles (3,390 km²) of land and 14 square miles (36 km²) of water.

Cattaraugus County is located in the southwestern part of New York, just north of the border with Pennsylvania. It is bordered by McKean County, Pennsylvania and Warren County, Pennsylvania to the south. The southern part of the county was not covered by the last ice age, making it more rugged than nearby areas. The county is known for its hilly landscape, often called the Enchanted Mountains. The area was once known for oil, but today natural gas is still collected there. A continental divide runs through the county, separating water that flows to the Mississippi River from water that flows to the Great Lakes. The northern border of the county is formed by Cattaraugus Creek, and the Allegheny River flows through it.

Demographics

2020 census

2000 Census

In the year 2000, about 84,000 people lived in Cattaraugus County. Most of them, almost 95%, identified as White. Smaller groups included Black or African American, Native American, Asian, and people from other races.

Families made up a big part of the county. About one-third of households had children under 18. Many families were made up of married couples, but some homes had only one parent. The average family had just over three people.

Most people in the county were between 25 and 64 years old. The median age was 37 years. About 10% of families and 14% of all people lived below the poverty line, meaning they didn’t have enough money for basic needs.

Transportation

Major highways

Cattaraugus County has several important roads, including I-86 / NY 17 / Southern Tier Expressway, U.S. Route 62, U.S. Route 219, and many state routes like New York State Route 16 and New York State Route 98.

Airports

There are two airports in the county: Great Valley Airport near Great Valley and Cattaraugus County-Olean Airport near Olean.

Bus service

Bus travel is available through Coach USA and Trailways. The Seneca Nation and the Olean Area Transit System also offer local bus services.

Rail

There is no passenger train service, but freight trains run on some tracks in the county.

Government and politics

Cattaraugus County is managed by a group of elected representatives called a unicameral legislature. These representatives choose a county administrator to handle many important tasks, though this person cannot change laws or veto decisions.

The representatives are elected from different areas, or districts, and each has a vote based on the number of people they represent. There are currently 17 representatives, most of whom belong to the Republican party. They serve four-year terms and can be re-elected up to three times. The county usually supports Republican candidates in elections, though it has occasionally voted for Democrats. Some smaller villages in the county have joined together with the larger towns around them to share services.

Additional facts

Two interesting rock formations called "Rock City" look like towns with streets. One is in Olean and the other is in Little Valley.

Olean is the largest city in the county and the main place for business. Ski country passes through Cattaraugus County. Two popular ski resorts, liked by people from Canada, are in the town of Ellicottville: Holiday Valley Resort and HoliMont. The county used to have many ski resorts, but now they are all in Ellicottville. There are also many snowmobile trails, including the Pat McGee Trail and the North Country Trail.

Cattaraugus County is part of many regions, such as Western New York, upstate New York, the Southern Tier, the Twin Tiers, and the Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean Combined Statistical Area. Because it is in many different areas, people there speak with many different accents.

There is a large Amish community in the western part of the county, with about 2,500 people. Some of them live without modern indoor plumbing.

Media

Newspapers

Cattaraugus County has several newspapers that share news with readers. Some of these include the Salamanca Press, which is a weekly paper for central and western parts of the county, and the Olean Times Herald, a daily paper for the western Twin Tiers area. Other papers include the Olean Source, Franklinville Mercury-Gazette, The Villager, Randolph Register, Ellicottville Snowed In, The Summer Local, Gowanda—Silver Creek Pennysaver, and the Pennysaver News, which is published by The Buffalo News and distributed across the county.

Radio stations

The county is served by many radio stations. Some of these are WPIG, WOLY, WOLN, WQRS, WGGO, WOEN, WMXO, WSBU, WTWT, WCGB, WCGS, and WWG32, which provides weather information. WCOR used to operate from 2008 to 2021 but has moved to Lewis Run, Pennsylvania. Before 2014, WKEG-LP operated on 104.7 out of Limestone.

Television stations

Several television stations were once licensed to Olean but have since moved to Buffalo. These include WWHC-LD, WVTT-CD, and WBUO-LD.

Education

Some colleges offer education to people living in Cattaraugus County. A branch of Jamestown Community College is in Olean, and St. Bonaventure University is located just west of Olean. Other schools like Jamestown Business College have smaller centers in places like Salamanca.

Many school districts serve students from kindergarten through high school across the county. Some of these districts include the Olean City School District and the Springville-Griffith Institute Central School, along with several others that cover different towns and villages. There is also a special school called Randolph Academy Union Free School District that helps care for children in the area.

Communities

Cattaraugus County has many places where people live. Some of the bigger places include Olean and Salamanca. The county seat, which is the main town, is Little Valley.

There are also many smaller towns and villages across the county. Some of these towns are Ashford, Carrollton, and Ellicottville. In addition, there are special areas called Indian reservations, such as the Allegany Reservation and the Cattaraugus Reservation.

†† - Former Village

† - County Seat

‡ - Not Wholly in this county

Note that data is only available for Salamanca and Olean.

Notable people

See also: Category:People from Cattaraugus County, New York

Cattaraugus County has been home to many interesting people. Some of them became famous in sports, like professional football players Bill Bergey, Chuck Crist, Marvin "Marv" Hubbard, and Isaac Seneca. Others made their mark in entertainment, such as Brian Dunkleman, who co-hosted the first season of American Idol, and actress Riki Lindhome from the musical group Garfunkel and Oates.

The county also produced leaders and innovators, including William R. Case, who started a well-known knife company, and Terrence Pegula, a successful business person and sports team owner. There were also notable figures in music, like Ray Evans, who wrote famous songs, and in history, such as war leader Governor Blacksnake and Olympic runner Louis Zamperini.