According to a telephone directory that formerly published specific editions for the area, this region includes Aurora, Blasdell, East Aurora, Elma, Hamburg, and Orchard Park.[5] Several other towns in the snowbelt south of Buffalo are also considered part of the Southtowns. According to one source the entire southern part of Erie County, West Seneca, Elma, Marilla, and southward are part of the Buffalo Southtowns.[1] This region is the northwesternmost foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The New York State Department of Transportation's Scenic Byways Advisory Board created Western New York's first Scenic Byway, WNY Southtowns Scenic Byway, which travels through the townships of Orchard Park, Boston, Concord, Colden and Aurora, the three villages of Orchard Park, Springville and East Aurora and several rural hamlets including the hamlets of Boston and Colden.[6] (In 2016, the Southtowns Scenic Byway was extended into Ashford, a town in Cattaraugus County and not generally counted in the Southtowns proper.)[7] The National Weather Service defines the Southtowns (forecast zone NYZ085, "Southern Erie County") as anything south of U.S. Route 20A. The region includes the northeastern half of the village of Gowanda, but not the southwestern half.
The Buffalo metro area also includes a "Northtown" region north of the city. Some sources divide the entire Buffalo Suburban region into the Southtowns and the Northtowns.[8]
The Southtowns, particularly the more southerly towns closer to the Cattaraugus Creek, are very rural in nature and are similar to the Southern Tier; the northern Southtowns (beginning at approximately Orchard Park and Hamburg) begin to take on a more suburban feel.
Two broadcast stations are explicitly licensed to the Southtowns: religious TV station WDTB-LD in Hamburg, and MeTV affiliate WBBZ-TV in Springville. Neither of them operate from within the southtowns; WBBZ is based in Clarence and WDTB is a straight satellite feed from Texas. Full-service AM radio station WSPQ was licensed to and operated from Springville during its 31-year existence but shut down in 2017. WNYB, a religious station licensed to Jamestown, had its studios in Orchard Park until its owner TCT dropped all local programming.
Several of the Buffalo-licensed broadcasters take advantage of the region's higher topography and have placed their broadcast towers there so that they can reach both the Buffalo region and the Southern Tier. One of the more notable examples is the WIVB tower, which is located in Colden.
The Buffalo News is the primary daily newspaper in the region. Many of the Southtowns communities were served by weekly newspapers until July 2016, when the most recent owner of those newspapers, Community Papers of Western New York, abruptly shut down.[18] Neighbor-to-Neighbor News, a company based in East Aurora, revived many of those newspapers shortly thereafter.
People
United States President Millard Fillmore resided in East Aurora,[3] where the Seymour Knox I family has held property.
The area's current political representatives are state assemblyman Kevin Smardz, state senator Patrick Gallivan (with a small portion represented by Tim Kennedy), and representative Brian Higgins.[22]
Notes
1 2 Smyczynski, Christine A. (2005). "Southern Erie County - "The Southtowns"". Western New York: From Niagara Falls and Southern Ontario to the Western Edge of the Finger Lakes. The Countryman Press. p.136. ISBN0-88150-655-9.
↑ Eberle, Scott and Joseph A. Grande (1987). A Pictorial History of Buffalo and Erie County (1013 of 2000ed.). The Donning Company. p.48. ISBN0-89865-609-5.
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. The county seat is Buffalo, which makes up about 28% of the county's population. 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.
Aurora is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 13,782 at the 2010 census. It is one of the "Southtowns" of Erie County and is also erroneously called "East Aurora", the name of its principal village. The town is centrally located in the county, southeast of Buffalo.
Concord is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 8,494 at the 2010 census. The town is believed to be named after Concord, Massachusetts, by early settlers from New England.
East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. It lies in the eastern half of the town of Aurora. The village population was 5,998 per the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. In 2015, East Aurora was rated the third-best town to raise a family in New York State by Niche. According to the National Council of Home Safety and Security, it is also among the safest places to live in New York State.
Springville is a village in the southeastern section of the town of Concord in Erie County, New York, United States. Springville is the principal community in the town and a major business location in southern Erie County. The population was 4,296 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. Springville was originally named "Fiddler's Green" before it was renamed "Springville". Springville is well known for being home to Glenn "Pop" Warner, an important figure in American Football history. It is governed by current mayor Timothy "Mad Dog" Michaels as of 2022, and the village board of trustees.
Hamburg is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 60,085. It is named after the city of Hamburg, Germany. The town is on the western border of the county and is south of Buffalo. Hamburg is one of the Southtowns in Erie County. The villages of Hamburg and Blasdell are in the town. The town of Hamburg was founded in 1812 in Armor.
Orchard Park is an incorporated town in Erie County, New York. It is an outer ring suburb southeast of Buffalo. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,054, representing an increase of 5.13% from the 2000 census figure. The town contains a village also named Orchard Park. Orchard Park is one of the Southtowns of Erie County and is best known as the site of Highmark Stadium, home of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills.
West Seneca is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 45,500 at the 2020 census. West Seneca is a centrally located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo. West Seneca, Orchard Park and Hamburg form the inner "Southtowns", a cluster of middle-class suburban towns.
Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY includes the cities of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Jamestown, and the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands and Niagara Frontier, and Chautauqua-Alleghany. Many would also place Rochester and the Genesee Valley in the region while some would also include the western Finger Lakes within the region. Others would describe the latter three areas as being in a separate Finger Lakes region.
The Erie County Fair is a fair held in Hamburg in Erie County, New York, every August. Based on 2018 attendance statistics, The Erie County Fair is the second largest fair in New York and the fourth largest county fair in North America, often drawing over one million in attendance.
Cazenovia Creek is a creek in Western New York, United States. It is a tributary of the Buffalo River, which empties into Lake Erie. Cazenovia Creek and its watershed are entirely within Erie County.
New York State Route 240 (NY 240) is a 51.64-mile (83.11 km) state highway in western New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 242 in the Ellicottville community of Ashford Junction in northern Cattaraugus County. Its northern terminus is at a junction with NY 324 and Interstate 290 (I-290) in Amherst in northern Erie County. The route passes through the villages of Springville and Orchard Park, where it meets NY 39 and U.S. Route 20A (US 20A), respectively. Much of NY 240 between Concord and Aurora follows the west branch of Cazenovia Creek. The northern part of NY 240 in Erie County, named Harlem Road, is a major north–south route through the suburbs east of the city of Buffalo.
New York State Route 391 (NY 391) is a short state highway in Erie County, New York, in the United States. The route is signed as north–south; however, it follows more of a southeast–northwest alignment between NY 277 in the hamlet of North Boston and U.S. Route 62 (US 62) in the village of Hamburg. NY 391 meets the Southern Expressway (US 219) just north of North Boston. Both ends of NY 391 are located in residential areas; however, the middle section of the route passes through more rural areas of the towns of Boston and Hamburg.
Since the Buffalo Metro Rail light rail was proposed in the 1970s, there have been multiple proposals for expanding the system, which is currently a single 6.4-mile (10.3 km) long line. Public officials, agencies and advocacy groups have created plans, with the most recent and extensive being an extension to the town of Amherst. Groups have formed on both sides of the issue.
The Fillmore House, or Millard Fillmore House, is a historic house museum at 24 Shearer Avenue in East Aurora in Erie County, New York. Built in 1826, it was from then until 1830 the residence of the 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore. Moved twice and significantly altered, it is the only surviving building other than the White House associated with Fillmore's life. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974. The house is owned by the Aurora Historical Society and has been decorated with period furnishings. As of 2022, it is open for tours by reservation only.
The Great Lakes Seaway Trail, formerly named and commonly known as the Seaway Trail, is a 518-mile (834 km) National Scenic Byway in the northeastern United States, mostly contained in New York but with a small segment in Pennsylvania. The trail consists of a series of designated roads and highways that travel along the Saint Lawrence Seaway—specifically, Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the Saint Lawrence River. It begins at the Ohio state line in rural Erie County, Pennsylvania, and travels through several cities and villages before ending at the Seaway International Bridge northeast of the village of Massena in St. Lawrence County, New York. It is maintained by the non-profit Seaway Trail, Inc.
U.S. Route 219 (US 219) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Rich Creek, Virginia, to West Seneca, New York. In the U.S. state of New York, US 219 extends 67.63 miles (108.84 km) from the Pennsylvania state line at Carrollton to an interchange with the New York State Thruway at exit 55 in West Seneca, southeast of downtown Buffalo. In Cattaraugus County, the area surrounding US 219 is predominantly rural. However, in northern Cattaraugus County, US 219 becomes an expressway leading through Erie County and into the heart of Buffalo. The route serves the villages of Ellicottville and Springville, where it meets New York State Route 242 (NY 242) and NY 39, respectively, and indirectly serves Hamburg via NY 391.
Eighteen Mile Creek is a tributary of Lake Erie located in southern Erie County, New York, United States. The creek is the second largest tributary of Lake Erie in New York State.
Willink, New York is a former town in Western New York, United States. The name was derived from Willem Willink, one of the original investors of the Holland Land Company.
The November 2022 Great Lakes winter storm was a lake-effect winter storm that affected parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. The winter storm caused high accumulations of snow across the Great Lakes region, with several locations receiving 50 in (130 cm) of snowfall across New York, with Hamburg, New York receiving 81.2 in (206 cm) and Orchard Park, New York recording 80 in (200 cm) of snow. At least four fatalities occurred, with three in New York and one in Indiana, and several highways closed after heavy snowfall. A travel ban was also issued for New York by governor Kathy Hochul, and thundersnow occurred across areas impacted by the winter storm.
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