Erie County, New York facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Erie County
County
Left to right from top: Erie County Hall, Wendt Beach Park, Akron Falls Park, Chestnut Ridge Park, Canisius University, Gateway Park, Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	New York
Founded	1821
Named for	Eriechronon
Seat	Buffalo
Largest city	Buffalo
Area
• Total	1,227 sq mi (3,180 km2)
• Land	1,043 sq mi (2,700 km2)
• Water	184 sq mi (480 km2)  15%
Population  (2020)
• Total	954,236
• Density	914.9/sq mi (353.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	23rd, 26th

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. However, in the 2023 census, the Erie County population was 946,147. 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. 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. 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. Due to the harsh econmic 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. 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. 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.

In 1861, the hamlet of Town Line in the Town of Lancaster voted 85–40 to secede from the Union. 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.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,227 square miles (3,180 km²), of which 1,043 square miles (2,700 km²) (85%) is land and 184 square miles (480 km²) (15%) is water.

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, 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 1,940 feet (590 m) above sea level. The lowest ground is about 560 feet (170 m), on Grand Island at the Niagara River. The Onondaga Escarpment runs through the northern part of Erie County.

Rivers, streams and lakes

Adjacent counties and municipality

• Niagara County - north
• Genesee County - northeast
• Wyoming County - southeast
• Cattaraugus County - south
• Chautauqua County - southwest
• Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada - northwest

Major highways

Erie County routes

National protected area

• Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

State protected areas

Demographics

As of the 2023, there were 954,236 people living in the county. The population density was 915 inhabitants per square mile (353/km²). There were 438,747 housing units at an average density of 421 per square mile (163/km²). 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.

Erie County population

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

Education

School districts

"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

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.

Higher education

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.

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 2,280 acres (9.2 km²). As of 2003, the county managed 38 properties, totaling approximately 11,000 acres (45 km²) of land. Management objectives include providing and maintaining recreational space and the conservation of the county's natural and historic resources. 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.

Heritage parks

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.

• 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.

• Bennett Beach Park
• Isle View Park
• Riverwalk Park
• Wendt Beach Park

Conservation parks

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.

• 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.

• 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. 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.

Communities

† - County seat

‡ - Not wholly in this county

Cities

Towns

Villages

Map showing the municipalities of Erie County

Hamlets

Indian reservations

• Cattaraugus Reservation
• Tonawanda Reservation

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Erie (Nueva York) para niños