Cassadaga (a

Seneca Indian The Seneca () ( see, Onödowáʼga:, "Great Hill People") are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west ...

word meaning ''"Water beneath the rocks"'') is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in Chautauqua County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. The village is located within the northeast corner of the town of Stockton, east of the hamlet of Stockton, south of and immediately adjacent to

Lily Dale Lily Dale is a hamlet, connected with the Spiritualist movement, located in the Town of Pomfret on the east side of Cassadaga Lake, next to the Village of Cassadaga. Located in southwestern New York State, it is one hour southwest of Buffalo ...

in the town of

Pomfret Pomfrets are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae. The family currently includes 20 species across seven genera. Several species are important food sources for humans, especially ''Brama brama'' in South Asia. The earlier form of t ...

, and north of the village of Sinclairville. As of the 2020 census, the population of Cassadaga was 569.

History

''Cassadaga'' is a

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

name meaning "water under the rocks", descriptive of the natural springs of the area flowing from glacial

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

s. In dry weather, many of the local streams would "disappear", and the spring-fed water runs wholly within the gravelly bottoms of the stream beds draining from the surrounding hills. Cassadaga was settled by European Americans in 1848 at the headwaters of the technically navigable Cassadaga Creek. Practically, the upper few miles of it are not navigable in the 21st century, due to numerous shallows and beaver activity along its course. Many of the settlers had migrated from New England and eastern New York after the American Revolutionary War. They gradually migrated westward as this territory was opened up for settlement after the

Seneca people The Seneca () ( see, Onödowáʼga:, "Great Hill People") are a group of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their n ...

and other

Iroquois League The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

tribes had been forced out of the state after the war. The village was formally incorporated in 1921. Early settlers harvested the abundant and large trees (some exceeding in diameter) as a primary source of income. They shipped them downstream to markets via log rafts and flatboats on the creek as

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

and

pearl ash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

, the latter two products in demand in the early Industrial Age. The

Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad The Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad is a historic railroad company that operated in Pennsylvania and New York. Chartered in 1867, its first passenger train ran in 1871. After several mergers and name changes, it was leased to ...

, which laid track from

Dunkirk, New York Dunkirk is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Dunkirk i ...

, and eventually to

Warren, Pennsylvania Warren is a city in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Allegheny River. The population was 9,404 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. It is home to the headquarters of the Allegheny National Forest ...

, was constructed on the west side of the Cassadaga Lakes in the spring of 1871. It also ran through the then adjoining

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Burnhams, which was later annexed by the village. The railroad contributed greatly to the economy of the area, both as a source of population growth and visitors to the lakes and rolling hills for recreation, and for transportation of the forest and farm products of the area to urban centers. Workers harvested ice from the lakes in winter for refrigeration, shipping it to other cities. The Webster Citizens Company ice house stood on the west shore of the Upper Lake, with a three-car rail siding to serve it, and was listed as a railroad business as late as 1931. The Cassadaga Spring Water Company had a siding on the Middle Lake where it bottled water from a leased spring on the north side of the Glenn Halladay farm for shipment by rail to city customers, primarily in Buffalo. It ceased operations by the late 1920s as municipal water supply systems improved. The rail line was abandoned after extensive flood damage near Sinclairville from

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...

in 1972, and subsequently removed.

Geography

Cassadaga is located on the northwestern edge of the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divide ...

western New York 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 in ...

at 42°20'29" north, 79°18'56" west (42.341343, -79.315653) at an elevation of approximately above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The village is located at the south end of Lower Cassadaga Lake,

being located on the east shore of Upper Cassadaga Lake, with a narrow "Middle Lake" connecting them. The mainly spring-fed lakes drain into Cassadaga Creek, running south and connecting to

Conewango Creek Conewango Creek is a tributary of the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania and western New York in the United States. The creek's drainage covers much of southeastern Chautauqua County, New York, and western Cattaraugus County, New York. The creek's ...

, the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...

, the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

, and the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

flowing to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, despite getting their start just south and east of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

, one of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

, which drain via the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

east to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The watershed divide is located less than north of the village. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, Cassadaga has a total area of , of which is land and , or 20.59%, is water. The soils are glacial in nature, ranging from deep gravel

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

s in the valleys to heavy

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

s on the hill tops. Springs are fairly common, though somewhat high in mineral content (calcium, sulphur and iron, depending greatly on location).

New York State Route 60 New York State Route 60 (NY 60) is a north–south state highway in Chautauqua County, New York, in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with U.S. Route 62 (US 62) south of the city of Ja ...

, the principal north-south route through Chautauqua County, runs through the village and intersects with

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

, to the north at Fredonia, the

New York State Thruway {{Infobox road , state = NY , type = NYST , alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway , maint = NYSTA , map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...

(

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

) to the north at

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Interstate 86 to the south at Jamestown.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 676 people, 277 households, and 186 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 766.3 people per square mile (296.6/km²). There were 315 housing units at an average density of 357.1 per square mile (138.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.89%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.30% Native American, 0.44%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.04% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.33% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 2.66% of the population. Of the 277 village households, 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.04. The ages of population are well spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $43,359, and the median income for a family was $52,500. Males had a median income of $32,083 versus $21,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $20,361. About 1.6% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 634 (a decrease of 42 people or 6.21%) and there was 267 households (a decrease of 10 households or 3.61%). The population density of the village was 704.4 people per square mile (275.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was: 98.27% (623 people) white; 0.16% (1 person) African-American; 0.32% (2 people) Asian; 0.16% (1 person) Native American/Alaskan; and 1.10% (7 people) of two or more races. Out of the whole population, 0.79% (5 people) were of Hispanic/Latino origin. The ages of the population are 21.92% (139 people) under the age of 18; 2.37% (15 people) ages 18 and 19; 4.89% (31 people) ages 20–24; 7.73% (49 people) ages 25–34; 19.24% (122 people) ages 35–49; 24.13% (153 people) ages 50–64; and 19.72% (125 people) over the age of 65. Of the population, 50.16% (318 people) were male and 49.84% (316 people) were female. There are two churches in the village proper, one

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the other

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

, reflecting the religious heritages of the early area settlers, though there are

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

and

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

in the immediate area and those of other beliefs as well. The Catholic church has reduced its services, now being used rarely. The village and environs are served by a volunteer fire department and ambulance squad, and are part of the County Mutual Aid Plan.

Recreation

The Cassadaga Lakes contain a variety of fish including bass,

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellun ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

and

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection ...

(DEC) regular and special regulations apply, and with very few exceptions, a New York fishing license is required. As of 2007, live bait must not be transported to or from other areas, and when State certified and sold for local use, they are to be used or disposed of locally to prevent the potential spread of diseases. Hunting both small and large game is a popular activity for visitors and area residents, partially as evidenced by the Fire Department's annual gun raffle held in April, which has on average raffled about 250 firearms each year for the past 14 years (as of 2007). State laws apply for firearm possession and transfers, and again, DEC regulations apply and licenses are required for hunting. There is a free public boat launch maintained by the DEC on the north end of the middle lake with parking for vehicles and trailers, though the lakes are small enough to be paddled or rowed, and motor boat speed through much of the middle lake is limited to . There is a walking / jogging path around the lower and middle lakes (on the road shoulders) that is about in length. There is a public beach on the southeast side of the lower lake off Park Avenue in the village that is generally open from mid June (when the water warms sufficiently) until Labor Day, that has a lifeguard on duty and is free for all. There is a basketball court adjoining the beach that is open approximately dawn to dusk when weather allows. Cassadaga is along the route of two

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

trails that connect with over of marked and groomed trails in the county for winter riding. State Department of Motor Vehicles regulations apply.

Notable people

Milton Earl Beebe Milton Earle Beebe (November 27, 1840 – February 3, 1923) was an American architect who designed numerous buildings in Buffalo, New York, in Fargo, North Dakota, and elsewhere.Roxanne Pulitzer Roxanne Pulitzer (née Renckens) is an American celebrity, author and actress. Career Following her highly publicized divorce from newspaper heir Herbert "Peter" Pulitzer, she appeared on the June 1985 cover and interior of Playboy Magazine ...

, one-time wife of Herbert Pulitzer until their famous divorce in 1983; lived in Cassadaga as a child http://www.akronohio.gov

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in New York (state) Populated places established in 1848 Villages in Chautauqua County, New York