Dunkirk is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 census. Dunkirk is bordered on the north by

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 h ...

. It shares a border with the

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 ...

of Fredonia to the south, and with the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Dunkirk to the east and west. Dunkirk is the westernmost city in the state of New York.

History

The

Iroquoian languages The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...

-speaking

Erie people The Erie people (also Eriechronon, Riquéronon, Erielhonan, Eriez, Nation du Chat) were Indigenous people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvani ...

occupied this area of the forested lakefront along the southern shore of

well into the 1600s, when Europeans, mostly French, started trading around 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 lak ...

. They were pushed out by the Seneca people, one of the Five Nations of the powerful

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 ...

, based here and further east in New York. The European-American demarcation and settlement of Chadwick Bay and subsequent naming of Dunkirk - after Dunkirk in France - began in earnest in 1826. Dunkirk

The Dunkirk Lighthouse at Point Gratiot was built soon after and still stands. Dunkirk served as a minor railroad hub and steamship port on Lake Erie into the early 1900s. Both freight and passenger ships traveled the lakes. The city has been the site of the Chautauqua County Fair during the summer for more than 140 years, with the fairgrounds in use for sporadic events and functions at other points in the yea

A major employer in Dunkirk in the second half of the 19th century was

Brooks Locomotive Works The Brooks Locomotive Works manufactured railroad steam locomotives and freight cars from 1869 through its merger into the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1901. History When the New York and Erie Railroad (NY&E) relocated its shops facili ...

, founded in 1869 by Horatio G. Brooks. The Brooks plant built almost 4,000 steam locomotives, for which they won several awards at international exhibitions, and a few of their locomotives were hailed as the fastest and largest locomotives in the world. Brooks Locomotive Works was merged into American Locomotive Company in 1901. The homestead of Horatio G. Brooks became the

Brooks Memorial Hospital Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica * Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States * Brooks, Alabama *Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California * Brooks, Georgia *Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky *Brooks, Maine * Brooks Township, Michigan ...

following a donation by Brooks's daughter in 1898. The city thrived as a steel town for

Roebling John Augustus Roebling (born Johann August Röbling; June 12, 1806 – July 22, 1869) was a German-born American civil engineer. He designed and built wire rope suspension bridges, in particular the Brooklyn Bridge, which has been designated as ...

and others through the 1950s. In addition, it was a manufacturing leader with Plymouth Tube and

Ralston Purina Ralston Purina Company was a St. Louis, Missouri,–based American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products, and entertainment. On December 12, 2001, it merged with Swiss food-giant Nestlé's Fr ...

. Its coal-burning

Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation was a New York State utility company, which was acquired in 2000 by National Grid plc. The Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation designation was retired, using variations of NationalGridUS (such as National Grid Buffa ...

plant provided power for the region. The plant was mothballed in 2016, negatively impacting Dunkirk's tax base. NRG Energy acquired the plant and proceeded with plans to convert it from coal-burning to run on natural gas. Since the 1970s, population has declined following a regional drop in manufacturing as the steel industry and other restructured. Overall employment has declined in the area. Dunkirk gained international recognition in 1946 for the Dunkirk-to-Dunkerque campaign. It was a humanitarian assistance program for its namesake and sister city, Dunkerque, France, which had been devastated in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Dunkirk-to-Dunkerque became the model for similar relief efforts in cities elsewhere in the United States. Beginning in the 1980s, the city refocused its economic efforts on revitalizing its pier and fishing, to improve the quality of life for residents and attract more tourists. In addition, in 2016 it attracted a high-tech drug manufacturing project as part of business related to the state project of area investment called the "

Buffalo Billion Buffalo Billion is a New York state government project led by former Governor Andrew Cuomo that aims to invest $1 billion in the Buffalo, New York area economy. The project uses a combination of state grants and tax breaks to spur economic ...

." In 2016, Willie Rosas, a former law enforcement officer, became the first Hispanic to be elected mayor in the State of New York.

Geography

Dunkirk lies on the southeastern shore of Lake Erie and is southwest of Buffalo. 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 t ...

, the city has an area of , of which is land and , or 1.10%, is water.

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 in ...

of 2010, there were 12,563 people, 5,477 households, and 3,690 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was 2,774.6 people per square mile (1,119.2 per km²). There were 6,071 housing units at an average density of 1,340.6 per square mile (517.4 per km²). The city's racial makeup of the city was 65.70%

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 o ...

, 5.1%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.52% Native American, 0.50

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 ...

, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 9.14% 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 1.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 26.40% of the population. There were 5,477 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.02. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,313, and the median income for a family was $35,058. Males had a median income of $29,462 versus $21,682 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 city was $15,482. About 18.5% of families and 22.3% 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 38.0% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

Law enforcement and fire/EMS

The city of Dunkirk has its own police force under the leadership of Police Chief David Ortolano. It employs full-time officers and part-time dispatchers for the police department only. Dunkirk has a paid fire department under the leadership of Fire Chief Mike Edwards. There are three stations throughout the city staffed by the cities 24 Firefighter/EMT's. The firefighters belong to IAFF Local 616, the union for the city's firefighters. As of 2011, Dunkirk Fire started handling 90 percent of EMS transports and billing accordingly. Alstar Ambulance still has a reduced contract with the city for advanced life support when needed. In recent years, Dunkirk Fire's dispatching merged with the county dispatch center in Mayville but still maintains its FCC ID of KED 653. Alstar Ambulance has its north county satellite station on Monroe Street in Dunkirk just southwest of NY 60. Dispatching is still controlled by the main station in Jamestown via MEDCOM. Several transportable units are housed here. There is a fenced-in and pre-lit landing pad on the property for any medevac needing to use the landing pad.

Education

*A branch of

Jamestown Community College Jamestown Community College is a public community college with campuses in Jamestown and Olean, New York. It is part of the State University of New York system. JCC also has extension centers in Dunkirk, New York and Warren, Pennsylvania. The ...

is in Dunkirk. * Dunkirk High School, home of the Marauders, is part of the public Dunkirk City School District. *Northern Chautauqua Catholic School is a K-8th grade school under the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo The Diocese of Buffalo is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is a suffragan diocese within the metropolitan province of the Archdiocese of New York. The Diocese of Buffalo inclu ...

Transportation

The Chautauqua County/Dunkirk Airport, in the town of Dunkirk, provides training facilities and charter services. Freight railroad service in Dunkirk is provided by CSX Transportation (via the Buffalo-Cleveland-Willard (Ohio)-Chicago Main Line) and Norfolk Southern Railway (Buffalo-Cleveland-Fort Wayne-Chicago Main Line). The ''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an overnight Amtrak intercity passenger train that runs between Chicago and either New York City or Boston via two sections east of Albany. The train began service in 1975; its predecessor was Amtrak's Chicago– ...

'' daily

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

passenger train passes through the city but does not stop.

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Er ...

and New York Central trains stopped at one station.

Nickel Plate The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York, Pennsylva ...

and Pennsylvania Railroad trains stopped at another station. As recently as 1968 the New York Central operated a Buffalo-Chicago daytime train, #51, the former ''

Empire State Express The ''Empire State Express'' was one of the named passenger trains and onetime flagship of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad (a predecessor of the later New York Central Railroad). On September 14, 1891, it covered the 436 miles ...

,'' that made a stop westbound in Dunkirk. Two other daily trains eastbound stopped in Dunkirk, #64 and #90, the former ''Chicagoan.'' In the late 1990s Amtrak considered adding the city as a stop between Buffalo and Erie. Dunkirk was listed as a stop with service "to commence on a date to be announced" on several timetables, but the stop was never added. The New York State Thruway ( Interstate 90) passes through the southern edge of the city, with access from Exit 59 ( NY Route 60) just east of the city limits. The Thruway leads northeast to the outskirts of Buffalo and southwest to the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

border. New York State Route 5 runs through the center of the city, leading northeast to Silver Creek and southwest to Westfield.

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 ...

runs from Dunkirk south, heading toward Jamestown, New York.

Media

* ''The Observer'' newspaper is published in Dunkirk. * WDOE AM radio station in Dunkirk, co-owned with Fredonia FM sister station, WBKX.

Climate

Notable people

Samuel Hopkins Adams Samuel Hopkins Adams (January 26, 1871 – November 16, 1958) was an American writer who was an investigative journalist and muckraker. Background Adams was born in Dunkirk, New York. Adams was a muckraker, known for exposing public-health inju ...

, author *

Mark Brazill Mark Brazill is a television creator. Conflict with Judd Apatow In late 2001, Judd Apatow sought to have Topher Grace of ''That '70s Show'' appear in an episode of his series ''Undeclared''. This initiated a string of heated emails between the tw ...

, creator of ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, ...

'' * Horatio G. Brooks founder of

* June Card, operatic soprano and stage director *

William L. Carpenter William Lewis Carpenter (January 13, 1844, at Dunkirk, Chautauqua County, New York, Chautauqua County, New York – July 10, 1898, at Madison Barracks, Jefferson County, New York) was a U.S. Army Officer, naturalist and a geologist who helped ...

, U.S. Army officer, geologist * Richard H. Cosgriff,

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

soldier who received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

* Dave Criscione, retired Major League Baseball catcher *

Celestine Damiano Celestine Joseph Damiano (November 1, 1911 – October 2, 1967) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as apostolic delegate to South Africa (1953–1960) and as bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey (1960–1967) ...

, former Bishop of Camden * Katharine Bement Davis, social reformer * Mike DiMuro, MLB umpire * Ray DiMuro, retired MLB umpire * Francis S. Edwards, former US congressman * Mike Friedman, pro-racing cyclist *

Daniel G. Garnsey Daniel Greene Garnsey (June 17, 1779 – May 11, 1851) was an American politician from New York, Michigan and Illinois. Early life Garnsey was born in the part of the Town of Canaan, New York which is now New Lebanon on June 17, 1779. He was ...

, former US congressman * Dave Graf, retired NFL linebacker * Grasshopper, guitarist and songwriter for seminal alternative rock band

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were Ross Graves, former New York politician * Chad Green, former minor league baseball player *

H. B. Halicki Henry Blight "Toby" Halicki (October 18, 1940 – August 20, 1989) was an American director, writer, stunt driver, actor, and filmmaker. Halicki directed the 1974 film ''Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 film), Gone in 60 Seconds'' as well as producing ...

, director of '' Gone in 60 Seconds'' and ''

The Junkman ''The Junkman'' Is a 1982 independent film which spent two years in production. To make the film, H. B. Halicki used his own personal collection of over 200 cars, toys, and guns—including Eleanor, the star of his 1974 cult classic '' Gone in 60 ...

''; born in Dunkirk *

Norm Hitzges Norm Hitzges (born July 5, 1944) is an American author and sports talk radio host. He is a member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. Career Hitzges hosts at KTCK (1310 AM / 96.7 FM, "SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket") in Dallas. Hitzges pioneered ra ...

, host on Sportsradio 1310 AM and 96.7 FM the Ticket in the Dallas-Fort-Worth area and Texas Radio Hall of Famer * Thomas Horan, a Medal of Honor Recipient at the

battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

(1863) during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, was born in Dunkirk in 1839 and died 1902. His grave is at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Dunkirk. *

Jerry Interval Jerry Interval, (October 10, 1923 – December 4, 2006), was an American portrait photographer and educator. The early years Jerry Interval was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and grew up in the Brookline neighborhood of the city. When ...

, portrait photographer *

Teresa Jordan Teresa (Terry) Jordan is a sedimentary geologist known for her research on the geology and hydrology of the Atacama Desert and the use of water and geothermal heat from sedimentary rocks. Education and career Jordan has a B.S. from Rensselaer ...

, geologist at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

* Richard P. Klocko, Air Force lieutenant general, command pilot, director of Defense Communications Agency * John T. McDonough, former Secretary of State of New York *

Sean Patrick McGraw Sean Patrick McGraw, an American country music singer, is a former ''Nashville Star'' semi-finalist who leads a prominent unsigned touring act. Following the 2005 release of his CD '' Songs for Saturday Night'', McGraw and his band went on tour ...

, country music artist * Jim McGuire, former MLB player *

Mark Merchant Mark Alan Merchant (born January 23, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player whose career spanned ten seasons in minor league baseball, parts of one season in the Northern League, and one season in the Atlantic League of Profes ...

, retired minor league baseball player * Cindy Miller, pro golfer *

Van Miller Van Miller (November 22, 1927 – July 17, 2015) was an American radio and television sports announcer from Dunkirk, New York, where he began his career at Dunkirk radio station WFCB calling play-by-play for high school football games. In the 1 ...

, play-by-play announcer for the Buffalo Bills and

WIVB-TV WIVB-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station WNLO (channel 23). WIVB-TV and WNLO share studios on Elmwood Aven ...

sportscaster *

Chris Poland Chris Poland (born December 1, 1957) is an American guitarist, best known as the former guitarist of the thrash metal band Megadeth. Since 2002, Poland has been the guitarist of the instrumental rock/jazz fusion bands OHM and OHMphrey, among oth ...

, former guitarist of thrash metal band Megadeth *

Gar Samuelson Gary Charles "Gar" Samuelson (February 18, 1958 – July 14, 1999) was an American musician best remembered for being the drummer for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1984 to 1987, contributing to their first two albums, '' Killing Is My Busines ...

, former drummer of thrash metal band Megadeth * William J. Scheyer, Major general in the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

during

* Murray Shelton, member of the College Football Hall of Fame *

Wendy Corsi Staub Wendy Corsi Staub (born October 29, 1964) is an American writer of suspense novels and young adult fiction. She has written under her own name as well as Wendy Brody, Wendy Markham, and Wendy Morgan. Career Staub was born in Dunkirk, New York on ...

, New York Times best selling author * Elisha Ward, former New York state senator *

Cory Wells Cory Wells (born Emil Lewandowski; February 5, 1941 – October 20, 2015) was an American singer, best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band Three Dog Night. Early life Wells came from a musical family and began playing in Buffalo ...

, One of three lead singers of the band

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael A ...

References

External links

* * {{authority control Cities in New York (state) New York (state) populated places on Lake Erie Cities in Chautauqua County, New York 1805 establishments in New York (state)