Ellicottville is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 284 at the 2020 census. The village is named after Joseph Ellicott, principal land agent of the Holland Land Company. It lies in the southwest part of the town of Ellicottville and is north of the city of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

History

The Seneca name for this location was ''De-as-hen-da-qua'', or "place for holding court". The Holland Land Company opened an office in 1818. The community was the original

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Cattaraugus County in 1808, and public buildings were subsequently constructed. The village of Ellicottville was incorporated in 1837. In 1868, the county seat was moved to the village of Little Valley. The Ellicottville Historic District, Ellicottville Town Hall, and Jefferson Street Cemetery are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Commerce

Ski slopes and tourism

The Holiday Valley ski resort is south of the village, and the Nannen Arboretum is north. Ellicottville is also home to the HoliMont Ski Club, the largest private ski club in North America. Because of the proximity to these two popular skiing destinations, Ellicottville is Cattaraugus County's primary tourist destination. Property values in the town and village of Ellicottville have gentrified rapidly and are, as a result, much higher than the rest of the county. A major "Fall Festival" is held each year, coinciding with Canadian Thanksgiving weekend (most of Ellicottville's tourists come from Canada) and the peak of the leaf peeping season. Ellicottville has a large number of festivals throughout the year, including Mardi Gras (which, ironically, is always held during

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

), a "Rock'n'Oldies Weekend", a "Jazz and Blues Festival," and a "Taste of Ellicottville".

Other commerce

The village of Ellicottville has strict zoning regulations prohibiting most chain franchises from operating in the village; its central business district is occupied mostly by taverns, boutiques and various similar small businesses. Two weekly newspapers are based in Ellicottville, ''Ellicottville Now'' and ''The Villager''. The ''Villager'' dates to the mid-2000s. In addition to the weekly papers, a monthly tourism tabloid also originates in the village, which operates as ''Ellicottville Snowed-In'' during the winter and ''The Summer Local'' the rest of the year (its publisher also launched ''Ellicottville Now'' in 2020; that weekly paper is a spiritual successor to the ''Ellicottville Times'' and before that ''Special E-Fects'', which dated as far back as 1992).

Louisville Slugger Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal Club (weapon), club used in the sport of baseball to hit the Baseball (ball), ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more t ...

s were manufactured in Ellicottville for a number of years; after that company's departure, the factory building was converted into a bowling alley. Fitzpatrick & Weller, a wood products manufacturer, is the only currently operating factory in the village.

Education

Public school students attend Ellicottville Central School, the campus of which is in neighboring Great Valley.

Religion

Several churches operate in Ellicottville, including

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, and Episcopal denominations. The local Free Presbyterian and

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

es merged into the "United Church of Ellicottville" in 1976.

Notable people

* Charles Henry Bryan, former justice of the Supreme Court of California * John A. Bryan, former Ohio State Auditor * Staley N. Clarke, former US congressman * Brian Dunkleman, involved with television show ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''; born on September 25, 1971, in EllicottvilleDunkleman, Brian (June 3, 2016)
Coming home
''Ellicottville Times''. Retrieved June 3, 2016. * Cindy Oak, former US Ski Team member * Commodore P. Vedder, former New York state senator * Irv Weinstein, retired TV anchor, part-time resident until selling his house in 2014

Geography

Ellicottville is located in the southwest corner of the town of Ellicottville at (42.2752, -78.6716). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , of which , or 1.65%, is water. Great Valley Creek, a tributary of the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...

, flows through the village along the eastern edges; a smaller creek, Elk Creek, flows through the middle of the village. Ellicottville is at the convergence of County Roads 13 and 71, along with NY-242 and U.S. Route 219. In lieu of numbered or standard street names, most of the village's streets are named after presidents and first ladies of the United States from prior to 1828: (George) Washington Street, (Thomas) Jefferson Street, (John) Adams Street, (James) Madison Street, (James) Monroe Street, Martha Street (alluding to

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 Old Style, O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the ...

and/or

Martha Jefferson Randolph Martha "Patsy" Randolph (Maiden and married names, ''née'' Jefferson; September 27, 1772 – October 10, 1836) was the eldest daughter of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, and his wife, Martha Jefferson, Martha Wayles ...

), and Elizabeth (Monroe) Street. (Martin) Van Buren Street and (Millard) Fillmore Avenue were later additions to the grid.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 472 people, 242 households, and 129 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 565 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.58%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.21% Asian, and 0.21% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.64% of the population. There were 242 households, out of which 12.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.47. In the village, the population was spread out, with 12.9% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 35.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $37,750, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had a median income of $36,750 versus $19,306 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $22,348. About 10.1% of families and 12.3% 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 ...

, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Ellicottville area information

Town and village of Ellicottville official website

Virtual Tour of Downtown Ellicottville
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Cattaraugus County, New York