Emery Park is a park in Erie County, in the

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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 * '' ...

. The park is located in the hamlet of

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, southeast of the city of Buffalo. It is operated by the Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry. Access is free and it is open to the public year-round.

History

Emery Park was among the four original parks acquired by Erie County in the 1920s. Several of the park's structures were part of a

farmstead A homestead is an isolated dwelling, especially a farmhouse, and adjacent outbuildings, typically on a large agricultural holding such as a ranch or station. In North America the word "homestead" historically referred to land claimed by a settle ...

established by Josiah Emery in the early 1800s. In 1925, of land was purchased by Erie County from the Emery family to form Emery Park. The park's facilities and landscapes were improved substantially by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

throughout the 1930s, and the park grew to through land acquisitions in the years that followed. Despite improvements and repairs in recent years, Emery Park was described by Erie County officials as being in the worst shape of all of the county's parks as of 2013, when plans for additional repairs were announced. The planned demolition of the Emery Inn was reported in late 2013 due to safety concerns caused by the building's advanced state of deterioration. The structure was part of the original Emery farmstead, and had previously served as a museum and restaurant within the park before sitting vacant for many years.

Attractions and facilities

* Two tributaries to

Cazenovia Creek 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. Course Cazenovia Creek is formed from its two ...

make their way through the park, forming scenic ravines and waterfalls. The Emery Falls and the North Emery Falls are accessible via trails on the park's property. * Emery Park includes facilities and trails for several winter sports, including a Magic Carpet ski lift, installed in 2018-2019 (previously a

T-bar lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

) for skiing and snowboarding, and a cross-country skiing trail. * The park also features facilities for baseball, softball, tennis, bicycling, hiking, picnicking, and

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

References

External links

Map of Emery Park
Parks in Erie County, New York {{ErieCountyNY-geo-stub