Falconer 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 ...

in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 2,284 at the 2020 census. Falconer is within the town of Ellicott and is on the eastern edge of the city of Jamestown.

History

The area now known as Falconer was inhabited by the

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 ...

until the mid-1600s. Five years of war with the Seneca Nation led to the Erie Nation's decimation; their people migrated and were absorbed into the Seneca community, who then inhabited this land. During the Revolutionary War, the thriving Seneca Nation sided with the losing British. In 1779, George Washington organized the

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide) was a United States military campaign during the American Revolutionary War, lasting from June to October 1779 ...

, a military campaign intended to weaken Loyalist an
Haudenosaunee
(Iroquois) communities. The Seneca signed the Treaty at Big Tree in 1797, surrendering most of their lands to the United States government. By White settlers, Falconer was originally called Worksburg, after Edward Work, who purchased the land from the

Holland Land Company The Holland Land Company was an unincorporated syndicate of thirteen Dutch investors from Amsterdam who in 1792 and 1793 purchased the western two-thirds of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, an area that afterward was known as the Holland Purchas ...

in August 1807. The first Falconer to own the land was Robert Falconer, who bought it from Edward Work in 1836. His son, Patrick, later consolidated his land holdings in the future village. In 1874 the community received its present name, after either William T. Falconer (1850–1915) or his father Patrick, who was on the board of directors of the Allegheny & Pittsburg Railroad and donated a large tract of land through town to the railroad concern. This resulted in the railroad line being routed through the middle of the community. Route 380 in the village retains the name "Work Street" after the town's founder (it also now serves as a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

as the village's various industrial sites are on the same road and thus many people "work" there). The village of Falconer was incorporated in 1891. John Cheever selected the village as the location for the fictional Falconer State Prison in his novel '' Falconer''.

Geography

Falconer is located in the eastern part of the town of Ellicott at (42.118908, -79.200207). It is bordered to the west by the city of Jamestown, while its eastern tip touches the border of the town of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. The

Chadakoin River The Chadakoin River is a stream that is a tributary of the Conewango Creek. The Chadakoin lies entirely in Chautauqua County in Western New York in the United States. The stream drains an area of , covering much of Chautauqua County. The creek ...

, the outlet of

Chautauqua Lake Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The lake is approximately long and wide at its greatest width. The surface area is approximately . The maximum depth is about . The shoreline is about of w ...

, flows from Jamestown and passes through the village, meeting Cassadaga Creek to the northeast at Levant. The river system is part of 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 fl ...

basin via

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 ...

and the Allegheny River. 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 village has a total area of , all land.

New York State Route 394 New York State Route 394 (NY 394) is a state highway located within Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties in southwestern New York in the United States. Its western terminus is located on the shore of Lake Erie at an intersection with ...

(east-to-west) and Chautauqua County Route 380 (north-to-south) are the primary routes through Falconer. Access to and from Interstate 86 is available via exit 13, just east of the village. County Route 65 enters the village from the southeast. Falconer is unusual among villages in the area in that its speed limit is 25 miles per hour, the lowest of any village or town in Chautauqua County; Route 394 has a 35 mile-per-hour posted speed limit.

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 2000, there were 2,540 people, 1,109 households, and 699 families residing in the village. 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 2,346 people per square mile (1454.5/km²). There were 1,216 housing units at an average density of 2,346.7 per square mile (906.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.8%

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 ...

, 0.6%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.1% 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 0.7% 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 1.1% of the population. There were 1,109 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.88. In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $32,222, and the median income for a family was $41,711. Males had a median income of $34,961 versus $21,250 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 $15,205. About 6.2% of families and 10.1% 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 13.1% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Village of Falconer official website
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Chautauqua County, New York