Williamsville 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 Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 5,423 at the 2020 census. The village is named after Jonas Williams, an early settler. It is part of the Buffalo–

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. Williamsville is located mostly within the town of Amherst, but Creek Road and Creek Heights in the south part of the village (near the Wehrle Drive underpass of the New York State Thruway) are in the town of

Cheektowaga Cheektowaga () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is the ...

. The village is in the northeastern quadrant of Erie County. The

Williamsville Central School District Williamsville Central School District (commonly abbreviated WCSD) is a public school district in New York that serves the village of Williamsville, as well as the towns of Amherst, Cheektowaga, and Clarence. The district enrollment is approxima ...

is a school system covering Williamsville, most of the eastern part of Amherst, and a small portion of the western end of Clarence.

History

The community developed where the major road between

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

and Buffalo crossed

Ellicott Creek Ellicott Creek is a stream in Western New York, United States. It is a tributary of Tonawanda Creek, which in turn flows into the Niagara River. Course Ellicott Creek originates in southwest corner of Genesee County, just northeast of Darien La ...

just above Glen Falls. The water power offered by the waterfall attracted millers. The first mill was built by Jonas Williams in 1811, giving the village its first name, "Williams Mills". It still stands today, next to Glen Park, and is known as the Williamsville Water Mill. Several other mills were built near Glen Falls during the 19th century. In 1841, a raceway was constructed to divert water from Ellicott Creek to the mills, creating an island known today as Island Park. A stagecoach stop, tavern, and inn was built along the main road near Ellicott Creek by Oziel Smith in 1832. Today it is known as the Eagle House. The close crossing of the main road and Ellicott Creek's Glen Falls was the initial attraction, around which Williamsville grew. The village was incorporated in 1850. Ss. Peter and Paul Church was loosely operating in the early 1820s, and the current church construction began in 1834 following the sale of land for the church from a non-parishioner, Oziel Smith, and was finished in 1836. St. John Neumann arrived to lead Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church from 1836 to 1840. Ss. Peter and Paul School was started by St. John Neumann in 1836, who also served as one of its first teachers. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, American troops were stationed in Williamsville in the area between Garrison Road and Ellicott Creek. American soldiers and British prisoners were treated in a field hospital and log barracks that lined Garrison Road. A small cemetery, located on Aero Drive between Wehrle and Youngs Road, was used to bury the men who did not survive. General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

used the Evans House as his headquarters in the Spring of 1813 when his entire army of 5,000–6,000 men were stationed in Williamsville. In 1813, when the British burned Buffalo, people fled to the safety of Williamsville, nearby Harris Hill, and

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

. The village of Williamsville was one of more than 550 villages incorporated by New York State in 1850. In 1983, Williamsville passed a Historic Preservation Code "to promote the awareness of landmarks of historic, cultural, social and architectural significance in the Village of Williamsville and to safe guard the heritage, character and quality of life unique to the Village through the preservation of these landmarks." Every summer in Williamsville, Old Home Days is held in Island Park, located directly on Main Street in the village. The Carnival begins with a parade on the opening Tuesday, and for four days, thousands of people enjoy rides, food, and the people of Williamsville. The Old Home Days festival is in remembrance of several women who in the mid-19th century came to the park once each summer to drink tea and catch up on the years past. In 2010, government downsizing activist

Kevin Gaughan Kevin P. Gaughan (born March 17, 1954) is an attorney and an advocate of government reform, in particular for the establishment of regional government and regional consciousness within the Buffalo-Niagara region, which encompasses the cities of ...

campaigned to dissolve the village government. After a highly contentious campaign, a dissolution referendum was held on August 17, 2010, where voters rejected dissolution by a 5–1 margin.

Geography

Glen Falls WilliamsvilleNY Aug2021 TimLaFaveJr

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.

flows through the village from south to north. The

Onondaga Escarpment The Onondaga Limestone is a group of hard limestones and dolomites of Devonian age that form an important geographic feature in some areas in which it outcrops; in others, especially its Southern Ontario portion, the formation can be less promi ...

runs through the village east to west. Glen Falls marks the place where Ellicott Creek falls over the escarpment. An early name for Ellicott Creek was "Eleven Mile Creek". Main Street is part of the east–west New York State Route 5 (NY 5). American surveyor

Joseph Ellicott Joseph Ellicott (November 1, 1760 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania – August 19, 1826 in New York City) was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith. Life Ellicott was born in Bucks Co ...

had the "Great Iroquois Trail", an ancient path from the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

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 ...

, improved. It was known as the "Buffalo Road" and, later, "Main Street". North Union Road, part of

NY 277 New York State Route 277 (NY 277) is a state highway in New York in the United States. This highway is also called Union Road, along with other names. NY 277 is a major north–south road east of Buffalo, New York, through th ...

, is a major north–south road through the west end of the village. Transit Road, surveyed by Joseph Ellicott, was named for an important surveying instrument (a transit level). Transit Road marks the boundary between townships ( Amherst and

Clarence Clarence may refer to: Places Australia * Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division * Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow * Clarence River (New South Wales) * Clarence Strait (Northern Territory) * City of Clarence, a l ...

and Lancaster), inter alia. Joseph Ellicott's surveys of western New York divided the

Holland Purchase The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the purchase in 1788 of of land in what is now western New York State from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for $1,000,000 ( £300,000), to be paid in three annual installments, and the pre-emptive right to th ...

land into a grid of more or less square of townships with boundaries aligned north–south and east–west, a system related to the

Public Land Survey System The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is the surveying method developed and used in the United States to plat, or divide, real property for sale and settling. Also known as the Rectangular Survey System, it was created by the Land Ordinance of 178 ...

(PLSS) used in most of the rest of post-colonial America. In western New York, strict accordance to the PLSS was not required or followed, since the land was not federally owned, but had passed directly from the

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 ...

Indians to land speculators such as 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 ...

. The New York State Thruway ( Interstate 90 or I-90) passes through the south part of the village and connects to

I-290 Interstate 290 may refer to the following Interstate Highways in the United States: *Interstate 290 (Illinois), a highway from Chicago, Illinois, to Rolling Meadows, Illinois * Interstate 290 (Massachusetts), a highway in Massachusetts that connects ...

. A Thruway

toll plaza A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemente ...

located near the village has been a matter of controversy for years and recent proposals suggest it may be moved farther east.

Demographics

As of the 2020 US

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 ...

there were 5,423 people, 2,364 households, 1,308 families residing in the village, 594 with own children under 18 years. 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 4,283.6 people/mi² (1,653.9 /km²). The racial makeup of the village was 86.4%

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 ...

, 4.6% Asian, 3.6%

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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.83% of

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 4.7% of 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 2.7% of the population. There were 2,364 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.83. In the village, the population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 19, 6.0% from 20 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 24.4% who were 65 years of age or older, with a median age of 45. The population was 47.3% male and 52.7% female. According to the 2000 US Census, there were 2,695 housing units at an average density of 2,107.0 per square mile (815.4/km²). The median income for a household in the village was $47,557, and the median income for a family was $65,300. Males had a median income of $43,500 versus $32,172 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 $27,177. About 2.5% of families and 4.5% 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 2.7% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over. In 2007 it was found that the violent crimes per 1,000 residents were measured at 1.13, where as the national median was 4.0, property crimes (per 1000) were at 16.98, the national average was 29.4, and crimes per square mile were at 13, the national average was at 39.3.

Arts and culture

Williamsville Water Mill as seen from Glen Park, Williamsville, New York (01)

Landmarks

Williamsville has several parks. Glen Park, (the site of an amusement park in the 1940s and 1950s), offers views of Ellicott Creek as it falls over the

, forming the Glen Falls; Island Park has a large pavilion and is the site of Old Home Days and the Taste of Williamsville events during the summer. There are 34 sites in Williamsville designated as landmarks by the village's Historic Preservation Commission The Williamsville Christian Church and the Williamsville Water Mill Complex are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Festival

The main festival in Williamsville is Old Home Days and there also is the Taste of Williamsville. During the summer there is Music on Main, a musical festival hosted by several businesses on Main Street where local bands play on street corners during various days.

Parks and recreation

Recreational facilities in town include a rollerskating rink and the Lehigh Memory Trail.

Education

Children of school age may attend public schools within the

, whose boundaries cover the entire village as well as much of the adjacent unincorporated Town of Amherst. Williamsville Central operates six elementary (grades K-4), four middle (5-8), and three high (9-12) schools. Of those, Village of Williamsville children are districted to Forest Elementary, Mill Middle, and Williamsville South High School. The private schools of Williamsville include Saints Peter and Paul, as well as Christian Central Academy.

Notable people

Marty Angelo Marty Angelo worked in the entertainment business from 1965 to 1980 as a television producer ( Disco Step-by-Step), record promoter, restaurant/nightclub owner and personal manager for rock 'n' roll bands ( Raven and Rob Grill and The Grass Roots) ...

, minister and author *

Jacob Artist Jacob Artist (born October 17, 1992) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his roles as Jake Puckerman on the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee'' and as Brandon Fletcher on the ABC drama-thriller series '' Quanti ...

, actor on FOX's ''Glee'' * Justin Bailey, player in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

* Alfred F. Beiter (1894–1974), former US congressman * Charles F. Bishop (1844–1913), former

mayor of Buffalo, New York The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York. List of mayors Number of mayors by party affiliation History In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the tow ...

* Roy Turnbull Black (1888–1962), chess player *

Shirley Chisholm Shirley Anita Chisholm ( ; ; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional distr ...

, Congresswoman, following her retirement from Congress * W. H. Clatworthy (1915–2010),

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

professor,

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 ...

veteran *

Thomas Dao Ling Yuan "Thomas" Dao (April 27, 1921 – July 16, 2009) was a Chinese American physician and specialist in breast cancer, its causes and treatment, who was one of the earliest proponents of minimalist alternatives to radical mastectomy as a ...

(1921–2009), physician who developed

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

treatment alternativesHevesi, Dennis
"Dr. Thomas Dao, Expert on Treatment of Breast Cancer, Dies at 88"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', July 25, 2009. Accessed July 26, 2009. *

Jim Dombrowski James Matthew Dombrowski (born October 19, 1963) is a former American college and professional football player who was a guard and offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. Dombrowski played college football for ...

, former pro football player * Benjamin Ellicott (1765–1827), former US congressman * Jeff Farkas, former

player * Paul Fix II, racecar driver * Shelby Fix, media personality *

Charles V. Fornes Charles Vincent Fornes (January 22, 1844 – May 22, 1929) was an American educator and politician who served three terms as a United States representative from NYCongDel, New York from 1907 to 1913. Early life and career Born on a farm near W ...

(1844–1929), former US congressman * Scott E. Friedman, author and attorney * David Goggins, Navy SEAL and author * Glenn Gronkowski, American football player *

Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...

, American football player for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

Robert Guthrie Robert Guthrie, MD, Ph.D. (June 28, 1916 – June 24, 1995) was an American microbiologist, best known for developing the bacterial inhibition assay used to screen infants for phenylketonuria at birth, before the development of irreversible n ...

(1916–1995), developed the bacterial inhibition assay used to screen infants for

phenylketonuria Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. It may also re ...

at birth * Nelson K. Hopkins (1816–1904), lawyer and politician * Robert Kinkel,

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...

composer and keyboardist *

David Leggio David Leggio (born July 31, 1984) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Leggio is perhaps best known fo ...

, minor league hockey player * Dan Macaulay, singer, songwriter *

Wendie Malick Wendie Malick (born December 13, 1950) is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles in various television comedies. She starred as Judith Tupper Stone in the HBO sitcom '' Dream On'', and as Nina Van Horn in the NBC si ...

, American actor *

Todd Marchant Todd Michael Marchant (born August 12, 1973) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played nine seasons with the Edmonton Oilers and almost six seasons with the Anaheim D ...

, retired professional ice hockey player * Kendell McFayden, professional soccer player *

Robert Moog Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...

(1934–2005), inventor of the Moog synthesizer and founder of Moog Music *

John Neumann John Nepomucene Neumann (german: link=no, Johann Nepomuk Neumann, cs, Jan Nepomucký Neumann; March 28, 1811 – January 5, 1860) was a Catholic priest from Bohemia. He immigrated to the United States in 1836, where he was ordained, joined t ...

(1811–1860),

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

Roman Catholic priest and bishop who was the founder and first pastor of SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Williamsville * Lyman C. Pettit (1868–1950), founder and first president of the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute (now

Eastern Nazarene College The Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) is a private, Christian college in Quincy, Massachusetts. Established as a holiness college in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1900, the college moved to Rhode Island for several years. With its expansion to a four-ye ...

) * Mary Lou Rath, former New York state senator * Mario J. Rossetti (1935–2014), New York Supreme Court justice * Alex Sahlen, professional soccer player *

Peter Salovey Peter Salovey (; born February 21, 1958) is an American social psychologist and current President of Yale University. He previously served as Yale's Provost, Dean of Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Dean of Yale College. Salovey i ...

, twenty-third President of Yale University * Peter Scamurra, retired

player * Cole Schneider, ice hockey player * John B. Sheffer II, former village mayor, New York assemblyman and state senator *

Lindsay Shookus Lindsay Anne Shookus (born June 18, 1980) is an American television producer. She has been nominated for 10 Emmy Awards, winning four times, for her work on ''Saturday Night Live''. Early life Shookus's father, Robert, owned a manufacturers repr ...

, NBC producer *

Faith Whittlesey Faith Amy Whittlesey ( Ryan; February 21, 1939 – May 21, 2018) was an American Republican politician, White House Senior Staff member, and author. She was noted for her efforts to communicate Ronald Reagan's entire policy agenda to U.S. opini ...

(1939–2018), former White House senior staff member * Sameera Fazili, deputy director of National Economic Council in the

Biden Administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

References

*http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ny/williamsville/crime/ *http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/WNY_School_district_rankings_20090604 *http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3682084.html
United States Census
*http://village.williamsville.ny.us/history.html

External links

Village of Williamsville official website

''A History of the Town of Amherst, New York''
— Sue Miller Young, 1965 {{Authority control Villages in New York (state) Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area Villages in Erie County, New York