Great Valley is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Cattaraugus County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 1,991 at the 2020 census. The town is named after its local geographical setting, a relative comparison of two tributaries (the other being the neighboring Little Valley) 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 ...

. The town of Great Valley is centrally located in the county, northeast 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 town's area was first settled ''circa'' 1812, with the first settlement, Kill Buck, coalescing in 1818. The Town of Great Valley was incorporated in 1818, taken from part of the town of Olean. In 1831, the town of Burton was made from the southeast part of Great Valley, and in 1842 the town of Carrollton was made from the southwest part of Great Valley.

Geography

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 town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.20%, is water. The

flows through the southeast corner of the town, and Great Valley Creek is an important stream in the town. U.S. Route 219 is a major north-south highway in the town and intersects

New York State Route 98 New York State Route 98 (NY 98) is a state highway in the western New York, western part of New York (state), New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with U.S. Route 219 in New York, U.S. ...

in Great Valley village.

Adjacent towns and areas

Great Valley is south of the town of Ellicottville and north of the town of Carrollton. The west boundary is formed by the towns of

and Little Valley, as well as the city of Salamanca and the Allegany Reservation. Great Valley's east boundary is formed with the towns of

Humphrey Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of Pr ...

and Allegany. A very small part of southwestern Great Valley borders the town of Red House.

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 2,145 people, 843 households, and 596 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,196 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.36%

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 ...

, 0.79%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.17% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.47% from other races, and 0.51% 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 0.93% of the population. There were 843 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% 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, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.98. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,784, and the median income for a family was $42,209. Males had a median income of $31,581 versus $21,792 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 town was $17,749. About 3.1% of families and 6.7% 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 4.9% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* DeHart H. Ames, former New York state senator * Chauncey J. Fox, former New York state senator * Nelson I. Norton, former US congressman

Communities and locations in Great Valley

* Allegany Reservation – Part of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

reservation is in the southwest corner of the town. *

Allegany State Park Allegany State Park is a state park in western New York State, located in Cattaraugus County, New York, Cattaraugus County just north of the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. The park is divided into two sections: The Red House Area a ...

– A small section of the park is in the southwest corner of the town. *Great Valley – the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Great Valley is centrally located in the town. The town is at the convergence of County Roads 18 and 38, NY-98, as well as US 219. Great Valley Creek flows southward through the community. * Great Valley Airport (N56) - A general aviation airstrip with a turf runway (Runway 6-24, length 3800 feet), operated by and adjacent to Katy's Fly-In Restaurant (formerly Eddy's). It is about one mile southwest of the hamlet of Great Valley. *Great Valley Creek – A stream that flows into the town at the north town line and out the southeast corner of the town to join the

in Salamanca, New York. * Holiday Valley Resort – A ski resort that straddles the town's northern border with Ellicottville. * Kill Buck – A hamlet east of Salamanca on Route 219, named after a chief of a local tribe. *Peth – A hamlet southwest of Great Valley village on US Route 219, at the terminus of County Route 67. *Rock City and McCarty Hill State Forests – A sprawling state forest, covering the northwestern corner of Great Valley and covering portions of several surrounding towns. *

– A small part of the city of Salamanca overlaps the southwest corner of the town. *Sugartown – A hamlet northeast of Great Valley village, near the east town line on NY Route 98. *Willoughby – A hamlet east of Great Valley village on County Road 18. The seasonal theme park Pumpkinville is in the neighboring town of Humphrey but carries a Great Valley mailing address.

Transportation

Great Valley Airport is located one nautical mile (1.85 km) southeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of Great Valley. The

Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad The Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad is a Class II railroad operating in New York and Pennsylvania. The BPRR is owned by Genesee & Wyoming. Its main line runs between Buffalo, New York, and Eidenau, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. Here, conn ...

runs a line through Great Valley, paralleling Route 219. It is used almost exclusively for freight; no passenger service is available on the line.

Education

Public school students mostly attend Ellicottville Central School, which contrary to its name is located in the northern part of the Town of Great Valley. A public school operated in Great Valley until the early 1970s; much of the lot on which the now-demolished building once stood remains vacant (part has been used for a post office), and the street serving the school (School Street) has since been removed, with only a sidewalk remaining.

Religion

Two churches, one an independent Methodist church (formerly part of the

Church of the United Brethren in Christ The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination with churches in 17 countries. It is Protestant, with an episcopal structure and Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities ...

and

Evangelical United Brethren Church The Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) was a North American Protestant denomination from 1946 to 1968 with Arminian theology, roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities, and close ties to Methodism. It was formed by the merg ...

before 1968 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 ...

before 2022) and one a

Baptist church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

, are located next to each other in the hamlet of Great Valley. An additional United Methodist Church in Sugartown, also previously an EUB church before its merger with the UMC, operated until 1981 before merging with its nearby counterpart. Healing Reigns Fellowship is located in Kill Buck. Also in Great Valley is the nondenominational Little White Church, which was built in 2007 and has only once (at its dedication) been used for a church service, instead serving primarily as a wedding venue and roadside attraction.

References

External links

Town of Great Valley official website

{{authority control Towns in Cattaraugus County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1818 establishments in New York (state)