South 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 ...

Cattaraugus County Cattaraugus County (locally known as Catt County) is a county in Western New York, with one side bordering Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2020 census, the population was 77,042. The county seat is Little Valley. The county was created ...

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 250 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from the town's geographical attributes. South Valley is in the southwest corner of the county and is east of the city of Jamestown.

History

The town was first settled in 1798 by

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

missionaries, who attempted to teach the local

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

agriculture and skills needed to cooperate with non-native settlers. The Quakers started a school in 1803 and erected a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

in 1812, but the mill caused dissension in the tribe and, at the request of Seneca leaders

Cornplanter John Abeel III (–February 18, 1836) known as Gaiänt'wakê (''Gyantwachia'' – "the planter") or Kaiiontwa'kon (''Kaintwakon'' – "By What One Plants") in the Seneca language and thus generally known as Cornplanter, was a Dutch- Seneca ch ...

and

Handsome Lake Handsome Lake () (1735 – 10 August 1815) was a Seneca religious leader of the Iroquois people. He was a half-brother to Cornplanter (), a Seneca war chief. Handsome Lake, a leader and prophet, played a major role in reviving traditional re ...

, was pulled down. Cornplanter (who spent his last years on a tract of land just south of South Valley) maintained respectful relations with the Quakers in his later life, despite differences with the group in regard to

cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's Dominant culture, majority group or fully adopts the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group. The melting pot model is based on this ...

. In 1838 the Quakers intervened to prevent the Ogden Land Company from acquiring the Senecas' land (as had been agreed to in the Treaty of Buffalo Creek), and in 1842 a new Treaty of Buffalo Creek allowed the Senecas to keep their land. The town of South Valley was formed in 1847 from the south part of the town of Randolph. Much like the then-adjacent town of Red House, South Valley depended heavily on lumber for its early economy, and the town's population peaked in 1890, when over 1,000 residents lived there. The spin-off of Elko and the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...

cut the town's population by more than half, starting a decline that would last several decades. Much of the town was evacuated and razed in 1965 when the

Kinzua Dam The Kinzua Dam, on the Allegheny River in Warren County, Pennsylvania, is one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River. It is located within the Allegheny National Forest. The dam is located east of Warren, Penns ...

was constructed, as many small communities that once inhabited the town along 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 ...

were flooded; by 1970, South Valley's population bottomed out at 164 people, a number that has since modestly rebounded. Maps of Cattaraugus County produced today will sometimes make note of the now-mostly abandoned hamlet of Onoville (still marked on

I-86 Interstate 86 may refer to any of three unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States: * Interstate 86 (Pennsylvania–New York) * Interstate 86 (Idaho) * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) Interstate 84 (I-84) is an In ...

and on navigation signs). A marina was constructed where Onoville used to be. Onoville's name was reputedly the result of objections to the original town's nickname, "Jugville"; after residents exclaimed "oh, no" to using the Jugville name, a fellow resident flippantly suggested "Onoville" instead, which was accepted. Internally, the

Seneca Nation of Indians The Seneca Nation of Indians is a federally recognized Seneca tribe based in western New York. They are one of three federally recognized Seneca entities in the United States, the others being the Tonawanda Band of Seneca (also in western New ...

refers to the area under the name "Ganöndayoshë’ge:h," a name of uncertain literal meaning.Allegany Territory Communities
(map). ''Seneca Nation of Indians Geographic Information Services''. Retrieved June 3, 2025. Onoville had briefly been assigned the ZIP Code 14764. By the time ZIP Codes were rolled out outside the cities in 1963, the Kinzua Dam was already being built. The Onoville post office closed June 30, 1964.

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 0.67%, is water. The southern town line is the border of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and the western town line is the border of Chautauqua County. The

Allegheny Reservoir The Allegheny Reservoir (also known as Kinzua Lake and unofficially as Lake Perfidy) is a reservoir along the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York, USA. It was created in 1965 by the construction of the Kinzua Dam along ...

cuts through the town. The South Valley State Forest occupies much of the town's area.

Adjacent towns and areas

The south town line is the border of the townships of Pine Grove,

Elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

, and

Mead Mead (), also called honey wine, and hydromel (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alco ...

in Warren County,

, and Corydon Township in McKean County, Pennsylvania. The west town line is the border of the town of Carroll in

Chautauqua County, New York Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 127,657. Its county seat is Mayville, and its largest city is Jamestown. Its name is believed to be the lone surviving rem ...

. To the east is the Allegany Reservation and the town of Coldspring. North of South Valley is the town of Randolph.

Highways

New York State Route 950A (West Bank Perimeter Road) is the primary road through South Valley and leads to

and NY 394 to the northeast and Pennsylvania to the southwest. County Road 33 (Bone Run Road) connects NY-950A to

U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) is an east–west United States Highway in the southern and northeastern United States. It runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian b ...

in Carroll. County Road 89 (Sawmill Run Road) connects to NY-950A in the former community of Onoville and leads directly to US 62 in Frewsburg.

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 302 people, 126 households, and 89 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 320 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.01%

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 ...

, 0.33%

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 ...

, 1.32% Native American and 0.33% Asian. There were 126 households, out of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% 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, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.83. In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.5% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 34.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 125.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 122.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $38,750, and the median income for a family was $47,188. Males had a median income of $32,188 versus $22,188 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 $20,541. About 3.8% of families and 6.4% 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 15.0% of those under the age of eighteen and 10.5% of those 65 or over.

Communities and locations in South Valley

Allegany Reservation Allegany Reservation () is a Seneca Nation of Indians reservation in Cattaraugus County, New York, U.S. In the 2000 census, 58 percent of the population within the reservation boundaries were Native Americans. Some 42% were European Americans; the ...

– A reservation of the

Seneca Nation The Seneca ( ; ) are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois Leag ...

that forms part of the east border of the town, along the reservoir. *

– The reservoir forms a lake in the southeast and cuts off part of the town. *Highbanks – A campground and resettlement area run by the

Allegany Reservation. *Onoville Marina – A

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

located at the mouth of Sawmill Run at the location of a former community in the town. *Sawmill Run – A stream that flows eastward into the Allegheny Reservoir, formed by the junction of its North Branch and South Branch (Gurnsey Hollow) near County Road 89. The town government offices are located near this junction.

Economy

A few scattered businesses operate in the town, including two prominent restaurants, the Horseshoe Inn on West Bank Perimeter Road and the Nic-L-Inn on Bone Run Road. Some small convenience stores and boating supply shops operate near the marina.

Notable people

Carrie B. Raymond Carrie B. Raymond (, Rice; 1857–1927) was an American musician and educator. For 34 years, she directed the University of Nebraska–Lincoln chorus. Early life and education Carrie Isabelle Rice was born in South Valley, New York, July 12, 18 ...

, musician and educator

References

External links

Town of South Valley official website

Onoville Marina official website
{{authority control Towns in Cattaraugus County, New York Towns in New York (state)