Steamburg is a

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 ...

in the Town of Coldspring in Cattaraugus County, in western

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. Steamburg, in similar fashion to a few other communities in the region, has no incorporated government and is not currently recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau, though it was recognized as the, "Village of Steamburg," in the 1880 census. Its name is noted on road signs. It is served by a phone exchange (716-354) and ZIP code (14783) in common with the Town of Coldspring and the surrounding areas. The

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

main line ran through Steamburg and the Steamburg station was located on the south side of the tracks just east of NE May Road (formerly Depot Street).

Background

The hamlet of Steamburg is marked as India Village on a

Holland Land Company The Holland Land Company was an unincorporated syndicate of thirteen Dutch investors from Amsterdam,Kirby, C.D. (1976). ''The Early History of Gowanda and The Beautiful Land of the Cattaraugus''. Gowanda, NY: Niagara Frontier Publishing Company ...

map dating to 183

The hamlet's post office opened in 1861. Steamburg serves as the western gateway to the

Allegany Indian 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 ...

of the

Seneca Nation of New York 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 ...

; as such, a few tax-free gasoline and cigarette shops can be found in the area. The Seneca Transit Service's bus service, founded in 2013, ends just south of Steamburg. The community is located at the eastern terminus of

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 ...

, at I-86 exit 17. Also converging on the hamlet is New York State Reference Route 950A (West Bank Perimeter Road, a.k.a. Onoville Road), which approaches from the south, and Cattaraugus County Route 10 (Lebanon Road), which approaches from the north. The government of the Town of Coldspring is situated in northern Steamburg, as is the Town's only formal religious institution, which until the late 2010s was a branch of the

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 ...

. The northern part (the only part marked on road signs) is outside the reservation. The southern part of the hamlet was developed for residential housing in the 1960s, with an acre per household, as a resettlement area to compensate some of the hundreds of Seneca displaced from their communities for construction of 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 ...

and its reservoir, known as Kinzua Lake. It is located on the reservation. This is a center of the Coldspring Longhouse and has developed in a more conservative fashion since relocation in the 1960s. The tribe in the 1990s built the only medical clinic on the reservation in this community. The surrounding region also features the Highbanks Campground and the Faithkeepers School, both a short distance south of the residential areas. Other Seneca were resettled to a new residential community, Jimerson Town, developed near Salamanca, New York. Designated as one of the two capitals of the Seneca Nation of New York, Jimson Town has been developed with more facilities, including schools, swimming pool, fire station and other amenities.

Notable residents

* James Spencer Whipple, a New York.State Assemblyman and public official was born in Steamburg Hamlets in New York (state) Hamlets in Cattaraugus County, New York {{CattaraugusCountyNY-geo-stub