West Seneca 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 Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 45,500 at the 2020 census. West Seneca is a centrally located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo. West Seneca, Orchard Park and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

form the inner " Southtowns", a cluster of middle-class suburban towns.

History

Because the town is on land of the former Buffalo Creek Reservation, it was not open to white settlement until the mid-19th century. In 1851, the town of Seneca was formed from parts of the towns of Cheektowaga and

. The town changed the name to "West Seneca" in 1852 to avoid confusion with the town of Seneca in

Ontario County, New York Ontario County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 112,458. The county seat is Canandaigua. The county is part of the Finger Lakes region of the state. Ontario County is pa ...

. In 1909 the area immediately south of Buffalo split from West Seneca, becoming the city of Lackawanna. Following election day in 2019, the town elected a Republican Town Supervisor for the first time in 50 years and first town board member in 13 years, despite having a two to one Democrat to Republican ratio among registered voters (a Democrat running as an Independent also ran in the Supervisorial race). The Eaton Site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979. The Community of True Inspiration Residence was listed in 2013.

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 0.27%, is water. Cazenovia Creek and the Buffalo River runs through the town The New York State Thruway ( Interstate 90) passes through the town and intersects New York State Route 400 (Aurora Expressway) in the northwestern part of the town and U.S. Route 219 in the southwestern section. The east town line is marked by New York State Route 78 (Transit Road). New York State Route 240 (Harlem Road/Orchard Park Road) and

New York State Route 277 New York State Route 277 (NY 277) is a state highway in New York (state), 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, N ...

(Union Road) are other major north-south roads, while New York State Route 16 (Seneca Street/Center Road) and New York State Route 354 (Clinton Street) are major east-west highways.

Adjacent cities and towns

* Town of Cheektowaga - north * City of Buffalo - northwest * City of Lackawanna - west * Town of Hamburg - southwest * Town of Orchard Park - south * Town of Elma - east * Town of Lancaster - northeast

Major highways in the Town of West Seneca

* Interstate 90 ( New York State Thruway) passes through the western part of town in a north-south direction. (Overall Thruway direction is east-west.) * U.S. Route 219 (Southern Expressway), north-south route that travels through the extreme southwestern corner of town and ends at I-90. It is a major traffic artery for Buffalo– Springville traffic and other points south. * U.S. Route 20 (Transit Rd., Southwestern Blvd.), north-south route that forms the east town boundary as Transit Road, with NY 78 north of Seneca Street ( NY 16) and without NY 78 north of the Orchard Park Border. US 20 then turns west along the Orchard Park border and forms the southern town border for a short while. * New York State Route 16 (Seneca St., Center Rd.) passes through the town east-west from Buffalo into Elma. (Overall direction of NY 16 is north-south.) * New York State Route 78 (Transit Rd.), north-south route that marks the east town line with

US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Highway, United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major ...

north of Seneca Street ( NY 16). * New York State Route 240 (Harlem Rd., Orchard Park Rd.), north-south route through town from Cheektowaga to Orchard Park. *

(Union Rd.), north-south highway through town from Cheektowaga to Orchard Park. * New York State Route 354 (Clinton St.), east-west roadway through north part of town from Buffalo to Elma. * New York State Route 400 (Aurora Expwy.), east-west highway through the town from its west end at I-90, east into Elma that roughly parallels NY 16.

Communities and locations

* Buffalo Airfield (9G0) – A general aviation

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

on the north town line. * Buffalo Creek – A stream flowing westward through the town. The name of the city of Buffalo is derived from the stream. The creek is called the "Buffalo River" as it departs the western edge of the town. * East Seneca – A location on Route 16 in the east part of the town. * Ebenezer – Centrally located, a hamlet named after the Ebenezer Society (also called the

Community of True Inspiration The Community of True Inspiration, also known as the True Inspiration Congregations, Inspirationalists, and the Amana Church Society) is a Radical Pietist group of Christians descending from settlers of German, Swiss, and Austrian descent who se ...

), a group of German

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

s who purchased land and settled this area around 1843. Later, many of this communal group moved to Amana, Iowa, and had abandoned their four settlements in West Seneca by 1863. * Gardenville – 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 ...

on the northern border of the town shared with the town of Cheektowaga. * New Ebenezer – A hamlet east of Gardenville. * West Seneca Census-Designated Place – Census designation that corresponds to the entire town of West Seneca.

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 2010, there were 44,711 people, 19,151 households, and 12,223 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 18,982 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.96%

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 ...

, 0.85%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.21% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.29% from other races, and 0.77% 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 1.67% of the population. There were 19,151 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% 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, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.02. As of the

of 2000 the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $46,278, and the median income for a family was $54,179. Males had a median income of $39,003 versus $26,846 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 $20,529. About 3.0% of families and 4.6% 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 5.1% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions

The Charles E. Burchfield Nature & Art Center is located in West Seneca. Developed in 1999, the art and nature center complex also contains wild and cultivated gardens, a large playground, nature trails, playgrounds, and an outdoor

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

alongside the banks of Buffalo Creek. The town was once home to one of the largest malls in the area, the Seneca Mall. Schwabl's, a restaurant staple, has been located in West Seneca since 1837, known for their beef on weck, the restaurant was featured in a 2009 episode of '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations''. XGen Elite Sports Complex is home to the Buffalo eXtreme of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

Education

There are three separate public school districts within the town. The West Seneca Central School District is the largest and serves the majority of the town. It also serves small portions of the southern parts of Cheektowaga, the northern portion of Orchard Park, and the northeastern portion of Hamburg Town. Portions of West Seneca Town are in Orchard Park Central School District and in Cheektowaga-Sloan Union Free School District.
Text list
/ref> West Seneca is home to the following private primary and secondary schools (Roman Catholic schools are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo): * Queen of Heaven School * The Center Road Christian Academy, * Trinity Christian School * St. John Vianney School * West Seneca Christian School Former schools: * Fourteen Holy Helpers School (closed June 27, 2014) - It had 20 employees and 136 students in January 2014. * Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School (closed June 27, 2014; The school had its main building in the Orchard Park district and the junior high building in the West Seneca district, both physically in the town of Orchard Park near the Hamburg town and Lackawanna city lines.) Houghton College used to have a branch campus in the town that also served as the central office for its Extension Studies program.

Notable people

* Matt Anderson, professional volleyball player * Jordan Buckley, Keith Buckley and Stephen Micciche of rock band Every Time I Die * Charles E. Burchfield,

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and visionary artist who lived in West Seneca for 42 years * Vincent J. Graber Sr., former New York State Assemblyman * Jeremy Kelley, NFL wide receiver * Christian Metz, Inspirationalist who helped found the hamlet of Ebenezer * Aaron Miller, former

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

player who grew up in West Seneca * Chris Mueller,

player who grew up in West Seneca * Tina Parol, singer-songwriter * Brian Roloff, professional hockey player * Tim Russert, NBC journalist who attended elementary school in West Seneca * Lee Stempniak, former NHL player who grew up in West Seneca * Justin Strzelczyk, former NFL player who grew up in West Seneca * Robby Takac, bassist for the

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

* Sandra Lee Wirth, former New York State Assemblywoman * Brian Daboll, head coach, FLNew York Giants

Gallery

File:Fourteen Holy Helpers RC Church, West Seneca, New York.jpg, Fourteen Holy Helpers Church File:Schwabls Restaurant.JPG, Schwabls Restaurant

References

External links

Town of West Seneca official website

{{authority control Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area Towns in Erie County, New York Towns in New York (state)