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Depew () 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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. The population was 15,303 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the
Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area The Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area, designated by the United States Census Bureau, encompassing two counties — Erie and Niagara in Western New York. It has a population of almost 1.2 million peop ...
. The village is named for
Chauncey Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as ...
, a politician and one of the original investors who bought the land for the village, which was incorporated in 1894. The village extends across the boundary between the towns of Lancaster and Cheektowaga. The village lies on both sides of NY Route 78 (Transit Road), a major north-south route. Village residents voted on January 17, 2017 to not dissolve the Village of Depew into the Towns of Lancaster and Cheektowaga, by a margin of 3,006–1,165.


Geography

Depew is located at (42.911758, -78.701600). 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 th ...
, the village has a total area of , all land. Depew straddles the towns of Lancaster and Cheektowaga and is east of downtown Buffalo. Depew is bordered to the east by the village of Lancaster.


History

Part of the area that Depew currently inhabits was first settled in 1808 by Apollos Hitchcock, just north of
Cayuga Creek Cayuga Creek is a small stream in western New York, United States, with stretches in both Erie County and Wyoming County. The creek enters Buffalo Creek in the northwest corner of the Town of West Seneca in Erie County, just upstream from the N ...
on the main road that connected Buffalo (spelled as "Buffaloe" at the time) with Lancaster village in what was then ''Jukdowaageh'' (now Cheektowaga), which some say meant "land of the crab apple" or "land of fruit and flowers". The land had been bought and surveyed by 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 following is from ''Our County and Its People A Descriptive Work of Erie County New York'', edited by Truman C. White:
"Depew lies partly in Lancaster and partly in the town of Cheektowaga, but its history is so thoroughly identified with the territory under consideration that it may properly be treated wholly within this chapter. It was named in honor of Chauncey M. Depew, president of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company, to which it owes its existence. That great corporation decided upon this site as a permanent location for its shops and auxiliary establishments, and on May 17, 1892, ground was broken. This was the signal for a general real estate boom in the vicinity. The great shops, covering about six acres, were first opened on April 1, 1893, with forty employees. Before the close of the year 1893 the following establishments had been completed or were well under way: The National Car Wheel Works, the Gould Coupler Company (occupying over six acres), and the Union Car Company (occupying about ten acres). The brass works were burned May 23, 1895, but immediately rebuilt. The first dwelling house was erected in April, 1893, and on May 1 of the same year John T. Lyman and George M. Beeman began the publication of the Depew Herald, which has had several proprietors, the present one being John T. Earl. In 1893 sixteen houses were erected, more than nine miles of plank sidewalk and 6,000 feet of sewers were laid, a fire company was organized, the New Palmer House by Alexander Stoddard and the Cleveland House by William Cleveland were built, and the water works were constructed by the Depew and Lancaster Water Works Company, of which Henry Koons was the first president. On July 23, 1894, the village was incorporated, and the first officers elected August 21, were Dr. William Fairbanks, president; John Zurbrick, George Waltz and John Graney, trustees; Anthony Hartung, treasurer; Martin Kiefer, collector; J. N. Oswald, clerk. The corporate limits are about two and one-fourth miles square, and the population is about 2,800. In this year (1894) a hose company was organized, the plants of the Buffalo Cleaning and Dyeing Company and the Depew Brewing Company were established, the hardware store of Pratt & Matthews was opened, and the brick block of E. J. Durbin was erected. Union free school district No. 7, of Cheektowaga, taking in a part of the old district No. 4, Lancaster, was also organized, the first president being Franklin Zurbrick. At this time four schools were kept in the village. A brick school house was built on the south side in 1894-95 and another on the north side in 1895, each costing $10,000. The first principal was C. A. Walker. In 1894 the Depew Natural Gas Company was organized and began furnishing gas for lighting and fuel; three wells have been sunk on the north side. The Methodist Episcopal Society was organized July 6, 1894, with E. J. Durbin, B. C. Stoddard and A. W. Southall, trustees; an edifice was erected in 1895. By February, 1895, the village had a population of 1,814, and by May about 500 dwellings had been erected and few large establishments were in operation employing 2,500 men. Transit Street was macadamized in this year, the German Lutheran church was built, and in December the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Emmaus Society was organized. A Roman Catholic church and an independent Polish Catholic church were erected in 1896. In 1893 a post-office was established with W. W. Turley as postmaster; he was followed by John Graney and he by Robert Hunter. Depew has stations on the New York Central, the D., L. & W., the Erie and the Lehigh Valley Railroads; the latter constructed a branch direct to Tonawanda in 1895-96. The Depew Terminal Railroad was built from Depew to Blasdell in 1897. The Depew loop of the Buffalo, Bellevue & Lancaster Electric Railway was opened in 1894. Much of the growth of the village is due to the Depew Improvement Company, which donated the school, and church sites, and which was largely succeeded in 1897 by the Depew Syndicate, capitalized at $100,000."
Named after
Chauncey Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as ...
, the village was founded and it became a hub of rapid growth. Founded in 1892 as a rail center, the Village of Depew was incorporated on July 23, 1894. The Depew economy in the 19th century was based primarily on
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
-related industries, such as the
Gould Coupler Company Charles Albert Gould (January 13, 1849 – January 6, 1926) was an American yachtsman, industrialist and art collector. Early life Gould was born on January 13, 1849, in Batavia, New York. He was the eldest child of William Wallace Gould (1826– ...
, manufacturers of knuckle-type
railroad coupler A coupling (or a coupler) is a mechanism typically placed at each end of a railway vehicle that connects them together to form a train. A variety of coupler types have been developed over the course of railway history. Key issues in their desig ...
s. In 1904,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
political figure
William C. Clendinneng William C. Clendinneng (June 22, 1833 – June 21, 1907) was an Irish-born manufacturer and political figure in Quebec. He was the owner of the William Clendinneng & Son Company (Limited), one of Canada's most important foundries, in operation ...
died in Depew after being hit by a train.
Depew High School Depew Union Free School District is a school district in Depew, New York, United States. The superintendent is Dr. Jeffrey Rabey. The district operates three schools: Depew High School, Depew Middle School, and Cayuga Heights Elementary School. ...
has a long-standing rivalry, starting in 1919, with Lancaster High School. The rivalry between has been strong and it is still a great battle between the smaller school versus the larger school despite the fact that Lancaster has won a majority of the games between the two rivals.


Notable people

* Lucille Clifton, poet who was born and raised in Depew * Pat Dobson, former MLB pitcher was born in Depew and attended Lancaster High School * Dennis H. Gabryszak, New York state assemblyman * Don Majkowski, former
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
quarterback, born and raised in Depew and attended Depew High School *
B. John Tutuska B. John Tutuska (December 4, 1911 – July 30, 1993) was the second county executive in Erie County, New York, serving from 1969 to 1971. The Depew, New York-born Tutuska succeeded Edward C. Rath in 1969 after Rath died in office. Prior ...
, former Erie County executive *
Dale Volker Dale M. Volker (born August 2, 1940) is a former New York State Senator who represented the 59th district, which then covered Wyoming County, as well as portions of Erie, Livingston and Ontario counties. Volker is a Republican. Biography Da ...
, former New York state senator *
Charles H. Hogan Charles H. Hogan (January 9, 1850 – July 19, 1939) was an American train engineer, mostly for the New York Central railroad company. His talent was knowing how to run steam locomotives at peak capacity without doing harm to the boiler. Nearly ...
, train engineer


Government officials

Kevin Peterson is the current mayor. Patrick Deleney is the current chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Arthur Domino is the current village historian. Trustees include Andrew Adolf


Historic places

The
United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
contains a mural, ''Beginning of the Day'', painted in 1941 by
Anne Poor Anne Poor (January 4, 1918 – January 12, 2002) was an American artist most known for her paintings and sketches created during World War II, while serving as an official art correspondent in the United States Army. However, Poor's complete o ...
and was 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 ...
in 1988. Federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the
Section of Painting and Sculpture The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture was a New Deal art project established on October 16, 1934, and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. Commonly known as the Section, it was rena ...
, later called the
Section of Fine Arts The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture was a New Deal art project established on October 16, 1934, and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. Commonly known as the Section, it was rena ...
, of the Treasury Department.


Demographics

As of the
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 inc ...
of 2010, there were 15,303 people, 6,832 households, and 4,625 families residing in the village. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was 3,282.0 people per square mile (1,266.4/km2). There were 7,101 housing units at an average density of 1,401.5 per square mile (540.8/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 93.70%
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 ...
, 2.30%
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 ...
, 0.70% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.00%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.18% from other races, and 1.90% from 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 for ...
or Latino of any race were 0.73% of the population. There were 6,669 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96. In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $57,895, and the median income for a family was $50,021. Males had a median income of $35,219 versus $25,604 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 $19,914. About 3.6% of families and 5.4% 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 7.3% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over. According to the
New York State Department of Health The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is the department of the New York state government responsible for public health. It is headed by Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett, who was appointed by Governor Hochul and confirmed by the S ...
, residents of the Village of Depew report instances of
psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavi ...
and schizotypal personality disorder 28% higher than the statewide average and incidence of
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...
42% higher than the statewide average, adjusted for population.


Adjacent cities and towns

* Town of Cheektowaga - west, southwest, northwest * Town of Lancaster - east, southeast, northeast * Village of Lancaster - east


Transportation

*Depew hosts the Buffalo-Depew
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
station just inside its western border with Cheektowaga. The main train station for the Buffalo area, it is served by the Lake Shore Limited (Chicago to New York City/Boston),
Maple Leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along th ...
(Toronto to New York City), and Empire Service (Niagara Falls, NY to New York City). * U.S. Route 20 (
Transit Road New York State Route 78 (NY 78) is a state highway in western New York in the United States. While it is signed north–south, the southern portion runs in an east–west direction across Wyoming and Erie counties, from its beginning ...
, Broadway), U.S. Route 20 runs east-west; however, when entering te Village of Depew concurrent with NY 78 on Transit, it runs north-south. US 20 ends concurrency with NY 78 at Broadway and turns east to travel into the Village of Lancaster. *
New York State Route 78 New York State Route 78 (NY 78) is a state highway in western New York in the United States. While it is signed north–south, the southern portion runs in an east–west direction across Wyoming and Erie counties, from its beginnin ...
(Transit Road), north-south route through Depew, runs concurrently with US 20 south of village. *
New York State Route 130 New York State Route 130 (NY 130) is a state highway entirely within Erie County, New York, in the United States. It runs east–west from U.S. Route 62 (US 62, named Bailey Avenue) in Buffalo to the village of Depew, where ...
(Broadway), east-west roadway through the village from the Cheektowaga town line at the west to NY 130's end at Transit Rd. (US 20/NY 78). Broadway continues east into Village of Lancaster as US 20. *
New York State Route 952Q New York State Route 952Q (NY 952Q) is an unsigned reference route designation for the portion of Walden Avenue outside of the Buffalo city limits in Erie County, New York, in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at ...
(Walden Avenue), East-West highway through the village from Cheektowaga to Lancaster. Walden is the longest non-parkway reference route in New York. Walden's reference route number is not signed, but still has reference markers, and is maintained by
New York State Department of Transportation The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, Rail transport, railroads, mass transit systems ...
(NYSDOT) as other signed routes are.


See also

* Buffalo–Depew station *
Chauncey Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as ...


References


External links


Village of Depew official website
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area Villages in Erie County, New York