Ellicottville 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 ...

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 i ...

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 * '' ...

, United States. The population was 284 at the 2020 census. The village is named after

Joseph Ellicott Joseph Ellicott (November 1, 1760 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania – August 19, 1826 in New York City) was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith. Life Ellicott was born in Bucks Co ...

, principal land agent of 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 ...

. It lies in the southwest part of the town of Ellicottville and is north of the city of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

. Ellicottville's current mayor is John Burrell.

History

The native name for this location was ''De-as-hen-da-qua'', or "place for holding court". The Holland Land Company opened an office in 1818. The community was the original

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Cattaraugus County in 1808, and public buildings were subsequently constructed. The village of Ellicottville was incorporated in 1837. In 1868, the county seat was moved to the village of Little Valley. The Ellicottville Historic District, Ellicottville Town Hall, and

Jefferson Street Cemetery Jefferson Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at Ellicottville in Cattaraugus County, New York. The cemetery was established in 1817 and was the first to serve the village. It is a settlement era burial ground consisting of eight to ...

are 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 ...

Commerce

Ski slopes and tourism

The Holiday Valley ski resort is south of the village, and the

Nannen Arboretum The Nannen Arboretum is an arboretum and botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is gene ...

is north. Ellicottville is also home to the HoliMont Ski Club, the largest private ski club in North America. Because of the proximity to these two popular skiing destinations, Ellicottville is Cattaraugus County's primary tourist destination. Property values in the town and village of Ellicottville have gentrified rapidly and are, as a result, much higher than the rest of the county. A major "Fall Festival" is held each year, coinciding with Canadian Thanksgiving weekend (most of Ellicottville's tourists come from Canada) and the peak of the

leaf peeping __NOTOC__ Leaf peeping is an informal term in the United States and Canada for the activity in which people travel to view and photograph the fall foliage in areas where leaves change colors in autumn, particularly in northern New England, Appalac ...

season. Ellicottville has a large number of festivals throughout the year, including

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fa ...

(which, ironically, is always held during

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...

), a "Rock'n'Oldies Weekend", a "Jazz and Blues Festival," and a "Taste of Ellicottville".

Other commerce

The village of Ellicottville has strict zoning regulations prohibiting most chain franchises from operating in the village; its central business district is occupied mostly by taverns, boutiques and various similar small businesses.

Tops Markets Tops Friendly Markets is an American supermarket chain based in Amherst, New York, that operates stores in Upstate New York, Vermont, and Northern Pennsylvania. The chain operates full-scale supermarkets. Tops is a subsidiary of Northeast Gr ...

operates the village's grocery store, and two banks,

M&T Bank M&T Bank Corporation (Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company) is an American bank holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. It operates 1680 branches in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts ...

and Five Star Bank, have branches in the village.

Subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Intercontin ...

does have a location in the village. A Tim Hortons has also been recently added on the edge of town at the corner of Washington Street and Highway 219. Two weekly newspapers are based in Ellicottville, ''Ellicottville Now'' and ''The Villager''. The ''Villager'' dates to the mid-2000s. In addition to the weekly papers, a monthly tourism tabloid also originates in the village, which operates as ''Ellicottville Snowed-In'' during the winter and ''The Summer Local'' the rest of the year (its publisher also launched ''Ellicottville Now'' in 2020; that weekly paper is a spiritual successor to the ''Ellicottville Times'' and before that ''Special E-Fects'', which dated as far back as 1992).

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...

s were manufactured in Ellicottville for a number of years; after that company's departure, the factory building was converted into a bowling alley. Fitzpatrick & Weller, a wood products manufacturer, is the only currently operating factory in the village.

Education

Public school students attend Ellicottville Central School, the campus of which is in neighboring Great Valley.

Religion

Several churches operate in Ellicottville, including

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

, and Episcopal denominations. The local Free Presbyterian and

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelica ...

es merged into the "United Church of Ellicottville" in 1976.

Notable people

Charles Henry Bryan Charles Henry Bryan (October 20, 1822 – May 14, 1877) was a politician and jurist in California, who served as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court. Biography Bryan was born on October 20, 1822, in Ellicottville, New York ...

, former justice of the Supreme Court of California *

John A. Bryan John Alexander Bryan (April 13, 1794 in Berkshire County, Massachusetts – May 24, 1864 in Menasha, Wisconsin) was an American diplomat and politician from New York (state), New York and Ohio. He removed to Ellicottville, New York, and was ...

, former

Ohio State Auditor The Ohio State Auditor (formally known as the Auditor of State) is responsible for auditing all the public offices of the state of Ohio. The auditor is elected to a four-year term. The current Auditor is Keith Faber. References External lin ...

* Staley N. Clarke, former US congressman *

Brian Dunkleman Brian Dunkleman (born September 25, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, and television personality. He is best known as being co-host with Ryan Seacrest on the first season of ''American Idol'', in 2002. Career ''American Idol'' In 2002 Dunkle ...

, involved with television show ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

''; born on September 25, 1971, in EllicottvilleDunkleman, Brian (June 3, 2016)
Coming home
''Ellicottville Times''. Retrieved June 3, 2016. * Cindy Oak, former US Ski Team member * Commodore P. Vedder, former New York state senator * Irv Weinstein, retired TV anchor, part-time resident until selling his house in 2014

Geography

Ellicottville is located in the southwest corner of the town of Ellicottville at (42.2752, -78.6716). 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 t ...

, the village has a total area of , of which , or 1.65%, is water. Great Valley Creek, a tributary of the Allegheny River, flows through the village along the eastern edges; a smaller creek, Elk Creek, flows through the middle of the village. Ellicottville is at the convergence of County Roads 13 and 71, along with NY-242 and U.S. Route 219. In lieu of numbered or standard street names, most of the village's streets are named after presidents and first ladies of the United States from prior to 1828: (George) Washington Street, (Thomas) Jefferson Street, (John) Adams Street, (James) Madison Street, (James) Monroe Street, Martha Street (alluding to

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

and/or Martha Jefferson Randolph), and Elizabeth (Monroe) Street. (Martin) Van Buren Street and (Millard) Fillmore Avenue were later additions to the grid.

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 472 people, 242 households, and 129 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

was 565.2 people per square mile (217.0/km²). There were 565 housing units at an average density of 676.5 per square mile (259.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.58%

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 o ...

, 0.21% Asian, and 0.21% 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 forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.64% of the population. There were 242 households, out of which 12.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.47. In the village, the population was spread out, with 12.9% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 35.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $37,750, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had a median income of $36,750 versus $19,306 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 $22,348. About 10.1% of families and 12.3% 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 t ...

, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Ellicottville area information

Town and village of Ellicottville official website

Virtual Tour of Downtown Ellicottville
{{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Cattaraugus County, New York