Hamburg (town), New York

Hamburg
Town
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Erie County
Elevation	732 ft (223.1 m)
Coordinates	42°44′28″N 78°51′25″W
Area	48 sq mi (124.3 km2)
- land	48 sq mi (124 km2)
- water	0.04 sq mi (0 km2), 0.08%
Population	56,936 (2010)
Incorporated	1812
Town Supervisor	Steven J. Walters (R) Town Council Kevin S. Smardz (R) Amy Carroll Ziegler (R) Joseph A. Collins (R) Jonathan G. Gorman (D)
Timezone	EST (UTC-5)
- summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	14075
Area code	716
FIPS code	36-29500
GNIS feature ID	0952086
Location of Hamburg in Erie County
Location of Hamburg in New York
Location of New York in the United States
Website: http://www.townofhamburgny.com

Hamburg is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 56,936.

The Town of Hamburg is on the western border of the county and is south of Buffalo, New York. Hamburg is one of the "Southtowns" in Erie County. A village called Hamburg and a village called Blasdell are in the town.

History

Historical evidence shows that the area was settled originally by the Erie Indians.

Some people have claimed that the name "Hamburg" was selected due to the presence of German settlers in the town, but they did not arrive until long after the town was formed and named.^{[citation needed]}

19th century

Around 1805 the settlement was known as Barkerville, named after Zenas Barker, the Postmaster. On the site of this building today is the Dock at the Bay. The first landowner in the area was John Cummings, who built the first grist mill in 1806.

The Town of Hamburg was formed by government decree on March 20, 1812 from the (now defunct) Town of Willink. The first town meeting took place on April 7, 1812 at Jacob Wright's Tavern at Wright's Corners, which was renamed to Abbott's Corners, and now Armor. One of the early noted activities of the Town Board in that same year was to place a $5 bounty on wolf hides, due to the complaints of the local settlers who were being bothered by them.

In 1815 mail routes were established. The earliest settlers in the area were from New England. Germans started arriving in the 1830s and set up many successful farms.

On November 29, 1824, a meeting was held in Abbott's Corners, at the home of early settler Seth Abbott. At a vote of those present, agreement was reached to form a library with the sum of $102.

By 1850, the town was reduced by the formation of the Towns of Orchard Park and West Seneca.

Around 1852, the Erie Railroad was built through the area. In 1868 the Erie County Fair came to the town and has been located there since then. In 1875 the weekly publication of the Erie County Independent began. This is now known as The Sun. Telephone service in the area started in 1886.

The Village of Hamburg set itself off from the town in 1874 by incorporating as a village.

In 1897, a group of women known as the Nineteenth Century Club started a permanent free public library, known as the Hamburg Free Library. Until 1901 it was located in various rented buildings.

Starting in 1890 and to support the growing regional steel industry, Polish and Italians began to arrive in the area.

In 1898, the community of Blasdell set itself apart from the town by incorporating as a village.

20th century

The Hamburg Free Library was moved into a Carnegie library on Center Street on November 8, 1915, where it remained until 1966 when the current library at 102 Buffalo Street was opened.

A trolley car system was established in the early 1900s.

In the mid-1970s, the Village of Hamburg became one of the first communities in the nation to have compulsory curbside recycling.

The Kleis Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

21st century

In 2003, Joseph Haptas, a spokesman from the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) approached then-Town Supervisor Patrick Hoak and asked him to have the name of Hamburg changed to Veggieburg. Haptas offered the Hamburg School District $15,000 in free veggie burgers as an incentive for the name change. Hoak declined the name change in the wake of fierce public and government opposition and PETA backed down.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 41.3 square miles (107.0 km²), of which 41.3 square miles (106.9 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km²) (0.05%) is water.

Lake Erie forms the western border of the town and Eighteen Mile Creek [1], the southern boundary.

The New York State Thruway (Interstate 90), U.S. Route 62 (South Park Avenue/Buffalo Street), US 20 (Southwestern Boulevard), and NY Route 5 pass through the town. NY 75 runs through Hamburg Village, temporarily concurrent with Route 62. US 20A diverges from US-20 north of Hamburg village as both routes proceed to the east.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 56,259 people, 21,999 households, and 15,157 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,362.7 people per square mile (526.1/km²). There were 22,833 housing units at an average density of 553.1 per square mile (213.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.93% White, 0.49% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.56% of the population.

There were 21,999 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $47,888, and the median income for a family was $56,974. Males had a median income of $41,440 versus $27,602 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,943. About 3.2% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Hamburg

• Amsdell Heights – A hamlet in the western part of the town inland from Wanakah.
• Armor – A hamlet northeast of Hamburg village on the border of the Town of Orchard Park. This community was originally called "Wright's Corners" and later "Abbott's Corners."
• Athol Springs – A lakeside hamlet on the west side of the town.
• Big Tree – A location near the intersection of US-20 and US-20A.
• Blasdell - Village of Blasdell is at the northern border of the town.
• Bethford A location on the border of West Seneca and Orchard Park directly behind the McKinley Mall. This area is most associated with famous local residents Chris swift and Kevin Slade.
• Carnegie – A location northwest of Hamburg village on NY-75.
• Clifton Heights – A lakeside hamlet on the Lake Erie shore.
• Deerfield Heights – A neighborhood on the border east of the Village of Hamburg.
• Eighteen Mile Creek – A stream that forms part of the south border of the town and empties into Lake Erie south of Walden Cliffs.
• Eighteen Mile Creek County Park – An undeveloped park on the south town line.
• Hamburg - Village of Hamburg is in the southeast corner of the town..
• Hamburg Airport (4G2) – A small general aviation airport on the south town line.
• Hamburg Fairgrounds – The location of the Erie County Fair every August and other events throughout the year. Buffalo Raceway is inside the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds are on Route 62 north of Hamburg village.
• Hampton Brook Woods Wildlife Management Area – A conservation area by Eighteen Mile Creek.
• Lake View – A hamlet in the southwest corner of the town inland from Walden Cliffs and site of the Gatling Land Boom of 1893.
• Locksley Park – A location by Lake Erie south of Athol Springs.
• Mount Vernon – A lakeside community in the west part of the town.
• Pinehurst – A lakeside hamlet on the Lake Erie shore.
• Roundtree – A development south of Athol Springs and north of Carnegie.
• Scranton – A location bordering the north side of Hamburg village.
• Wanakah – A lakeside hamlet in the western part of the town.
• Walden Cliffs – A lakeside hamlet in the southwest corner of the town named after Ebenezer Walden, a prominent WNY citizen and once Mayor of Buffalo, NY.*
• Water Valley – A hamlet south of Hamburg village on the south side of Eighteen Mile Creek, located on Routes US-62 and NY-75.
• Weyer – A location east of Pinehurst.
• Windom – A community on the eastern border of the town.
• Woodlawn – A hamlet in the northwest part of the town.
• Wynterbrooke – An apartment complex in Hamburg.
• Willow Run – A development northeast of Roundtree, on the north side of US 20, between South Park and Howard.

Information

Hilbert College is in the Town of Hamburg, north of Hamburg village, and part of the south campus of Erie Community College is in the eastern part of the town.

The Erie County Fair is the second-largest county fair in the United States and is held at the fairgrounds every year in August.

The Seaway Trail, a National Scenic Byway, travels through Hamburg on New York Route 5, along the Lake Erie shoreline. The Lake Erie Seaway Trail Center, a seasonal visitors information center with exhibits and public waterfront access, is located in Hamburg.

Notable natives and residents

• George Abbott, playwright.
• Eugene Asa Carr, U.S. Civil War general and Medal of Honor recipient.
• Peter Case, singer/songwriter, founding member of the Nerves and the Plimsouls, and noted musicologist.
• Katharine Houghton Hepburn, feminist social reformer.
• Kathy Hochul, congresswoman, 26th congressional district of New York
• E. Howard Hunt, Watergate conspirator.
• Jack Kemp, 1996 Republican Party U.S. vice presidential nominee.
• Tom Toles, editorial cartoonist.
• Patrick Kane, NHL Hockey Player for the Chicago Blackhawks.

External links

• Town of Hamburg webpage
• Steelton Neighborhood
• Hampton Brook Woods WMA
• Lake Erie Seaway Trail Center
• Hamburg Chamber of Commerce