Amherst

 

Amherst
Town
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Erie County
Area	mi² ( km²)
- land	mi² ( km²)
- water	mi² ( km²), 0.56%
Center
- coordinates	42°58′42″N 78°48′00″W / 42.97833, -78.8Coordinates: 42°58′42″N 78°48′00″W / 42.97833, -78.8
- elevation	ft ( m)
Population	(2000)
Density	/mi² ( /km²)
Incorporated	1818
Supervisor	Satish B. Mohan (2007)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	14051, 14068, 14221, 14226, 14228
Area code	716
Location of Amherst in New York
Location of New York in the United States
Website : http://www.amherst.ny.us

Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, U.S., directly northeast of the City of Buffalo. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 116,510. This represents an increase from the 1990 census figure of 111,711. The town is named for Jeffrey Amherst, a British military officer in the Army.

The Town of Amherst encompasses most of the Village of Williamsville. The town is by the northern part of the county and borders a small section of the Erie Canal. The town is the largest and most populous suburb of Buffalo.

Based on statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Amherst is the second safest city in the United States, after Brick Township, New Jersey. The designation is based on crime statistics for the year 2005 in six categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft. ^[1]

History

Amherst was formed in 1818 from part of the Town of Buffalo (later the City of Buffalo), which had previously been created from the Town of Clarence. Part of Amherst was used to form the Town of Cheektowaga in 1839.

One of the biggest events to take place in the Amherst area has been known as the October Surprise storm of 2006. This was the worst storm to ever hit Amherst and the surrounding areas. 2 feet of heavy wet snow had fallen on Friday Oct. 13th. The storm’s effects were highly localized: it dumped up to 2 feet of snow on some areas of the Buffalo metro region and surrounding northern suburbs, while other areas saw very little snow, or no snow at all. The event was described by the National Weather Service Office in Buffalo, New York, as "astounding", "unbelievable" and "incredible" and by the Toronto Star as "one of the most devastating snow storms in US history." It was also an example of the "particularly rare meteorological phenomenon" known as thunder snow.

In affected areas, wet, heavy lake effect snow with 2.5 inches of water within the 2 feet of snow piled onto trees which were still in full leaf, leading to significant damage to the majority of the trees, on a scale usually associated with hurricanes. An estimated 400,000 people were without power on Friday the 13th, some 100,000 households remained without power for a week, and a few thousand remained without power for ten days. These were the two snowiest October days recorded in Buffalo since the National Weather Service began keeping track 137 years ago. Effects of the storm were responsible for 13 deaths.

Conservative initial damage estimates to clean up the estimated 6 to 8.6 million cubic yards of debris were at least $130 million USD, but even ten days after the storm hit, estimates of the number of tons of debris and the final costs of clearing them were "a moving target." The storm closed the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport for several hours on Thursday, October 12, and again on Friday, October 13, and closed a 100-mile (160-km) stretch of the New York State Thruway for several hours on Friday, October 13. Many if not most businesses were closed for at least a few days, and schools for at least a week. Most schools reopened on Monday, October 23, after six consecutive "snow days", but a few in the most heavily affected areas reopened 3-4 day’s after that Monday. Affected parts of Erie, Genesee, Orleans and Niagara Counties in Western New York were declared a "major disaster" area by President George W. Bush on October 24, 2006.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 138.6 km² (53.5 mi²). 137.9 km² (53.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (0.50%) is water.

Much of Amherst was originally floodplain and marshland, much of which has been drained in recent years to facilitate development of new homes and businesses. The central and southern parts of the town are heavily suburbanized, however the southernmost hamlets (Eggertsville, Snyder) and the Village of Williamsville have managed to retain much of their original character. The northern part of the town is still relatively undeveloped with the prominent exception of the portions along Niagara Falls Boulevard (US 62) bordering the Town of Tonawanda and the Town of Wheatfield, New York. Some sections of northern and eastern Amherst have experienced problems with residential foundations as a result of unstable soil conditions. Active farms may be found in the northern part of the town.

Amherst is bordered on the north by Tonawanda Creek and Niagara County, New York. Ellicott Creek flows through the town.

New York State Route 5, locally called "Main Street," passes through the town. The east town line is marked by Transit Road, NY Route 78. The west town line is formed by Niagara Falls Boulevard.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 116,510 people, 45,076 households, and 29,885 families residing in the town. The population density was 844.8/km² (2,188.1/mi²). There were 46,803 housing units at an average density of 339.4/km² (879.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.28% White, 3.90% African American, 0.13% Native American, 5.22% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population.

There were 45,076 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $55,427, and the median income for a family was $68,951. Males had a median income of $51,667 versus $32,030 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,647. About 4.2% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

47.4% of residents (aged 25 and over) have obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher, including 22.6% with a Graduate or professional degree.

Communities and locations in Amherst

Areas within Amherst are referred to by the former post office station names and are not legally incorporated. During the 1990s, many of these regional post offices were closed and consolidated into the central Amherst 14226 post office on Bailey avenue, leaving only a Williamsville 14221 post office on Sheridan Drive and an East Amherst 14051 post office on Transit Road. Mailing addresses to areas within the Town of Amherst are Amherst, East Amherst, Eggertsville, Getzville, Snyder, and Williamsville. These postal districts are still recognized by the post office and widely referred to by citizens. Some of these mailing addresses overlap - some areas of Clarence directly east of Transit Road have Williamsville addresses, although for the purposes of taxes, schools and community resources, these people are residents of the Town of Clarence.

All the areas listed below are governed and run by the Town of Amherst. The Village of Williamsville also has its own Mayor and board.

• Audubon - A location in the center of the town situated around John James Audubon Parkway. The town police, courthouse, and main library are located here.
• East Amherst (formerly Transit Station) -- An unincorporated community or hamlet in the eastern part of the town, shared with the Town of Clarence. The East Amherst area is defined by the 14051 zip code with a post office located on Transit Road. Many of the houses were built between 1960-1980.
• Eggertsville is a suburban community in the southwest part of the town, bordering on Buffalo centered around Eggert Road. The community is named after early postmaster Christian Eggert. Many of the houses in Eggertsville were built between 1900-1930.
• Getzville - A location near the center of the town by Campbell Boulevard (Route 270) and Dodge Road. The name comes from early resident Joseph Getz and is based on the Getzville post office located on Millersport Highway in the 14068 zip code.
• Great Baehre Swamp State Wetlands -- A conservation area with trails for nature viewing.
• North Bailey -- A location near the junction of Bailey Avenue and Maple Road. The main post office for Amherst is located in North Bailey in the 14226 zip code.
• Snyder (originally Snyderville after postmaster Michael Snyder} -- A suburban community located between Eggertsville and the Village of Williamsville. The Snyder post office was formerly located at Main and Chateau Terrace and was closed in the 1990s. Daemen College is located on Main Street (Route 5).
• Swormville - A hamlet in the eastern part of the town, shared with the Town of Clarence. Named for Adam Schworm, prominent landowner and businessman. Once also known as "Swormsville".
• West Amherst - A location in the northwestern part of the town bordered by Niagara Falls Boulevard (US 62) to the west, Sweet Home Road to the east and Maple Road to the south. Principally the section of the town which comprises the Sweet Home Central School District.
• Williamsville - The incorporated Village of Williamsville is within the incorporated Town of Amherst, located in the south central part of the town. This is not to be confused with the Williamsville zip code (14221), which serves a considerably larger area, including portions of the town of Clarence.

Education

There are four institutions of higher education located in Amherst. The North Campus of the University at Buffalo (housing all of the University programs apart from architecture, planning, nursing, dentistry, and medicine), Daemen College, and one of the three campuses of Erie Community College are located there. Bryant and Stratton offers two year programs. Both Medaille College and Canisius College have satellite campus classrooms in Amherst.

Public schools

There are three separate public school districts within the town. The Williamsville Central School District is the largest and comprises the eastern half of the town along with portions of the Town of Clarence. The Williamsville Central School District has been referred to as Western New York's primer school district. The Amherst Central School District is the southwestern portion of the town with its core in the Eggertsville and Snyder areas. The Sweet Home Central School District is the northwestern portion of the town along with portions of the Town of Tonawanda with its core in West Amherst and Getzville.

Cultural Resources

• Amherst Museum is a historic house museum dedicated to preserving and communicating the history of the Town of Amherst. The Museum is an official department of the Town of Amherst.

Notable Residents

• Cute Is What We Aim For, pop-rock quartet
• Scotty Bowman, former National Hockey League coach
• Michael Snyder, Star Trek actor
• John Stevens, American Idol finalist

References

1. ^ [1]

External links

• Town of Amherst webpage
• Amherst at the Open Directory Project
• Amherst History, c. 1898
• Amherst history
• Town of Amherst charter
• Amherst Town Court
• Great Baehre Swamp

Municipalities and communities of Erie County, New York
County seat: Buffalo
Cities	Buffalo | Lackawanna | Tonawanda
Towns	Alden | Amherst | Aurora | Boston | Brant | Cheektowaga | Clarence | Colden | Collins | Concord | Eden | Elma | Evans | Grand Island | Hamburg | Holland | Lancaster | Marilla | Newstead | North Collins | Orchard Park | Sardinia | Tonawanda | Wales | West Seneca
Villages	Akron | Alden | Angola | Blasdell | Depew | East Aurora | Farham | Gowanda | Hamburg | Kenmore | Lancaster | North Collins | Orchard Park | Sloan | Springville | Williamsville
CDPs	Angola on the Lake | Billington Heights | Cheektowaga | Clarence Center | Eden | Elma Center | Harris Hill | Holland | Lake Erie Beach | North Boston | Tonawanda | Town Line | West Seneca
Reservations	Cattaraugus Reservation | Tonawanda Reservation

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