Little Valley (town), New York

Little Valley is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,740 at the 2010 census. The town is named after its local geographical setting, a relative comparison of two tributaries (the other being the neighboring Great Valley) of the Allegheny River.

The Town of Little Valley is centrally located in the county. There is also a village named Little Valley, the county seat in this town. The town is north of the City of Salamanca.

History

The first permanent settlement was made around 1816, although an earlier attempt was made in 1807. The "Town of Elkdale," as it was originally called, was formed in 1818 from the "Town of Perry" (now Perrysburg). Little Valley was once an important rail station on the Erie Railroad and notable for its cheese and dairy industry. The location of the railroad resulted in moving the county seat to the Village of Little Valley, which was also later connected to Salamanca by a streetcar line.

The Towns of Conewango (1823), Napoli (1823), Mansfield (1930), New Albion (1930), and Bucktooth (1855, renamed Salamanca in 1864) were all formed from Little Valley.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 29.9 square miles (77.5 km²), of which, 29.9 square miles (77.5 km²) of it is land and 0.03% is water.

New York State Route 242 and New York State Route 353 are major trunk roads through the town. They converge at Killborn Corners just east of the Village of Little Valley. County Routes 88 and 96 act as bypasses. County Route 15, which picks up where Route 88 leaves off, continues northeast parallel to Route 242 between Little Valley and Ellicottville. County Routes 5 and 14 start in the northwest corner of the town and head toward New Albion and East Otto, respectively.

The Pat McGee Trail, a hiking and snowmobile trail, runs through the town parallel to Route 353.

The Little Valley Creek flows through the town, as does a small tributary named Lees Hollow.

Adjacent towns and areas

Little Valley is north of the Town of Salamanca and south of the Town of Mansfield. The town is east of the Town of Napoli and west of the Town of Great Valley, although only one road, a seasonal highway (Mutton Hollow Road), runs directly from Little Valley to Great Valley. (Otherwise, major highways run through either Salamanca or Ellicottville).

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,788 people, 688 households, and 462 families residing in the town. The population density was 59.7 people per square mile (23.1/km²). There were 845 housing units at an average density of 28.2 per square mile (10.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.92% White, 1.29% Black or African American, 1.23% Native American, 0.06% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.23% of the population.

There were 688 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% 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 2.95.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 109.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,000, and the median income for a family was $37,361. Males had a median income of $30,100 versus $21,897 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,191. About 8.8% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Little Valley

• Elkdale – A hamlet near the south town line on NY Route 353.
• Killborn Corners – A small knoll and fork in the road (known locally as "The Y") that divides NY 353 and NY 242.
• Little Valley – A village in the northwest corner of the town that serves as the county seat.
• Little Valley Creek – A stream that flows southward through the town and empties into the Allegheny River in Salamanca.
• Little Rock City – A location in the southeast part of the town, named after an unusual geological formation, called by various names such as "Salamanca Rock City" or "Rock City State Park."
• Salamanca – A small, unpopulated part of the City of Salamanca juts northward into the southeastern region of the town.

Attractions and businesses

Attractions and businesses in the town of Little Valley (not counting those in the village) include:

• An American Legion post (531), west of the village
• A Veterans of Foreign Wars/AMVETS post (VFW 8734/AMVETS 8735), east of the village
• The Flavor Haus (also known as "The Weenie at the Y"), a seasonal restaurant at Killborn Corners
• The Coach Inn, a restaurant located about one mile southeast of the village on Route 353
• Valley View Baptist Church, a church near Killborn Corners
• Whig Street Church, a nondenominational church located on Whig Street in the southeastern portion of the town, possibly closed
• Little Valley Wesleyan Church, a church across from the Cattaraugus County Fair Grounds on Route 353
• Legion Field, located just west of the American Legion post, leased by the Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School for athletic events
• Little Valley Riders Club, a horseback riding organization
• The Crosspatch, a horse ranch
• Elkdale Country Club, a golf resort
• Lyons Equipment, the flagship store of a multi-state logging equipment chain with stores throughout Appalachia
• Schubert Enterprises sign manufacturing, located between the Coach Inn and Zimbardi Electric
• The Getzoni Agency (formerly the Rhodes Agency), local Nationwide Insurance brokers
• Elkdale RV Resort

References

1. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Little Valley Area Chmaber of Commerce
• Town of Little Valley, NY
• Early history of Little Valley, New York
• Old railroad pictures of Little Valley

v d e Municipalities and communities of Cattaraugus County, New York, U.S. County seat: Little Valley Cities Olean Salamanca Towns Allegany Ashford Carrollton Coldspring Conewango Dayton East Otto Ellicottville Farmersville Franklinville Freedom Great Valley Hinsdale Humphrey Ischua Leon Little Valley Lyndon Machias Mansfield Napoli New Albion Olean Otto Perrysburg Persia Portville Randolph Red House Salamanca South Valley Yorkshire Villages Allegany Cattaraugus Delevan Ellicottville Franklinville Gowanda‡ Little Valley Portville South Dayton CDPs East Randolph Lime Lake-Machias Limestone Perrysburg Randolph St. Bonaventure Weston Mills Yorkshire Other hamlets Steamburg West Valley Indian reservations Allegany Reservation Cattaraugus Reservation‡ Oil Springs Reservation‡ Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties