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ERIE COUNTY. 293
TOMAWAMBA—was formed from Buffalo, April 16, 1836; and Grand Island was taken
off in 1852. It lies in the n.w. part of the co., at the angle formed by the junction of Tona¬
wanda Creek and Niagara Biver. Its surface is generally level. Eleven Mile Creek crosses the n.
part of the town. The soil along Niagara Biver is clayey; in the interior it is sandy. Tona-
Wanda, (p. v.,) incorp. Dec. 3, 1853, is situated on the Erie Canal, at the confluence of Niagara
River and Tonawanda Creek. It has a good harbor,1 and is an important station on the
B. & N. E. R. R. It is the western terminus of the C. & N. E. branch of the N. Y. C. R. R. It
contains 5 churches, a newspaper office, a bank, an elevator,2 and several manufacturing establish ■
ments.3 Pop. 1,257.4 The first settlement was made in 1805.5 There are 8 churches in town.6
WALES—was formed from Aurora, April 15, 1818; and a part of Marilla was taken off in
1853. It is situated near the center of the e. border of the co. Its surface is broken and billy
and inclined toward the n. The principal stream is Big Buffalo Creek. The soil in the n. is
a gravelly loam, and in the s. clay underlaid by hardpan. Wales Center^ (p. v.,) on Big
Buffalo Creek, in the n. part of the town, contains 2 churches, a gristmill, a sawmill, and 40
dwellings; Wales, (p.v.,) on the same stream, contains 1 church, a gristmill, a sawmill, and 30
dwellings; and South Wales (p.v.) contains a gristmill, a sawmill, and 25 dwellings. .The
first settlement was made in 1805, by Oliver Pattengell7 There are 3 churches in town; 2 M. E.
and a Free Will Bap.
WEST SEMECA—was formed, as “ Seneca,” from Chicktowaga, Hamburgh and East Ham¬
burgh, and Lancaster, Oct. 16, 1851; its name was changed March 25, 1852. It is situated on
the shore of Lake Erie, near the center of the w. border of the co. Its surface is gently undu¬
lating in tbe E. and level in the w. The streams are Big Buffalo, Cazenove, and Smokes8 Creeks.
The soil is generally a sandy loam. The town is mainly settled hy a society of German religion¬
ists, generally known as Ebenezers, hut who style themselves the “ Community of True Inspira¬
tion.”9 Middle Ebenezer, on Buffalo Creek, contains a church, calico printing factory,
woolen factory, sawmill, oil mill, and 67 houses; Lower Ebenezer, on Cazenove Creek,
contains a church, sawmill, gristmill, tannery, and 50 houses; and Mew Ebenezer contains a
large manufactory of cotton and woolen goods, an extensive dyeing works, and 9 dwellings.
Reserve, West Seneca Center, and West Seneca are p. offices. The first settlement
was made hy Reuben Sackett, in 1826.10 There are 4 churches in town.11
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1811; and the first death, that of a son of Henry Godfrey, in 1814.
Sumner Warren built the first mill, in 1811; Geo. Richmond kept
the first inn, in 1811; and Clark & Co. the first store, in 1816.
The first school was taught hy Melinda Abbey, in 1814.
1 Large quantities of lumber are received at this port from
Canada and the Western States. The quantity re-shipped by
canal in 1857 was, of timber, 841,011 cubic feet; of sawed stuff,
4,815,441 ft.; and of wood, 16,007 cords.
2 This elevator has a storage capacity of 250,000 bush., and
facilities for elevating 2000 bush, per hour.
8 3 sawmills, 3 shingle mills, a planing mill, and a furnace and
machine shop.
4 This is the pop. of that part of the village in Erie co. A
part of the village is across the creek, in Niagara co.; and the
pop. of this is not known.
8 Alex. Logan, John King, and John Hersey settled in the
town in 1805; Emanuel Winter, Jos. Haywood, Oliver Standard,
John Cunningham, Josiah Guthrie, Ebenezer Coon, Thos. Hon-
nan, and Joseph Hersey, in 1806; Henry Anguish, in 1808; and
Frederick Buck, in 1809. Henry Anguish kept the first inn, in
1811, and Judge Wilkinson the first store, in 1823. The first
mill was built by Osborne, in 1819.
8 Disciples, Evang. Luth., M. E., R. C., and Wes. Meth. at Tona¬
wanda Village, and Evang. Luth., M. E., and R. C. in other
parts of the town. |
7 Ethan and Wm. Allen and Jacob Turner settled in the town
in 1806, and Chas. and Alex. McKay, Ebenezer Holmes, andWm.
Hoyt in 1807. Tbe first birth was that of Wm. Pattengell, in
June, 1806. Isaac and Eli Hall built the first mill, in 1811;
Isaac Hali kept the first inn, in 1816; and Orsamus Warren the
first store, in 1824. The first school was taught by Jas. Wood,
in 1811. In 1813 an Indian hatchet was found imbedded in a
tree at Wales Center, and in 1825 John Allen related the fol¬
lowing circumstance concerning it. About the time of the first
settlement of Buffalo an Indian came to that place and exhibited
tbe skin of a white child, and boasted that he bad murdered and
skinned the child for the purpose of making a tobacco pouch.
Truman Allen, (brother of the narrator,) hearing the boast,
became so enraged that he followed the Indian to Wales and
shot him. He buried the body and rifle in the sand, and stuck
the tomahawk into a tree, where it was afterward found as
above stated.
8 Named from an Indian who resided near its mouth and who
was an inveterate smoker.
9 This community purchased 7,622 acres belonging to the Buf¬
falo Indian Reservation in 1844, and commenced their settle¬
ments the same year. They are largely engaged in agriculture
and manufactures; and their wares have obtained so excellent a
reputation that they find a ready market at Buffalo and else¬
where. They have a community of property, reside in villages,
and several families usually occupy the same house. They are
governed by a hoard of trustees; and their business is done
through an agent, who appears to have almost unlimited control
of matters. They are honest, industrious, and frugal; and in
the contented and peaceful tenor of their lives they present a
model which might well he copied hy some of the restless and
\ambitious Yankee race.
70 Among the other early settlers were Artemus W. Baker,
John G. Wells, Isaac Earlle, and Geo. Hopper, who located in
1828. The first child born was a daughter of Joel Decker, in
Aug. 1828; and the first death, that of Peter Beal, in 1834. Geo.
E. Elderkin taught the first school, in 1839; Reuben Sackett
kept the first inn, in 1826; tbe Ebenezer Society, the first store,
in 1845 ; and Ballou & Tubell built the first mill, in 1837.
u 2 Lutheran and 2 Community of True Inspiration. |
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