Belfast, New York
| Belfast, New York | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
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 Belfast
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| Coordinates: 42°20′N 78°7′W / 42.333°N 78.117°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Allegany |
| Established | 1824 |
| Renamed | 1825 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town Council |
| • Town Supervisor | David DeRock (R) |
| • Town Council |
Members' List
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| Area | |
| • Total | 36.5 sq mi (94.6 km2) |
| • Land | 36.2 sq mi (93.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,808 ft (551 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,663 |
| • Density | 46/sq mi (18/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 14711 |
| Area code(s) | 585 |
| FIPS code | 36-05573 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0978720 |
Belfast (/ˈbɛl.fæst/ or /bəlˈfɑːst/) is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The town is in what is called the Southern Tier of the state. Its population was 1,663 at the 2010 census. It was named in 1825 after the city of Belfast, the capital of present-day Northern Ireland, because it had numerous residents of Scots-Irish ancestry from that area.
This territory was for many centuries before European encounter occupied by the Seneca people of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They were the westernmost tribe of the Five Nations of the Confederacy which dominated the area south of the Great Lakes in present-day New York and Pennsylvania. (They became the Six Nations after being joined by the Tuscarora, another Iroquoian-speaking people, who migrated from the Carolinas in the early 18th century). These tribes are among Iroquoian languages-speaking peoples who long inhabited areas along the upper St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes.
The first European-American settlers did not arrive in this area until after the American Revolutionary War. As the Seneca had been allies of the defeated British, their lands were among territory ceded to the United States, without consultation with the Iroquois. Most of the Haudenosaunee migrated to Ontario, Canada, where they were given land in compensation by the British Crown.
European-American settlers were documented in this area by 1804. David Sanford built a sawmill and grist mill on the Genesee River in 1809. The community was established in 1824 as the Town of Orrinsburgh from part of the Town of Caneadea. In 1825 residents changed the name to Belfast as many new settlers were from northern Ireland, where Belfast was a port. Irish immigrants in upstate worked on the canals and in the developing mills. The hamlet of Belfast was established as a "mill town" with water power from the Genesee River, which runs across the town. In 1831, the size of the town was increased by the state legislature by adding more territory from Caneadea.
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