Erie County, New York
| Erie County, New York | |||
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Erie County and City Hall
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 Location in the U.S. state of New York |
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 New York's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1821 | ||
| Named for | Lake Erie | ||
| Seat | Buffalo | ||
| Largest city | Buffalo | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 1,227 sq mi (3,178 km2) | ||
| • Land | 1,043 sq mi (2,701 km2) | ||
| • Water | 184 sq mi (477 km2), 15% | ||
| Population | |||
| • (2010) | 919,040 | ||
| • Density | 881/sq mi (340/km²) | ||
| Congressional districts | 26th, 27th | ||
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | ||
| Website | www |
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Erie County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of Native Americans who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.
Erie County is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The county's southern part is known as the Southtowns.
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, present-day Erie County was Indian territory and not part of New York. Significant European settlement began ca. 1800 after the Holland Land Company extinguished Indian claims to the land, acquired the title to eight western-most counties of Western New York, surveyed their holdings, established towns, and began selling lots. At this time, all of Western New York was part of Ontario County. In 1802, Genesee County was created out of Ontario County. In 1808, Niagara County was created out of Genesee County. In 1821, Erie County was created out of Niagara County, encompassing all the land between Tonawanda Creek and Cattaraugus Creek.
The first towns formed in present-day Erie County were the Town of Clarence and the Town of Willink. Clarence comprised the northern portion of Erie county, and Willink the southern part. Clarence is still a town, but Willink was quickly subdivided into other towns. When Erie County was established in 1821, it consisted of the towns of Amherst, Aurora, Boston, Clarence, Collins, Concord, Eden, Evans, Hamburg, Holland, Sardinia, and Wales.
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