ORCHARD PARK (TOWN), NEW YORK

'Orchard Park' is a town in Erie County, New York in the United States. The population was 27,637 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from a village in the town.
Within the 'Town of Orchard Park' is a village also called Orchard Park. Orchard Park is one of the "Southtowns" of Erie County and is south of Buffalo, New York.

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

Communities and locations in the Town of Orchard Park

Education

Sports

Notable residents

External links

History

The town was originally a settlement of Quakers around 1803.
The town was separated from the Town of Hamburg in 1850 and was first named the "Town of Ellicott," after Joseph Ellicott, an agent of the Holland Land Company. Within months, the name was changed to the "Town of East Hamburgh." Around 1934, the town was renamed Orchard Park, named after its principal settlement.
In the early 1900's a large fire burnt down most of the central part of the village of Orchard Park around South Buffalo Street.

Geography

Orchard Park is located at (42.762159, -78.741405).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 99.9 km² (38.6 mi²). 99.7 km² (38.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.18%) is water.
U.S. Route 219 passes through the west part of the town and forms junctions with US-20A (Quaker Street) and NY-179 (Milestrip Road).
U.S. Route 20 (Southwestern Boulevard) passes through the north part of the town and forms a junction with NY-277 and NY-240 (Orchard Park Road).

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 27,637 people, 10,277 households, and 7,656 families residing in the town. The population density was 277.1/km² (717.7/mi²). There were 10,644 housing units at an average density of 106.7/km² (276.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.57% White, 0.48% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 1.06% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.
There were 10,277 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $59,762, and the median income for a family was $71,552. Males had a median income of $51,341 versus $31,429 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,692. About 1.4% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Orchard Park

★ 'Armor' -- A hamlet at the west town line.

★ 'Chestnut Ridge County Park' -- A popular county park with a wide range of activities is located south of the village of Orchard Park on Chestnut Ridge Road (Route 277).

★ 'Duells Corner' -- A hamlet south of Orchard Park village.

★ 'Ellicott' -- A hamlet south of Orchard Park village.

★ Erie Community College -- The official location of the south campus, although most of the campus is in the adjacent Town of Hamburg.

★ 'Loveland' -- A hamlet on the east town line.

★ Orchard Park -- The Village of Orchard Park, located at the junction of Routes 240 and U.S. 20A.

★ Ralph Wilson Stadium -- The home stadium of the NFL's Buffalo Bills lies on the western edge of the town.

★ 'Webster Corners' -- A hamlet north of the village of Orchard Park by the intersection of Webster and Orchard Park Roads.

Education

The Orchard Park School District has four elementary schools (Eggert, Ellicott, South Davis, and Windom), the Orchard Park Middle School, and the Orchard Park High School. The mascot for the Orchard Park School District in the Quaker.
Bryant and Stratton College is located in Orchard Park.
Erie Community College is at the western town line.
Orchard Park also has a number of Catholic schools.

Sports

Ralph Wilson Stadium, the home stadium of the NFL Buffalo Bills is located in Orchard Park.
The 1993 and 1994 Orchard Park Little League Baseball team won the New York State Championship.

Notable residents

★ 'Carl Burgwardt'; Owner of the Pedaling History Bicycle Museum, the worlds largest all bicycle museum; historian and former owner of Community Steel Corporation.

★ Steve Fairchild, Offensive Coordinator of the NFL Buffalo Bills

★ Dave Hollins, former Major League Baseball player

★ Rick James, musician, is a former resident of Orchard Park.

★ Dick Jauron, Coach of the NFL Buffalo Bills.

★ Jim Kelly, former professional football player, Buffalo Bills.

★ Marv Levy, former NFL coach and current general manager of the Buffalo Bills.

★ Lex Luger a.k.a. 'Lawrence ("Larry") Wendell Pfohl', former professional wrestler

External links

★ Village and Town information: Orchard Park

★ Orchard Park GIS (CartoWeb): Orchard Park