WESTERN NEW YORK

:''Western, New York is also the name of a town in Oneida County, New York.''
'Western New York' refers to the westernmost region of New York State, roughly the area included in the Holland Purchase. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Lockport, Batavia, Albion, Olean, Salamanca and Jamestown. Some writers and historians consider the Western New York border to be at the Monroe/Orleans County line. Together with the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Canada, the area forms a part of the broader Buffalo Niagara Region.
While Western New York is part of Upstate New York, the term "Western New York" is used to distinguish the western part of the state from the rest of Upstate New York. Western New York consists of the eight westernmost counties of New York State: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Orleans, Niagara, and Wyoming. The mountainous southern regions of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties make up a "''sub-region''" known as "The Southern Tier" or simply "The ''Southerntier''" which can be considered part of Appalachia. Another local region commonly referred to is the Niagara Frontier, the name of which dates back to America's Colonial period, when the area surrounding Lakes Erie and Ontario, as well as The Niagara River were the point of the colonies' furthest expansion. To this day, the "frontier" is sometimes defined as also including part of northeast Ohio, as well as Pennsylvania's Erie region.
The area is served by Interstate 90 along the Niagara Frontier, Interstate 86 in the Western Southern Tier, and Interstate 390 (the former U.S. Route 15) in the Genesee Region. The planned expansion of the U.S. Route 219 Expressway from Buffalo through Cattaraugus County will provide a fourth major thoroughfare.
Some traits that differentiate Western New York from the rest of Upstate New York include people's use of the word "pop" instead of "soda" to refer to soft drinks, and the presence of the local Wegmans grocery stores, although these stores can now be found in Central New York. Western New York is part of the Inland North region of American English, which means it is subject to the Northern Cities vowel shift. The distinct Buffalo English accent, while bearing a slight resemblance to other Great Lakes accents, is indigenous exclusively to the region.

Contents

Population of WNY

History

Population of WNY

★ Erie County, New York Population 950,265

★ Niagara County, New York Population 219,846

★ Cattaraugus County, New York Population 83,955

★ Chautauqua County, New York Population 139,750

★ Allegany County, New York Population 49,927

★ Wyoming County, New York Population 43,424

★ Genesee County, New York Population 60,370

★ Orleans County, New York Population 44,171

History

Western New York's land was acquired from the Iroquois through war, treaty, and purchase during the late 1700s and early 1800s. During the War of 1812 Western New York was part of the borderland frontier between the United States and British Canada and became the scene of various military actions.