Cheektowaga (town), New York

History

Cheektowaga was first settled by the Seneca people of the Iroquois Confederacy, who named the location Chictawauga, meaning "land of the crabapples" in the Seneca language. Cheektowaga was formed from the town of Amherst on March 22, 1839, and upon the formation of West Seneca on October 16, 1851, was reduced to its present limits—about 30 square miles (78 km²). Throughout the 19th century, it was referred to by its original name, "Chictawauga".

Originally a rural farming area, the town was extensively developed during the post-World War II subdivision boom of the 1950s. Factories such as the Westinghouse Electric Corporation plant on Genesee Street (since demolished) generated employment to the area for many decades. The town maintains a strong blue-collar presence. Cheektowaga has a large Polish-American community, much of which relocated from Buffalo's East Side, and about 39.9% of population is of Polish heritage.

The Walden Galleria opened in 1989, becoming the Buffalo Niagara region's largest mall.

Garrison Cemetery, Our Lady Help of Christians Chapel, and Villa Maria Motherhouse Complex are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 29.5 square miles (76.4 km²), of which 29.4 square miles (76.2 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²), or 0.21%, is water.

The town is bordered by Lancaster on the east, West Seneca on the south, the city of Buffalo on the west, and on the north by Amherst. The town includes the waterways of Scajaquada Creek, Cayuga Creek and Ellicott Creek.

Neighborhoods

Climate

On July 30, 1987, an F1 tornado touched down in the Union Road and George Urban Boulevard area. It grew to an F2 before dissipating. Homes and business suffered serious damage, but there were no fatalities or severe injuries. This tornado is locally memorable as the one which ripped the roof off the Holiday Showcase Restaurant and damaged a nearby Putt Putt® miniature golf center.

Another F1 tornado touched down not far from the site of the 1987 tornado on June 30, 2006. Again, homes and businesses - including the Holiday Showcase, which was remodeled soon after - were damaged, and a tractor trailer was knocked over on the NY State Thruway, but no one was killed.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 94,019 people, 40,045 households, and 25,869 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,183.8 people per square mile (1,229.3/km²). There were 41,901 housing units at an average density of 1,418.9 per square mile (547.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.94% White, 2.93% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population.

There were 40,045 households out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the town, the population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $38,121, and the median income for a family was $46,646. Males had a median income of $34,538 versus $25,434 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,627. About 4.6% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Major ancestries in the town are Polish (39.9%), German (29.9%), Italian (16.0%), Irish (14.1%), English (5.8%), and French (2.7%).

Infrastructure

The east town line is marked by New York State Route 78 (Transit Road). New York State Route 240 (Harlem Road) and New York State Route 277 (Union Road) are major north-south routes through the town. New York State Route 33 (Kensington Expressway), Walden Avenue, and William Street access the New York State Thruway, which is also runs north-south through the town, traveling from the Amherst town line in the north, south to the West Seneca town line in the southwest corner of town. New York State Route 130 (Broadway) is an east-west roadway from the Buffalo city line to the Depew village line. Interstate 190, travels in the town from I-90 to Buffalo City Line and beyond into Downtown Buffalo and north to Niagara Falls. U.S. Route 20 (Transit Road) is a north-south roadway that runs concurrently with NY 78 along Cheektowaga's east border with Lancaster, south of Depew. New York State Route 354 (Clinton Street) is an east-west roadway through the extreme southwest corner of town, and provides the southern border with West Seneca.

Notable residents

Two of the above residents – professional bowlers Liz Johnson and Ryan Ciminelli – made history in 2015. Johnson won the U.S. Women's Open event in September of that year, and two months later Ciminelli won the Men's U.S. Open. This marked the first time that bowlers from the same city won these two events in the same season.

Twin towns — Sister cities

Cheektowaga is twinned with: