Cattaraugus Reservation

Background and location

A small cluster of Seneca-owned businesses are located along US 20 and NY 5 where they cross through the reservation. Facilities include numerous cannabis dispensaries, a Bingo Hall, with a Poker Room and various video slot machines. Interstate 90 passes through the reservation; the closest exit is located in Irving, New York.

In Erie County, the reservation is bordered by the Towns of Brant, North Collins, and Collins; in Cattaraugus County by the Town of Perrysburg; and in Chautauqua County by the Town of Hanover. (At the reservation's southeast corner, near the village of Gowanda, it comes within a few feet of bordering the Town of Persia in Cattaraugus County.)

The reservation is mostly of a rural character, with one-family homes along Route 438 interspersed with businesses such as tobacco shops. The reservation is divided into several communities such as Newtown, Bucktown, Pinewoods, Eleven Acres, Ozarks, and Indian Hill. At the center of the reservation along Route 438 are the Seneca Nation government offices, a Head Start/Daycare Center, community buildings, and the volunteer fire department. The Reservation is served by the Seneca Transit System, a dual fixed bus line that runs from Irving to Steamburg, Allegany Reservation, where an identical bus runs the same route going the opposite direction. Along the way, the busses also have stops in Gowanda, Cattaraugus, Little Valley, and Salamanca.

References

References

1. Kirby, C.D. (1976). ''The Early History of Gowanda and The Beautiful Land of the Cattaraugus''. Gowanda, NY: Niagara Frontier Publishing Company, Inc./Gowanda Area Bi-Centennial Committee, Inc.
2. ''Historical sketch of the Village of Gowanda, N.Y. in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of its incorporation, August 8, 1898''. Buffalo, NY: The Matthews-Northrup Company, Leonard, I.R., Reprinted 1998, Salem, MA: Higginson Book Company.
3. [http://www.lake-erie-fff.org/FILES/Cattaraugus_Creek_Watershed.pdf Gravel mining; Summary of permits for mining activities in the Cattaraugus Creek watershed], ''Cattaraugus Creek watershed resource guide and proposed watershed planning strategy'', 2006, Boyer, B., Carpenter, B., Renschler, C., & Kellam, R.V., Funded by: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District, Retrieved 21 June 2014.