Introducing the Town of Ellicott:

The Town of Ellicott is located in Southwestern New York in the southeast corner of Chautauqua County.  The Town has an approximate land area of 30.6 square miles and a current population of 9,280 (2000 Census).

The Town abuts the City of Jamestown on the east, north and west and has several miles of shoreline along beautiful Chautauqua Lake.  Ellicott is situated in a unique urban/rural setting, consisting of suburbs, neighborhoods and lush rolling farmland.  In recent years, several new residential developments have been established adding to the attraction of the Town.  There are also a total of five school districts within the Town’s boundaries including 2 high schools, 2 middle schools and 2 elementary schools.

Two Villages are located within the Town of Ellicott: Celoron (pop. 1,295) and Falconer (2,540).  Both villages are well over a century old and contain many large and beautiful Victorian-style homes.

Three major highways traverse the Town of Ellicott:

1. The Southern Tier Expressway (I-86) runs east west through the Town.

2. N Y State Rte. 60 runs north-south and connects with the New York State Thruway (Rte. 90) 25 miles to the north.

3. N Y State Rte. 394 also runs east-west across the entire Town and the City of Jamestown.

The western end of the Rte. 394 corridor, also known as Fairmount Ave., contains many professional office buildings and retail stores. This bustling area known as West Ellicott has experienced rapid development during the past fifteen years.  It is the major retail area in Southern Chautauqua County.

The Town has 2 Industrial Parks. Multinational companies such as Bush Industries, Acu-Rite and Trinity Biotech have offices and production facilities in the industrial parks. Serta Mattress recently constructed a new facility in Mason Industrial Park.  The Airport Industrial Park currently contains acres of prime commercial development property. Other well-known companies found within the Town include; SYSCO, MRC Bearings, Trucklite and Jamestown Container Corp. Several large retailers also have outlets in Ellicott; Sam's Club, K-mart and Wegmans. Most areas of the Town receive sewer and water service provided and maintained either by the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities or South & Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District..  In addition, many areas receive electrical service from the Jamestown BPU at one of the lowest rates in the country.

In 1995 a large section of the Town became part of a New York State Empire Zone. The Empire Zone provides new businesses with assistance (including possible tax exemptions) in startups or expansion within the boundaries of the zone. For more information regarding the Empire Zone contact:
 

Julia Ciesla-Hanley, Interim Coordinator
Municipal Building
Jamestown, NY 14701
Phone: (716) 483-7773

The Town of Ellicott works closely with the Chautauqua County IDA to bring new business into the area.

History:

Karen Livsey    (716) 665-3168   - Town Historian

It is the duty of the Historian to collect and preserve material relating to the history of the Town and to make these records available to the public.

In 1808, the County of Chautauqua was formed and divided into two towns: Chautauqua in the East & Pomfret in the West.  The Town of Ellicott was formed from this Township on June 1, 1812 and was named for Joseph Ellicott, who was the resident agent of the Holland Land Company.  Ellicott originally included what are now the Towns of Busti (1823), Carroll (1825) and Poland (1832).  Ellicott, along with Gerry & Hanover, was one of the first three towns admitted to the County following its original formation.

The first settler, within the present boundaries of Ellicott, was William Wilson.  He came from Pennsylvania early in 1806 and settled on the north side of the Chautauqua Lake outlet.

The first election of officers for the Town of Ellicott was held on the first Tuesday of April 1813.  James Prendergast was elected the first Town Supervisor and Ebenezer Davis was the first Town Clerk.  After 1812, settlement in the area was rapid.  By 1870 the population of the Town was 6,879.  However, that number included VIllage of Jamestown residents.

In 1886, the Village of Jamestown was incorporated as a city and evolved from the original Town of Ellicott.  Thus, today the Town of Ellicott surrounds the City on the north, east & west.

(For more detailed historical data see “A History of Chautauqua County” by Andrew W. Young)

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