Place:Attica, Wyoming, New York, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Attica is a village in Wyoming and Genesee counties, New York, United States. The population was 2,547 at the 2010 census.

The village is on the northern border of Wyoming County. The village lies mostly within the town of Attica, but the northern part of the village is within the adjacent town of Alexander in Genesee County.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

In 1802, Zerah Phelps became the first European-American landowner in the Attica area, which had for centuries been part of territory of the Seneca Nation, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. As allies of the British, they were mostly forced out of New York after the American Revolution, when the Crown ceded control of its territory to the new United States.

He built and owned a gristmill, and was also the first business owner in Attica. By 1810 the settlement had grown into a town., Malaria and plague drove the settlers to higher ground. During the War of 1812, many people fled to this area from Buffalo, which was vulnerable to British attack from the Great Lakes.

In 1837, Phelps' Settlement was incorporated, becoming the village of Attica. The village is named after a region in Greece.

In 1854, Dr. Orin Davis established a health institute to which people from around the country traveled for treatment.^[1]

In 1883, Eugene Norton created what became known as the Pineapple Cheese Factory. In 1918 the company's molds and patents were sold to the Kraft Cheese Company. The Stevens family has bred and raised thoroughbred livestock. One of their horses took first prize at the World's Fair. Agriculture remains an important element of community culture and economy.

As New York State began to expand its penal system, a group of citizens worked to get a state prison in the town of Attica, as employment opportunities were limited in the rural area. In March 1929, roughly south of the village were acquired for the prison, and construction began in October. After two years the first inmates were transferred to Attica.^[2]

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