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Williamsville is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 5,300 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Jonas Williams, an early settler. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. Williamsville is located mostly within the town of Amherst, but Creek Road and Creek Heights in the south part of the village (near the Wehrle Drive underpass of the New York State Thruway) are in the town of Cheektowaga. The village is in the northeastern quadrant of Erie County. Williamsville is also a postal ZIP code: 14221 (14231 for post office boxes); however, that ZIP code contains large sections of the town outside the village and also includes significant commercial areas within Clarence. The Williamsville Central School District is a school system covering Williamsville, most of the eastern part of Amherst, and a small portion of the western end of Clarence. [edit] History
The community developed where the major road between Batavia and Buffalo crossed Ellicott Creek just above Glen Falls. The water power offered by the waterfall attracted millers. The first mill was built by Jonas Williams in 1811, giving the village its first name, "Williams Mills". It still stands today, next to Glen Park, and is known as the Williamsville Water Mill. Several other mills were built near Glen Falls during the 19th century. In 1841, a raceway was constructed to divert water from Ellicott Creek to the mills, creating an island known today as Island Park. A stagecoach stop, tavern, and inn was built along the main road near Ellicott Creek by Oziel Smith in 1832. Today it is known as the Eagle House. The close crossing of the main road and Ellicott Creek's Glen Falls was the initial attraction, around which Williamsville grew. The village was incorporated in 1850. Ss. Peter and Paul Church was loosely operating in the early 1820s and the current church construction began in 1834, following the sale of land for the church from a non-parishioner, Mr. Oziel Smith. Construction was finished in 1836. St. John Neumann arrived to lead Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church from 1836 to 1840. Ss. Peter and Paul School was started by St. John Neumann in 1836, who also served as one of its first teachers. During the War of 1812, American troops were stationed in Williamsville in the area between Garrison Road and Ellicott Creek. American soldiers and British prisoners were treated in a field hospital and log barracks that lined Garrison Road. A small cemetery, located on Aero Drive between Wehrle and Youngs Road, was used to bury the men who did not survive. General Winfield Scott used the Evans House as his headquarters in the Spring of 1813 when his entire army of 5,000–6,000 men were stationed in Williamsville. In 1813, when the British burned Buffalo, people fled to the safety of Williamsville, nearby Harris Hill, and Erie, Pennsylvania. In 1850, the village of Williamsville was one of the 500+ incorporated villages by New York State. In 1983, Williamsville passed a Historic Preservation Code to conserve its old buildings. Every summer in Williamsville, Old Home Days[1] is held in Island Park, located directly on Main Street in the village. The Carnival begins with a parade on the opening Tuesday, and for four days, thousands of people ride the rides, enjoy the food, and see the people Williamsville has to offer. The festival is in remembrance of several women who in the mid-19th century would come to the park once a summer to drink tea and catch up on the years past. In 2010, government downsizing activist Kevin Gaughan campaigned to dissolve the village government. After a highly contentious campaign, a dissolution referendum was held on August 17, 2010, where voters rejected dissolution by a 5–1 margin. [edit] Research Tips
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