Irving, NY Weather Forecast and Current Conditions

Irving is a hamlet in western New York, primarily located in Chautauqua County and Erie County, with a smaller portion in Cattaraugus County. It also encompasses a large part of the Cattaraugus Reservation of the Seneca Nation of Indians, and serves as one of the nation’s two alternating capitals (along with Jimerson Town on the Allegany Reservation). Irving sits at the mouth of Cattaraugus Creek, where it flows into Lake Erie, making it a longstanding crossroads and gateway between Erie and Chautauqua counties, with U.S. Route 20, New York State Route 5, and New York State Route 438 all meeting at the creek. Irving is 584 feet (178 m) above sea level, has the ZIP Code 14081, and a population of 2,736 residents according to the latest census data. Historically, Irving developed in the early 1800s around lumber shipping, grain milling, and ferry traffic at the creek’s natural harbor. Although it was once considered as a possible western terminus of the New York & Erie Railroad, the choice of Dunkirk curtailed its industrial prospects, and the community centered instead on farming — first grains and later grapes, as part of the Lake Erie viticultural belt. It is the site of the Thomas Indian School (1855–1957), a state-run boarding school for Native American children that is remembered today both as a significant local institution and as a site of cultural trauma for the Seneca and other Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) peoples. In the 20th century, Sunset Bay, another hamlet, grew into a seasonal beach community and the New York State Thruway made Irving more accessible, with Interstate 90 and Seneca-owned businesses emerging as drivers of the local economy. Prominent Residents Lewis "Deerfoot" Bennett: A renowned Seneca long-distance runner from the mid-1800s who set world records while touring Britain. Bemus Pierce: An early football star, an All-American guard at the Carlisle Indian School and believed to be the first Native college football head coach, of the University at Buffalo. Porter Cornelius Bliss, a 19th-century journalist and diplomat with strong ties to the reservation. Traynor Ora Halftown: Known as "Chief Halftown," he was a popular children's TV show host for WPVI-TV in Philadelphia for several decades. Isaac Johnny John: An actor who claimed to be a model for the face of the Buffalo nickel and gained fame as "Chief John Big Tree." Alice Lee Jemison: Journalist and political activist who advocated for the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs during the New Deal. Everett Russell Burmaster: A local historian, preservationist and paleontologist who was adopted by the Seneca. George Carter: A star basketball player at St. Bonaventure and an A.B.A. all-star who is one of only three people known to have been drafted by four major North American professional leagues. Agnes Williams: An activist and social worker from the Cattaraugus Reservation who co-founded the Indigenous Women's Network, often focusing on environmental and women's rights. Dean Stanley Seneca: An epidemiologist and former Senior Scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He gained prominence for his work on infectious diseases, including H1N1 and Ebola. Barry E. Snyder Sr.: A five-time Seneca Nation president who played a key role in developing the nation's gaming enterprise, he founded the Seneca Hawk gas station and smoke shop, the first of its kind when it opened in 1983. Zed Williams, a multi-sport star who set national records in high school and has had decorated professional career in both the Premier Lacrosse League and National Lacrosse League. Miya Scanlan, who set a New York state high school record for goals in a game (16) before playing Division I collegiate lacrosse and competing for the Haudenosaunee Nationals team. Founding and Early Settlement The first people to live in the area were the Erie people, an Iroquois tribe who were largely destroyed in the mid-17th century after a war with the Seneca. The area that became Irving grew from the strategic junction where Cattaraugus Creek flows into Lake Erie, a natural boundary and travel route long used by the Seneca. An early road led from the settlement southward into the Conewango Valley, following a route through what are now the eastern parts of Hanover, Villenova, Cherry Creek, and Ellington. Initially used by the Seneca for travel and trade, the route later became important for European-American settlers moving into these towns. One of the area’s earliest settlers, Amos Sottle, established a tavern and ferry service across the creek in the early 1800s, making the spot a natural crossroads for travelers moving between Buffalo and points west. A historical marker about him reads: “First non-Indian settler of Hanover and Chautauqua County, built his home nearby in 1796. Indian friend, farmer, fiddler, and worker on the HLC survey.” Crossing the creek, which is actually a river, was dangerous at the time. Early ferry service across it was unsafe, with a small scow— a flat-bottomed boat commonly used for transporting goods — that could carry only a single wagon. Horses and oxen had to be taken across separately until a larger scow was later built. Originally known as Cattaraugus, Cattaraugus Village and Cattaraugus Bottoms for the creek and reservation, the hamlet began in 1804. In 1812, the first post office in Chautauqua County was located there. It was later called Acasto, then renamed Irving in 1846. The new name distinguished it from Cattaraugus County and another Cattaraugus village further southeast and was taken from a group of investors called the Irving Company, which led the failed effort to land the western terminus of the New York and Erie Railroad. Part of the community was called "La Grange" after the Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette who lived at La Grange in France, and was renamed West Irving in 1856.

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