Hamburg, NY - City and Town Halls on Waymarking.com

Residents of the town of Hamburg will tell you that the hamburger was invented here at the Erie County Fair which is held in the town.

Many signs of evidence such as arrowheads left by the Kahquak Indians and the Erie Indians have been found along the Eighteen Mile Creek and around the Erie County Fairgrounds. The name of "Lake Erie" and "Erie County" is derived from the Erie Indians.

The first post office in the Hamburg area was called Barkerville, after Zenas Barker, Postmaster (1805), which is now the present site of the Bay View Hotel. John Cummings was the first landowner in Hamburg (1803) and by 1806 he had built the first grist mill south of Buffalo.

By an act of the State Legislature on March 20, 1812, the Town of Hamburg was created. Jacob Wright's Tavern at Wright's corners, later Abbott's corners, and now Armor was the site of the first town meeting on April 7, 1812. Due to the volume of settlers that were bothered by wolves and panthers that roamed in the dense forests, a $5.00 bounty was placed on wolf hides by the Town Board in 1812.

Mail routes were organized in 1815. During the next first fifty years, Hamburg's settlers progressed from pioneers in an isolated wilderness to members of a thriving agricultural community.

Many ethnic groups helped in the development of Hamburg. The earliest settlers were from New England. The first Germans came in the 1830's and were responsible for the growth of many prosperous farms. By 1850, Hamburg was reduced to its present size; the Towns of West Seneca and Orchard Park having been created from Hamburg's original boundaries. The Lakeshore Railroad Line was built in Hamburg around 1852, running from Buffalo to Cleveland. The Polish and Italians began to arrive in 1890 with the growth of the steel industry.

Following the aftermath of the Civil War, the Town took on a more modern form, with improved roads, new industries, town street car systems, and the railroad. The Village of Hamburg was incorporated in 1874. The incorporation of the Village of Blasdell followed in 1898.*

The Town of Hamburg is internationally famous for its Devonian fossils and shale outcroppings along the bank of the Eighteen Mile Creek. Located in the Town of Hamburg is the largest county fair in the United States. The Erie County Fair came to Hamburg in 1868 and has remained remained since. The Kleis site, located across from the Erie County Fair Grounds, is on the National Register for historic places. The site is important for the Indian relics found there by Dr. Marion White.

The Erie County Independent began its weekly publication in 1875 and continues today as the weekly newspaper now known as "The Sun". In 1886 telephone service began, followed by the establishment of the Hamburg Free Library in 1902 and by the development of the trolley car system in the early 1900's.*

Hamburg has three buildings listed in the "Buffalo Architecture: "A Guide"; Lakeside Cemetery Office; the Lakeview School; and the Octagon Building. The newest cultural attraction of the Town is the Hamburg Historical Museum on South Park Avenue.

Name: Hamburg Town Hall Address: S6100 South Park Ave Hamburg, NY USA 14075 Memorials/Commemorations/Dedications: veterans memorial Web Site for City/Town/Municipality: [Web Link] Date of Construction: Not listed Architect: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/28/2015 sapphireblue*gb visited it