In its early history, Western New York was settled by native cultures including the Hopewell. The territory of Western New York, until the 17th century, was held by the
Neutral Nation in the northern Niagara region and the
Wenrohronon and
Erie Indians around the
Allegheny River. The
Seneca nation and their allies in the
Iroquois Confederacy eliminated those tribes in wars during the
Beaver Wars between 1638 and 1701, with any survivors being assimilated into the Senecas (in the case of the Erie and Neutral) or Huron (in the case of the Wenro). The Neutral territory is currently held by
Tuscaroras, who moved up from
the Carolinas while refugees from the Erie tribes moved south to the Carolinas. French forces settled in parts of what is now Western New York through much of the 17th century, beginning with
Étienne Brûlé's pass-through of the region in 1615 and
Joseph de La Roche Daillon's missionary journeys in the 1620s; some relics of their presence, including
Fort Niagara and a
portage road that follows modern
New York State Route 394 between
Lake Erie and
Chautauqua Lake, are still visible in the region. Western New York's land was acquired from the Iroquois through the
Nanfan Treaty, which ceded the territory to England at the end of the Beaver Wars in 1701. At the time, four of the British colonies (
Pennsylvania,
New York,
Massachusetts and
Connecticut) laid claim to the unsettled territory, as did
New France until the
Seven Years' War. Most of Western New York was officially off-limits to all of the colonies as a result of the establishment of an
Indian Reserve over the area following the Seven Years' War. By the 1780s, only New York and Massachusetts still maintained their claims to the territory, which was separated from mainland New York by a
Preemption Line. Under federal policy designed to extinguish the states'
Revolutionary War debts, the states were required to
extinguish their western land claims. Massachusetts extinguished its claim to the territory in exchange for receiving the profits from its sale to settlers. New York was the only colony not to extinguish its western claim, and by way of the
1786 Treaty of Hartford, the land, with the exception of a
small triangle that was ceded to Pennsylvania in 1792, officially became Western New York. (Had New York extinguished its claim, it would have likely become part of the
Northwest Territory established the next year and formed part of a new state.) Native title, with the exception of several reservations, was extinguished in the
Treaty of Canandaigua in 1794, while the
Phelps and Gorham Purchase and
Holland Purchase opened the territory for settling. During the
War of 1812 Western New York was part of the
borderland frontier between the United States and British Canada and became the scene of various military actions. The two major Western New York cities, Buffalo and Rochester, benefited greatly from the opening of the
Erie Canal. With its strategic position at the western end of the Erie Canal, the eastern end of Lake Erie and proximity to Niagara Falls and Canada, Buffalo emerged as a major port.
Niagara Falls provided Buffalo with a ready supply of power, so much so that one of its enduring nicknames is "The City of Light". Buffalo experienced steady growth during the 19th century and at one point was one of the 10 most populated cities in the United States. According to some, Rochester was "America's First Boomtown" and was a key player in the flour industry (hence its initial nickname "Flour City"). Its growth was attributed to both the completion of the Erie Canal and its resulting significance in the flour industry. Olean was originally planned to be a similar major hub, but it proved to be at a major disadvantage: located near the headwaters of the
Allegheny River (a factor its planners had hoped would make the city a gateway to the Midwest), the river was too shallow to support large boat travel or shipping on a consistent basis. As a region, Western New York played a significant role in the American economy during the 19th century. Large scale immigration from Ireland, Italy, Poland, Great Britain and Germany soon followed into the region. The
New Religious Movement known as
Spiritualism was among several that arose in the early 19th century
burned-over district of Western New York. Its major center is
Lily Dale, one of the largest spiritualism communities in the United States. The original house of the
Fox sisters was relocated to Lily Dale in 1916.
Joseph Smith Jr., founder of the
Latter Day Saint movement, reported receiving the Book of Mormon in Palmyra, Wayne County. The women's civic organization
Zonta was founded in Buffalo in 1919. In the late 20th century this area became part of the
Rust Belt of the United States, being a focal point for the transportation of grain, steel, and coal. The opening of the
Welland Canal in 1957 effectively rendered the narrower Erie Canal obsolete, further exacerbating economic problems in the region. The area saw an economic decline during the period of
deindustrialization, leaving many empty steel mills including those of
Bethlehem Steel, which was the 2nd largest steel mill in the world. The plant located in
Lackawanna, New York provided nearly 25,000 jobs to the local economy.
Republic Steel also had a large integrated
steel mill located in
South Buffalo.
General Motors in Tonawanda is the largest vehicle engine plant in the world, which still is a major contributor to the Buffalo area economy.
Ford Motor Company also maintains a large manufacturing facility in
Woodlawn, New York, which is just south of
Buffalo. ==Culture==