Ellicott Creek
Encyclopedia
Ellicott Creek is a stream
in Western
New York
, United States
. It is a tributary
of Tonawanda Creek
, which in turn into the Niagara River
.
, just northeast of Darien Lakes State Park
, in the Town of Darien
. It flows generally west, crossing into Erie County
and the Town of Alden
. It crosses the northern edge of the Town of Lancaster
, flowing through the community of Bowmansville in the northwest part of Lancaster.
Continuing west, Ellicott Creek enters the Town of Cheektowaga
. There it passes by the toxic Pfohl Brothers Landfill
and the Buffalo Niagara International Airport
. The creek turns to the northwest at the airport. It flows under one of the runways via a tunnel. It then turns more directly north and enters the Village of Williamsville
and the Town of Amherst
.
At Williamsville's Island Park Ellicott Creek splits briefly into two channels, one of which contains floodgates. The other channel was historically used to divert water into flumes for powering mills just downstream. Below the floodgates the creek flows rapidly north, passing under State Route 5
and falling over the Onondaga Escarpment
at Glen Falls in Amherst State Park
.
After Glen Falls, Ellicott Creek continues flowing generally north and northwest through Amherst. It passes by several golf courses and then through the northern edge of the campus of the University at Buffalo
, after which the creek turns to the west and crosses under Interstate 990
(Lockport Expressway).
Just west of I-990 the creek splits into two channels for about 1.25 miles (2 km). The northern channel is deeper, has been more thoroughly channelized and is bordered by commercial land use, while the southern channel is fairly sinuous and contains more trees in the riparian zone.
After these channels rejoin, Ellicott Creek it enters the Town of Tonawanda
and passes through Ellicott Creek Park
. Ellicott Creek continues west for approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) before emptying into Tonawanda Creek
in the City of Tonawanda. This portion of Tonawanda Creek is also part of the Erie Canal
. Tonawanda Creek then empties into the Niagara River
. The distance from the mouth of Ellicott Creek to the Niagara River is about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km).
, an important agent of the Holland Land Company
. Ellicott played a significant role in opening Western New York up for settlement after the Iroquois
ceded their claims in the 1780s, more significantly in the Big Tree Treaty with the Seneca nation
. Elicott surveyed most of Holland Purchase
into townships and saleable land parcels.
, near the University at Buffalo
and flows under Interstate 990
before leaving Amherst by crossing U.S. Route 62
(Niagara Falls Boulevard) to enter the Town of Tonawanda at Ellicott Creek Park.
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
in Western
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is a small river in Western New York, in the United States. William Bright says the best that can be said of the name is that it is "probably from an Iroquoian source, but of unclear derivation".-Description:...
, which in turn into the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
.
Course
Ellicott Creek originates in southwest corner of Genesee CountyGenesee County, New York
Genesee County is a county located in Western New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 60,079. Its name is from the Seneca Indian word Gen-nis'-hee-yo meaning "The Beautiful Valley." Its county seat is Batavia.- History :...
, just northeast of Darien Lakes State Park
Darien Lakes State Park
Darien Lakes State Park is a state park located in western Genesee County, New York, United States, near Darien Center, which is at the intersection of Routes US 20 and NY 77. This road can be accessed via exit 48A on the New York State Thruway. The park entrance is on Harlow Road, north of Route...
, in the Town of Darien
Darien, New York
Darien is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 3,061 at the 2000 census.The Town of Darien lies in the southwest part of Genesee County, southwest of Batavia.- History :...
. It flows generally west, crossing into Erie County
Erie County, New York
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...
and the Town of Alden
Alden, New York
Alden, New York may refer to one of the following locations in Erie County, New York:*Alden , New York*Alden , New York...
. It crosses the northern edge of the Town of Lancaster
Lancaster (town), New York
Lancaster is a town in Erie County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town population has 39,019 residents.The Town of Lancaster has a village also called Lancaster. The Town and Village are currently exploring consolidation of governmental functions. Both town and village are east of...
, flowing through the community of Bowmansville in the northwest part of Lancaster.
Continuing west, Ellicott Creek enters the Town of Cheektowaga
Cheektowaga (town), New York
Cheektowaga is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 94,019. The name comes from the Iroquoian word Ji-ik-do-wa-gah, meaning the place of the crab apple tree...
. There it passes by the toxic Pfohl Brothers Landfill
Pfohl Brothers Landfill
The Pfohl Brothers Landfill was a privately owned and operated landfill in Cheektowaga, New York. The landfill accepted municipal and industrial wastes from 1932 until 1971. It is located 1/2 mile east of the Buffalo Niagara International Airport and sits on the north bank of Ellicott Creek. It...
and the Buffalo Niagara International Airport
Buffalo Niagara International Airport
Buffalo Niagara International Airport is an airport located in Cheektowaga CDP, Town of Cheektowaga, in Erie County, New York, USA. It is named after the Buffalo – Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The airport serves Buffalo, New York as well as Southern Ontario, Canada...
. The creek turns to the northwest at the airport. It flows under one of the runways via a tunnel. It then turns more directly north and enters the Village of Williamsville
Williamsville, New York
Williamsville is a village in Erie County, New York in the United States. The population was 5,573 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Jonas Williams, an early settler...
and the Town of Amherst
Amherst, New York
Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 122,366. This represents an increase of 5.0% from the 2000 census. The town is named for Jeffrey Amherst, a British Army officer of the colonial period...
.
At Williamsville's Island Park Ellicott Creek splits briefly into two channels, one of which contains floodgates. The other channel was historically used to divert water into flumes for powering mills just downstream. Below the floodgates the creek flows rapidly north, passing under State Route 5
New York State Route 5
New York State Route 5 is a state highway that extends for across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and...
and falling over the Onondaga Escarpment
Onondaga (geological formation)
The Onondaga Formation is a group of hard limestones and dolostones of Devonian age that form an important geographic feature in some areas in which it outcrops, in others; especially its Southern Ontario portion, the formation can be less prominent as a local surface feature.In upstate New York...
at Glen Falls in Amherst State Park
Amherst State Park
Amherst State Park is a small park in Erie County, New York, USA. The park is partially in the Village of Williamsville with the balance located in the Town of Amherst on land formerly belonging to a convent and surrounding property of the Franciscan Sisters...
.
After Glen Falls, Ellicott Creek continues flowing generally north and northwest through Amherst. It passes by several golf courses and then through the northern edge of the campus of the University at Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
, after which the creek turns to the west and crosses under Interstate 990
Interstate 990
Interstate 990 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway located entirely within the town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, in the United States. It runs in a roughly north–south direction for through the southwestern and central parts of Amherst from Interstate 290 north of Buffalo to...
(Lockport Expressway).
Just west of I-990 the creek splits into two channels for about 1.25 miles (2 km). The northern channel is deeper, has been more thoroughly channelized and is bordered by commercial land use, while the southern channel is fairly sinuous and contains more trees in the riparian zone.
After these channels rejoin, Ellicott Creek it enters the Town of Tonawanda
Tonawanda (town), New York
Tonawanda is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a population of 78,155. The town is at the north border of the county and is the northern suburb of Buffalo...
and passes through Ellicott Creek Park
Ellicott Creek Park
Ellicott Creek Park is a small park in Erie County, in the U.S. state of New York. The park is in the Town of Tonawanda, northeast of Buffalo, New York.The park lies between Tonawanda Creek and Ellicott Creek....
. Ellicott Creek continues west for approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) before emptying into Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek
Tonawanda Creek is a small river in Western New York, in the United States. William Bright says the best that can be said of the name is that it is "probably from an Iroquoian source, but of unclear derivation".-Description:...
in the City of Tonawanda. This portion of Tonawanda Creek is also part of the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
. Tonawanda Creek then empties into the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
. The distance from the mouth of Ellicott Creek to the Niagara River is about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km).
History
Ellicott Creek is named after Joseph EllicottJoseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Ellicott ....
, an important agent of the Holland Land Company
Holland Land Company
The Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...
. Ellicott played a significant role in opening Western New York up for settlement after the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
ceded their claims in the 1780s, more significantly in the Big Tree Treaty with the Seneca nation
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
. Elicott surveyed most of Holland Purchase
Holland Purchase
The Holland Purchase was a large tract of land in what is now the western portion of the U.S. state of New York. It consisted of about 3,250,000 acres of land from a line approximately 12 miles to the west of the Genesee River to the present western border and boundary of New York State.The land...
into townships and saleable land parcels.
Natural history
Niagara River surface fluctuations influence creek water level up to 7 miles (11.3 km) upstream of the mouth of Ellicott Creek.Recreation
A bike path follows the creek in the Town of AmherstAmherst, New York
Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 122,366. This represents an increase of 5.0% from the 2000 census. The town is named for Jeffrey Amherst, a British Army officer of the colonial period...
, near the University at Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
and flows under Interstate 990
Interstate 990
Interstate 990 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway located entirely within the town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, in the United States. It runs in a roughly north–south direction for through the southwestern and central parts of Amherst from Interstate 290 north of Buffalo to...
before leaving Amherst by crossing U.S. Route 62
U.S. Route 62
U.S. Route 62 runs from the US-Mexico border at El Paso, Texas to Niagara Falls, New York, near the United States-Canada border. It is the only east-west US Route that connects Mexico and Canada.Parts of U.S...
(Niagara Falls Boulevard) to enter the Town of Tonawanda at Ellicott Creek Park.