Location:
Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, with the Genesee River flowing through it, Wellsville has much natural beauty. Forested hillsides are interspersed with picturesque farms. From North Hill, Norton Summit, Niles Hill, Alma Hill and other peaks, it is possible to see sweeping vistas of the surrounding countryside. For complete demographic information click here.

Entering Wellsville from the north, a visitor sees stately homes, many of them built during the area's oil boom in the early 20th century, and the Wellsville Country Club, with one of the finest 18-hole courses in Western New York. The Genesee River and Dyke Creek converge in the village; at their confluence is Island Park and an adjoining recreational area that contains several ball fields.

Throughout the community are several fine examples of architecture, including The Pink House, an outstanding example of Italianate Victorian, and the David A. Howe Public Library, a beautiful example of Georgian style. There are also many fine churches, including the classic Gothic Immaculate Conception Church on Maple Avenue, built of Warsaw Blue Stone, quarried from nearby Wyoming County. Stone for the church's foundation and interior walls come from nearby farms.

Downtown Wellsville retains much of its early 20th century charm, with most of its buildings in fair to good condition. Economically, it continues to thrive with only a 4 percent vacancy rate for Main Street storefronts, and several new businesses , including Sweet Attitudes, Diamond Dreams Jewelry, Yankee Trader Antiques and Aquaria Hair Salon.

The Village of Wellsville, through a low-interest revolving loan program, has been able to assist several of the new businesses as they start up. For more information about the loan program, which is tied to job creation, contact the Alfred Housing Committee at (585) 593-6353.

History:
Settled in the early 1800s, Wellsville's economy was first based on the lumber industry, and, from that, the leather tanning industry. Some vestiges of those industries remain in the form of railroad right-of-ways. The former Wellsville-Addison & Galeton right-of-way is now a recreational trail extending south into Pennsylvania.

As the lumber industry waned, the oil industry boomed; its legacy seen in the many beautiful public buildings and private residences that remain, as well as in the oil pumps that dot some of the hillsides outside Wellsville.

The Sinclair Refinery, once one of the largest refineries in the Pennsylvania crude oil fields, operated in Wellsville until the 1950s. Many of the buildings still stand, and today are used by the School of Vocational Studies, Alfred State College.

Historic Links: Allegany County New York GenWeb

Allegany County, NY Local History & Genealogy Site

Wellsville, NY Sesquicentennial Celebration - 2007 Website

Quality of Life:
Wellsville prides itself on being a safe, family-oriented community. There are several very active cultural groups, including the Genesee Valley Chorus, founded in 1976; the Wellsville Performing Arts Orchestra, a legacy of Wellsville Central School's fine string music program; the Players, an amateur theatrical group that has entertained with a strong repertoire of drama, comedy and musicals for more than five decades. Wellsville High School showcases its students' talents with an annual musical that involves dozens of area performers, including those who play in the pit orchestra. The Wellsville Creative Arts Center offers live entertainment most weekends as well as art and dancing classes.

Many of the cultural groups use the 360-seat Nancy Howe Auditorium, located in the David A. Howe Public Library, or the 800-seat auditorium at the Wellsville High School. The Exhibition Room at the Library is a focal point for other community events, including the Seven-County Art Show and the Wellsville Performing Arts Association's Member Show. The Monday Club room is frequently used for community meetings and small lectures, and the local history room offers references for historical and genealogical research.

The library has in excess of 60,000 volumes for adults, augmented by audio and videotapes including books on tape for the visually impaired. The Children's Suite, located in one wing of the library, has more than 20,000 volumes. The library has more than 10,000 cardholders and circulates some 150,000 items annually.

Wellsville has a Baseball Team known as the Nitros that play in and near to Wellsville throughout June & July each summer.

Religion in the Wellsville Area:

A wide variety of denominations can be found in and near Wellsville. Click here for a listing.

Location:
Encompassing more than 22,000 square acres, Wellsville is located in New York's Southern Tier in the Genesee River Valley. It is 11 miles north of the Pennsylvania border, about 90 miles south of Rochester and about 90 miles southeast of Buffalo. Corning is about 50 miles east, and Olean is about 35 miles west. The village is located at the juncture of State Routes 19, and 417, and is about 12 miles south of Interstate 86, the Southern Tier Expressway, formerly known as NYS Route 17.

Demographics:
As the largest township in Allegany County, Wellsville's town and village have a population of approximately 8,200.

The following websites can provide the most up to date data and information for you:

E-Podunk.com

City Data

Housing:
Average Costs:
     - 3 Bedroom, 1 1/2 Bath $50 - $70,000
     - 2 Bedroom, $350/month
     - 1-2 Acres $8 - $15,000
     - Construction $55 - $75/sq. ft.

REAL ESTATE IN WELLSVILLE

Average Home Costs:
     - Village $58,875
     - Town $57,166

Utilities:
     - Village - Municipal Electric (.03/kWh)
     - Town - Niagara Mohawk Power Company

Education:
Public
     - Wellsville Central School District (K-12)
     - Annual Enrollment: 1,560
     - Student/Teacher Ratio: 13:1

Private
     - Immaculate Conception School (pre-K - 8)
     - Annual Enrollment: 175
     - Student/Teacher Ratio: 11.7:1

Local Colleges and Universities
     - Alfred University
     - NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred
     - Alfred State College
     - Houghton College

Economics:
Wellsville's Cost of Living Index vs. the U.S. average equals 90.79%. This index takes into consideration the cost of housing, transportation, consumables, utilities and other services.

Wellsville's major employers include: Dresser-Rand, Alstom Air Preheater, Northern Lights Candles, Jones Memorial Hospital, Wellsville Central Schools, L.C. Whitford Co., Current Controls, Otis Eastern Service, Alfred State College Vocational School and Allegany ARC.

Shopping in Wellsville is centered along the Main Street and along Bolivar Road. A full listing is available below of business along Main Street. Two plazas are located along Bolivar Road: The Wellsville Shopping Plaza [housing Tractor Supply, Autozone, Family Dollar and Save-A-Lot grocery) and the Riverwalk Plaza (housing K-Mart, Tops Grocery, Sherwin Williams, Subway, Fashion Bug, Radio Shack, and Kubota.

Main Street Businesses

Business Directory

Additional Business Information

Services:
Jones Memorial Hospital has provided excellent care for over 70 years. This 70 bed facility provides a complete range of modern medical services. Apart from Jones Memorial, Wellsville maintains a citizen/patient ratio of 172:1. For a list of local Doctors click here

Local newspapers include the Wellsville Daily Reporter, the Olean Times Herald, and The Patriot. Wellsville is also home to three radio stations, WJQZ-FM, WLSV-AM, and WZKZ-FM.

Wellsville is served by four financial institutions including  Steuben Trust Company, Community Bank, First Citizens National Bank and Alco Federal Credit Union. 

Transportation:

The Wellsville Area has public transportation through the Allegany County Transit bus system. This service allows pick-up at various locations within the Village and Town and transports throughout the county to Belmont, Fillmore, Cuba and Alfred as well as points in between. Connections are available also to Hornell and Olean.Click here for local bus route map. Shortline Bus system allows people to pick up bus transportation to New York City and areas along that route from nearby Alfred or Belmont. Greyhound Bus service is available from nearby Alfred.

Air Travel is available via charter service at Wellsville Flying Service from the Wellsville Municipal Airport. Flight instruction and aircraft maintenance is available at this site also. Detailed Airport Information on Wellsville Municipal Airport. Commercial flights are generally from either Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, Niagara Falls International Airport, Greater Rochester International Airport or Elmira Corning Regional Airport. Some services are also available through Bradford Regional Airport in Pennsylvania.

Train Service is freight only in Allegany County. This service is through the Western New York - Pennsylvania Rail Road with connections to main line rail services. Contact WNYPRR directly for pick-up arrangements.

Highway service is through multiple levels of service. Baseline service is on Village of Wellsville streets or Town of Wellsville roads. Virtually all Village streets are paved and most Town roads are paved. The Village of Wellsville Department of Public Works maintains the Village Streets. The Town Highway Department maintains the Town Roads. The Allegany County Department of Public Works maintains County Routes 18, 28, 30, and 44 within the Town of Wellsville. New York State Department of Transportation has two major routes through the Town of Wellsville in the north-south 19 and the east-west 417 [sometimes still called 17 by local people]. Interstate service is just about 10 miles north of the Town running east-west through the Town of Amity. I-86 runs from Erie, PA through Olean, NY, Hornell, NY on to Corning and Elmira. Eventually the interstate will connect to Binghamton and toward New York City. New York City is approximately six hours from Wellsville. Buffalo and Rochester are approximately two hours from Wellsville. Elmira is about 1.5 hours from Wellsville.

The Municipal Building 156 North Main Street Wellsville, NY 14895 Phone: (585) 593-4881 Fax: (585) 593-3938 info@wellsvilleny.com

Copyright © 2008 Village of Wellsville. All rights reserved.