A history of Seneca,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Seneca from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The region was the locale of the Seneca tribe, a member of the Iroquois, and the sites of many important villages are in the town or the surrounding area; Kanadaseaga is one.
The area was part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. Settlement commenced around 1790, the year after the county was formed. A "District of Seneca" was created judicially in 1789 at the time the county was established, but its extent and subdivisions are not clearly known.
In 1872, the northeast part of the town was used to form the Town of Geneva, taking with it most of the historic Seneca communities and sites.
The Levi Barden Cobblestone Farmhouse, Thomas Barron House, and Rippey Cobblestone Farmhouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Seneca’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFactory and Electrotype Foundry; …, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Seneca, decade by decade
CommonsFactory and Electrotype Foundry; First Residence 1857; St. …1880
CommonsGrist Mill and Miller's Residence , Turbine - Water Wheels …1880
CommonsRes. of David C. Oatman, Angola, N.Y., County Clerk of Erie…1880
CommonsRes. of John Hughes, West Seneca, N.Y.; Res. of John Trapp,…1880
CommonsResidence of Geo. B. Ely, Esq., Cheektowaga; Residence of N…1880
CommonsStore of Leroy S. Oatman, Druggist and Dealer in Books, Sta…18801990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Factory and Electrotype Foundry; First Residence 1857; St. Joseph's Asylum, St. John's Protectory West Seneca, N.Y., St… (1880) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.