Allegany County, New York

A llegany County, population, 47,000, lies in the southern tier of western New York State, just north of the Pennsylvania border. It is bisected by the Genesee River, which flows north to its mouth on Lake Ontario. In the early days of its settlement, the region’s tall forests provided cut timber and were a main source of the area’s economy. As the timber was removed from the lower hills, and the land laid bare, agriculture crept in, and it is this industry that is paramount in the County, today. At first, grain was the principal crop, followed by wool growing and cattle raising, as the Genesee Valley Canal and, later, the Erie and other railroads opened the way to more productive grain lands. Currently, the