West Seneca is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 45,500 at the 2020 census. West Seneca is a centrally located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo. West Seneca, Orchard Park and Hamburg form the inner “Southtowns“, a cluster of middle-class suburban towns.
History
Because the town is on land of the former Buffalo Creek Reservation, it was not open to European settlement until the mid-19th century.
In 1851, the town of Seneca was formed from parts of the towns of Cheektowaga and Hamburg. The town changed the name to “West” Seneca in 1852 to avoid confusion with the town of Seneca in Ontario County, New York. In 1909 the area immediately south of Buffalo split from West Seneca, becoming the city of Lackawanna.[3]
Following election day in 2019, the town elected a Republican Town Supervisor for the first time in 50 years and first town board member in 13 years, despite having a two to one Democrat to Republican ratio among registered voters (a Democrat running as an Independent also ran in the Supervisorial race).[citation needed]
The Eaton Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[4] The Community of True Inspiration Residence was listed in 2013.[5]
