Allentown Development
Buffalo, NY

By David Markiewicz
Editing by Chuck LaChiusa

The Holland Land Company's land survey by Joseph Ellicott in 1801 is the beginning of the Erie County land records.  The land that directly surrounds Allen Street today is marked as being Farm Lot Number 51 in the 11th Township and the 8th Range in the survey. 

Joshua Gilbert was the first person to purchase the lot from the Holland Land Company.

Samuel Bell was the second person to own the lot, and Richard and Lewis Allen were the third party,  The Allens were the last to own the farm lot as a whole.

When the Allens sold, they sold the lot in five sections to the first developers who then  divided the land into smaller lots and roadways which was step one toward the development of the area. They then sold their lots to different individuals who again divided the land by width and lengths and roadways and built on their lots.

The area we call Allentown today bordered the original Buffalo City line on the north side in 1832 when the Village of Buffalo was chartered as the city of Buffalo .

The northern border was placed at the old Guide Board and in the same year  had its name changed to North Street. This was the northern boundary of Buffalo before the expansion of Buffalo which included adding lands from the 1842 Buffalo Creek Reservation treaty and the 1854 annexing of Black Rock into Buffalo which expanded the city to 95% of its present size. 

Before any of the development in this area took place in the 1850s, there were many apple trees.

Today, this is a historical preservation district.


Page by Chuck LaChiusa in 2014
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