Great Valley

Great Valley is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York.  The town is named after its local geographical setting, a relative comparison of two tributaries (the other being the neighboring Little Valley) of the Allegheny River.

The town was first settled around 1812. The Town of Great Valley was formed in 1818, taken from part of the Town of Olean. In 1831, the Town of Allegany was made from the southeast part of Great Valley, and in 1842 the Town of Carrollton was made from the southwest part of Great Valley.  Part of the Allegany Reservation was annexed in 1847.

It is an interior town, lying just a little south of the center of Cattaraugus County. Its surface is mountainous and hilly upland. The highest summit, near the southwest corner, is 1300 feet above the river. The Allegany River flows through the southwest corner, receiving the Great Valley Creek as tributary.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 50.2 square miles, of which, 50.2 square miles of it is land and 0.04 square miles of it (0.06%) is water.

The Allegheny River flows through the southeast corner of the town, and the Great Valley Creek is an important stream in the town.

US Route 219 is a major north-south highway in the town and intersects New York State Route 98 in Great Valley village.

Learn more about Great Valley, NY.