Salamanca () is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States, inside the Allegany Indian Reservation, one of two governed by the Seneca Nation of Indians. The population was 5,929 at the 2020 census. It was named after José de Salamanca, a Spanish nobleman and cabinet minister of the mid-19th century. Salamanca invested in railroads around the globe, including the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad in New York State, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and , or 3.88%, is water.
History
What is now known as the city of Salamanca was originally two separate communities, one on Little Valley Creek and the other on Great Valley Creek; the westernmost one of the two was called "Hemlock", a name derived from the numerous hemlock trees throughout the surrounding mountains. The eastern community (from modern-day Conrath Avenue eastward) was Kill Buck; the eastern half of what is now Kill Buck remains an unincorporated hamlet independent of the city of Salamanca. Hemlock was later renamed "West Salamanca" and (although it was marked on road signs as late as the 1990s) was eventually incorporated into the single city of Salamanca. The city was incorporated in 1913.
right|thumb|Salamanca station, now the Salamanca Rail Museum
At one time the city was a thriving railroad hub, with the Erie Railroad (later Conrail), Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway (BR&P) (later Baltimore and Ohio Railroad) both having facilities there. Generations of Salamanca residents worked for the railroads, and much of the housing was originally built for them by the railroads. The city also benefited from the then-thriving lumber industry that dominated much of southwestern Cattaraugus County at the turn of the century, as boomtowns along the Allegheny River such as Elko, South Valley and Red House (all much-less populated ghost towns today) all used the railroads to ship their goods upstream. At the time of the city's incorporation, it peaked at under 10,000 residents, not far behind Olean, 19 miles to the east, the major hub of the county; Olean, however, would continue to grow rapidly into the 1950s, while Salamanca's population would begin falling behind almost immediately. The Salamanca Rail Museum was opened in the former BR&P depot in 1984 to house its archives.
The majority of the city, with the exception of a northeastern spur along Great Valley Creek, was constructed on the Allegany Indian Reservation held by the Seneca Nation of Indians, as established in various treaties. Under the nation's policy, non-Seneca residents are barred from owning real property on the reservation, and non-Senecas can only lease the property from the Seneca Nation. The current leases are in effect until 2030, with an option to extend until 2070; proceeds from the lease payments are distributed quarterly to enrolled Seneca Nation members, providing a basic income guarantee.
Despite the lack of ownership, leased land held by non-Senecas is subject to property tax, which the lessee must pay to the city, Cattaraugus County and the Salamanca City Central School District. Seneca-owned land is exempt under the Treaty of Buffalo Creek. Once a Seneca acquires the land, it is taken off the tax rolls; for this reason, the city of Salamanca does not auction-off abandoned properties on the reservation in a property-tax auction, for fear Seneca individuals will buy the land, removing it from the tax rolls.
Government
The city has a council-mayor system, with the mayor elected at-large and five trustees selected from wards, generally numbered from west to east.
"Between 2004-05 and 2009-10, State aid for the City, including casino revenues, increased by an average annual rate of nearly 50 percent (starting at $0.8 million in 2004-05 and peaking at $7.3 million in 2008-09). Salamanca's average annual expenditure increases on debt service, general government, transportation, utilities and public safety between 2004-05 and 2009-10 were all in the double digits." This was attributable to revenues from the Seneca Allegany Casino.
Casino revenues
The Seneca Nation opened a gambling casino in Salamanca in May 2004. About 1,000 new jobs were created by the casino operation, resulting in a housing shortage in the small town as new workers entered the city. Under the arrangement with the state, a 25% share of the casino's revenue goes to the city and county, which they can use for needed projects. Revenues for the city increased dramatically (see above).
Significant change did not quickly take place in the city, with new construction in only a few select areas. Main Street and US Route 219 (which runs through the city) remain largely untouched. Redevelopment was delayed when the Nation stopped casino payments in late 2010, in a dispute with the state over its opening racinos elsewhere in the state; payments were resumed in 2013. The state provided the city with emergency funds to help support it until the dispute was settled.
Because of the contentious relations between Seneca and non-Seneca residents, columnist Selena Zito described Salamanca as a "failed American city" in 2011, in a column that soon drew the rebuke of city officials. The last passenger train making stops there was the Lake Cities which was discontinued on January 6, 1970. The New York and Lake Erie Railroad operated between Salamanca and Gowanda until 1990. Today, the station houses the Salamanca Rail Museum. Two miles to the east, the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway had an "East Salamanca" station. The successor railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad last had passenger trains at the latter in the mid-1950s. Into the early 1940s, the Pennsylvania Railroad ran passenger trains into a third station for trains between Olean and Oil City, Pennsylvania.
Two of the former rail rights-of-way are now rail trails: the NY&LE right-of-way is now the state-owned Pat McGee Trail (which officially ends at the city line before entering the city) and the Pennsylvania Railroad path is now the Pennsy Trail. The Finger Lakes Trail also cuts across the city, mainly using city roads.
Air
Salamanca has no local major airports. Although Great Valley Airport is nearby, this airport is mostly used for general aviation, and no commercial passenger service operates out of it. The nearest public airports are Buffalo Niagara International Airport and Bradford Regional Airport.
Religion
The Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention (House of Prayer), Seventh-day Adventists, Free Methodist Church, and Lighthouse Baptist Church all have branches in the city bounds. At least two other independent churches also operate; the local United Methodist Church disaffiliated in the late 2010s.
Media
Radio stations WQRS (on the FM band at 98.3) and WGGO (on the AM band at 1590) are licensed to Salamanca. WQRS (The Goat, historically known as 98 Rocks) carries a classic rock format run by Seven Mountains Media out of Olean; WGGO is an owned and operated station of The Station of the Cross, a regional Catholic radio network, with its nominal studio in Kill Buck. W288EK (FM 105.5) is also licensed to Salamanca and simulcasts WOLY (Big Oly), another Seven Mountains station out of Olean.
From 2010 to 2021, WGWE (FM 105.9) was operated out of Salamanca. The station, licensed to Little Valley, shut down and sold its assets to a broadcaster who plans to operate the station elsewhere.
The Salamanca Press is the local newspaper. A daily paper (publishing Monday through Saturday) for most of the 20th century, the paper reverted to a weekly publication in 2009.
There is no direct television broadcasting in Salamanca; the city is ostensibly part of the Buffalo media market, and local cable and satellite providers carry those stations (as well as some from Erie, Pennsylvania and Toronto, Ontario), but the hilly terrain around the city makes television reception problematic. Two low-powered stations based in Olean can occasionally be received over the air. Breezeline is the local cable provider.