Weston Mills (variant names Westons Mills and Weston’s Mills) is a hamlet in the towns of Portville and Olean in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. It is counted as a census-designated place by the U.S. Census Bureau. As of the 2020 census, Weston Mills had a population of 1,525.
History
Weston Mills was founded by the Weston family, three brothers who set up the titular mill in the community. The original Weston family homestead is now owned by the government, which operates it as a group home.
According to county administrator Jack Searles, the name was likely either Weston's Mills or Westons Mills at first (the 1869 Beers Atlas uses the name "Westonville" for the location), then changed to Weston Mills at the behest of President Benjamin Harrison, who sought to standardize post-office names by removing unnecessary possessive forms (see United States Board on Geographic Names). The "s" was slowly, and colloquially, restored over the course of the 1960s, after a retail store opened using the "Weston's" name.
Geography
Westons Mills is located at (42.070296, -78.379012). It is primarily in the town of Portville, but extends west into the town of Olean as far as the limits of the city of Olean. New York State Route 417 passes through the community, leading west into the center of Olean and southeast to the village of Portville.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.09%, is water.
The community is on the north side of the Allegheny River.
Demographics
As of the census