Alabama, New York

Alabama is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The town is in the northwest part of the county. New York State Route 63 and New York State Route 77 intersect in the town. The population was 1,869 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the state of Alabama.HistoryFrench fur trader William Poudrit set up a trading post in what is now the Tonawanda Indian Reservation. A form of his name, "Poodry," is current among the Native Americans. The town was first settled around 1806 in West Alabama. The Town of Alabama was established in 1826 from a part of the Town of Pembroke and the Town of Shelby (Orleans County). The town was originally called the "Town of Gerrysville" after Vice-President Elbridge Gerry. In 1828 the town assumed its current name.Some of the water from local sour springs, eight in total, was once bottled for medicinal use. A thirty-seven room hotel was erected on the property and named "Spring House". The building burned in 1914. The land is now part of the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.8sqmi, of which, 42.5sqmi of it is land and 0.2sqmi of it (0.49%) is water.The Tonawanda Creek flows through south part of the town, and Oak Orchard Creek flows through the north part.