Lackawanna, New York

Lackawanna is a city in Erie County, New York, United States just south of the city of Buffalo in the western part of New York state. The population was 18,141 at the 2010 census. The name derives from the Lackawanna Steel Company. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The city of Lackawanna is in the county's southwestern part and is part of the Southtowns.GovernmentThe city of Lackawanna has a mayor-council form of government. A councilman is elected from each of the four wards of the city, considered single-member districts. The mayor and council president are elected at-large. Fire and police services are also provided by city-run departments.HistoryOriginally part of the Buffalo Creek Reservation, the area was not open to settlement until 1842 when the land was sold by the Seneca Indians. In 1851 the town of Seneca was formed; the name was changed to West Seneca in 1852. The area now known as Lackawanna was then called West Seneca or Limestone Hill.Lackawanna was a center of steel manufacture throughout most of the 20th century. In 1899 all the land along the West Seneca shore of Lake Erie was purchased by the Lackawanna Steel Company, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania since its founding. Construction was started in 1900 and the Lackawanna Steel Company relocated to the area in 1902. The plant began operations in 1903. Later, in 1909, the residents of the area voted to split off from West Seneca, forming the city of Lackawanna.