Gowanda is a town on the northern edge of Cattaraugus County. It was a station on the Buffalo and Jamestown Railroad, which reached the village on October 20, 1874. In 1877 the Buffalo and Jamestown became the Buffalo and Southwestern Railroad, which, in turn, became the Buffalo and Southwestern Branch of the Erie Railroad. The Gowanda passenger station still stands in 2024 and is used by the New York & Lake Erie Railroad.
An Erie Railroad annual report for the year ending June 30, 1912 states that during that year the Erie built a new station in Gowanda. Most of the photos below are from circa 1909 and show the old station, but the cover photo and last photo show the 1912 station.
Other Facilities
In addition to the station itself, the Erie Railroad had a number of other facilities in Gowanda.
The 1878 annual report of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad noted that the company had built a new water tank in Gowanda. A 1907 report by the New York State Public Services Commission noted that since the past inspection in 1905, repairs and improvements had been made to a sand house and an ice house at Gowanda.
Railroad Bridges
There were two Erie railroad bridges in Gowanda, one over Cattaraugus Creek and the other over Thatcher Brook. A 1903 report by the New York State Railroad Commissioners noted that “one framed trestle at Gowanda has been replaced by a steel bridge.” This is unclear which bridge this refers to.
Proposed Electric Railroad
A 1915 issue of the Electric Railway Journal wrote that “Interest in the proposed electric line from Jamestown to Buffalo is revived. Some time ago the rights-of-way from Falconer to Gowanda were mostly secured. Petitions for franchises for the towns of Poland, Ellington, Conewango, Leon, Dayton and Persia are now being prepared. The rights-of-way from Gowanda to Hamburg will be taken up as soon as the weather permits. It is the intention of those who have the matter in charge to hold meetings in the several towns from Gowanda to Buffalo as early as possible. The officers of the organization are J. B. Anderson, Ellington; R. G. Crandall, Kennedy; Franklin E. Bard, Gowanda; Frank N. Rowe, South Dayton; Clarence G. Mead.” [Electric Railway Journal, March 13, 1915, pg 536]
There is no information that the electric railroad was ever built.
Clippings
Timetables
