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6 Town of Aurora Community Profile The following chapter summarizes the existing conditions and current trends in the Town of Aurora. This inventory and analysis will provide the community with baseline data on important demographics, economic trends, land uses, housing, natural resources, and much more in and around the Town. The knowledge gained from this community profile helped define the goals and informed the recommendations needed to meet the community’s vision. This information will also serve as a benchmark that residents can use to measure progress and analyze changes in their community over time. TOWN HISTORY & as Underground Railroad stations. West Falls, INTRODUCTION originally called Crockershire, and later Florence, was founded in 1849 with the establishment of a A Brief History of Aurora post office. The hamlet, named after waterfalls on Cazenovia Creek, was a vital stop on the plank road The history of the Town of Aurora extends back trade route connecting Springville and Buffalo. It thousands of years, well before the arrival of the once hosted a passenger and freight station, four Seneca Nation. One of the Town’s most significant hotels, general stores, and taverns. Blakeley and prehistoric sites is the Sinking Ponds Wildlife South Wales, though smaller, contributed to the Sanctuary, located within the Village of East Town’s rural economy and community life, the latter Aurora. Named for the 26 sunken footbridges of which is home to the Grow School – a renowned that connected Elma to Aurora, the sanctuary college prep boarding school for students with was inhabited during the Archaic era by the language-based learning disabilities. Meadowwood people. Archaeological excavations in the 1960s and 2010s uncovered tools, bowls, and By the late 19th century, Aurora was known as the settlement foundations dating back to 4,000–1,000 “horse racing capital of the world” due to breeding BCE. programs at Hamlin and Jewett Farms. The Jewett Stock Farm featured the world’s only mile-long The Town of Aurora was officially established in covered racetrack until its dismantling in 1917. 1818 after separating from the Town of Willink, Today, Strawberry Banks Farm continues the Town’s though Revolutionary War veteran Joel Adams had equestrian tradition. already settled there in 1804. The Town includes five hamlets—Jewettville, Griffins Mills, West Falls, Despite its rural nature, Aurora has a rich legacy. Blakeley, and South Wales—along with the Village It contains both eligible historic districts and of East Aurora. These communities developed along sites, along with several National Register-listed both branches of the Cazenovia Creek, utilizing structures in the Village, including the Roycroft its hydropower for mills that supported economic Campus, a landmark of the Arts and Crafts growth. Jewettville’s brickyards even supplied movement. As Aurora looks to the future, it can materials for Buffalo’s streets until the last kilns were leverage its history for growth. Revitalizing its removed in 1977. hamlets can support small businesses, tourism, and residents’ daily needs; Griffins Mills’ social justice The Hamlet of Griffins Mills played a key role in legacy can inspire community engagement; and the area’s abolitionist movement, with Quakers West Falls’ trade history highlights the value of from Orchard Park, Mennonites, and other activists strong infrastructure. By preserving its heritage using the Griffins Mills Presbyterian Church (built while fostering sustainable growth, Aurora can in 1812) as a meeting place and nearby homes balance progress with its deep-rooted past, ensuring a vibrant and resilient future.