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Friday, August 28, 2009 8:04 PM EDT
Ellicottville Part 2: Skiing turned small town into lively tourist location
By Kate Day Sager
Olean Times Herald
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| The storefronts in historic downtown Ellicottville are very much the same as they were 100 years ago thanks to the diligence of the community leaders and town planners. Photo by Kate Day Sager |
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ELLICOTTVILLE - As a child growing up in Ellicottville, Charles Coolidge remembers the area as a small agricultural and manufacturing community where everybody knew each other’s name and life was simple.
Now, more than 50 years later, Mr. Coolidge serves as mayor of a community that has evolved from a small farm town to one of the most lucrative ski destinations in the east.
He said one thing that hasn’t changed in the town, however, has been the small-town atmosphere in a historic setting.
Mr. Coolidge, and town supervisor John Burrell, said that rural charm of the historic community as well as its commercial success, didn’t come about from chance. Instead they are the result of the hard work, diligence and foresight of the community’s leaders, past and present.
Born and raised in the area, Mayor Coolidge said he remembers a community where men went to work at industries that included the Agway Feed Mill, Signore Inc. (American Locker), Fitzpatrick & Wellers lumber or Borden’s condensed-milk plant.
“There was a lot of industry here, a lot of industry,” Mayor Coolidge said. “About the only (larger) industry we have left is Fitz & Wellers ... and American Locker.”
He said the majority of the current employees at these companies don’t live in Ellicottville, and travel from other communities.
“It’s changed drastically, but of course we now have the two main ski resorts, Holimont and Holiday Valley,” he said.
When Mr. Coolidge and Mr. Burrell were growing up in the 1950s, commercial skiing was still in its infancy. Skiers who visited the area before the late 1950s found rope tows on Fish Hill and Green Hill. At the time, teenagers in the community often spent their winters listening to jukebox music and kegling at the Sugar Bowl bowling alley in the downtown area.
That all began to change in 1957 when a corporation called Win-Sum Ski corporation was formed where the Holiday Valley Resort now sits.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes,” Mayor Coolidge said during an interview at the town hall. “The ’60s is when it really started to change with (the construction) of Holiday Valley and Holimont” ski resorts.
He said that over the years, more and more visitors and seasonal residents began arriving in the community. The town responded by building hotels and condominiums for the winter guests as well as shops and restaurants.
Mayor Coolidge, who retired from the Cattaraugus County Highway Department after 33 years, said the community is seeing more people with seasonal homes in Ellicottville retire in these same homes.
He said the appeal of the community starts with the ski resorts but carries over to its small-town charm and historic appeal.
“The storefronts themselves haven’t changed that much, just the kind of businesses that are in them,” he said.
Mayor Coolidge admitted that the local economy, as with other communities, has been down somewhat this year because of the recession.
“The sales tax (for the first quarter) was probably down $8,000 or $9,000 from last year,” he said. The community was not greatly affected, however, as there were surplus funds that had been set aside during stronger years.
Despite this, he believes the community fared better than surrounding municipalities.
“We were fortunate that when other communities were really getting hit, we were still going at it pretty strong,” he said.
Mr. Burrell is a descendent of the Case family that founded numerous cutlery companies in the region including the former Burrell Cutlery in Ellicottville, which he had owned and managed.
He said his late father, Dean Burrell, was active with the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce. His wife, Sheila, is also a native of Ellicottville and has been on the village planning board for 25 years.
“Our planning boards and zoning boards have worked very diligently over the years to keep Ellicottville what it is, so what has drawn people to Ellicottville remains the same,” Mr. Burrell said.
He said the 1950 census stated that Ellicottville had more industrial jobs per population than any other place in New York state. That same census also reported that the village of Ellicottville had 1,200 people at the time. The most recent census reported there are now 500 year-round residents.
“We have more homes now but they’re owned by more outside residents,” Mr. Burrell explained.
“I think the best way to explain it is ... we went from a manufacturing industry to tourism industry but at least still have an industry.”
He noted that the town of Ellicottville has close to $550 million in accessed valuation for properties, the highest in the county.
“We pay the largest real-property and Medicaid taxes in the county and contribute heavily to the county sales tax,” he said. “We also pay more than half of the county’s bed tax, so we send a whole lot of money over the hill to Little Valley.”
He said all of this is largely attributed to a tourism industry that revolves around the ski resorts.
“We’re fortunate and believe there is a whole lot of good from this,” he said of tourism. “There are negatives, such as losing a whole lot of full-time residents. It’s hard to find people to belong to various boards, fire departments and ambulance crews.”
He said a positive side to the situation is that more seasonal residents are choosing Ellicottville for their retirement community.
“We see the future of Ellicottville remaining a great ski area but also for people with part-time homes staying here permanently,” he said.
(Contact reporter Kate Day Sager at kates_th@yahoo.com)
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