Gowanda, NY

Gowanda is a Western New York village split by Cattaraugus Creek, which also divides its Erie and Cattaraugus County sides. The name comes from a Seneca term often rendered as ‘a valley among the hills,’ a good shorthand for the village’s position below the Zoar Valley gorge. Gowanda’s downtown has been shaped by fires, floods, railroads, and industry; the 1926 Hollywood Theatre rose after the Opera House burned in 1924. Today the theater is the focus of the Hollywood Happening, while the Harvest Heritage Festival turns the fall toward historic homes and gardens. The local shorthand is creek, two counties, theater, and a valley with a long memory.