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New York · Western New York · #412
Cattaraugus County, New York
In the rugged hill country of Western New York, Cattaraugus County holds the Allegany Indian Reservation - the only city in the United States entirely surrounded by Native American territory - alongside small industrial cities, ski areas, and some of the most unspoiled forested terrain in New York State.
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Office: Cattaraugus County Office of Emergency Services – Little Valley, NY | (716) 938-2244
Services: Emergency planning and management, fire service and EMS coordination, first-responder training; NY Alert regional emergency notification sign-up.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: NY-16 and NY-353 serve Little Valley, the county seat, in western New York’s “Enchanted Mountains” region
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Cattaraugus County Public Works (utility right-of-way/floodplain permitting) – 8810 Route 242, Little Valley, NY 14755, (716) 938-9121
Notes: Individual towns (Allegany, Ellicottville, Salamanca, Olean) issue their own in-town building permits – contact the relevant town or city hall.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Cattaraugus County Veterans Service Agency – Little Valley, NY
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Memorial Library of Little Valley – 110 Rock City Street, Little Valley, NY 14755 | (716) 938-6301 | Hours: Mon/Tue/Thu 9 AM–7 PM, Fri 9 AM–5 PM, Sat 10 AM–1 PM (Sept–June; closed Sat in July/Aug), closed Wed/Sun
Services: Part of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System (38 affiliated libraries); serves as an official county cooling/heating center; 11 public computers, local history collection, story hour and community programming.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Cattaraugus County is home to a genuinely singular fact in American municipal history – the city of Salamanca is the only city in the entire United States built almost entirely on land leased from a Native American reservation; the city sits on the Allegany Indian Reservation of the Seneca Nation of New York, developed under a 99-year federal lease arrangement originally established to encourage railroad development; when the historic leases expired in the early 1990s, a genuinely contentious renegotiation between the Seneca Nation and non-Seneca residents made national news, ultimately resulting in a new agreement (codified in federal law) running through 2030; the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, maintains a significant presence throughout the county, including the Allegany Territory near Salamanca and the Seneca Allegany Casino, a full resort complex with over 400 hotel rooms; Cattaraugus County is also home to Ellicottville, a genuine four-season resort village nicknamed the “Colorado of the East,” with two major ski areas (HoliMont and Holiday Valley) drawing visitors from across the Northeast; the annual Cattaraugus County Fair, first held in Ellicottville in 1842 before permanently relocating to Little Valley in 1865, continues today at the Cattaraugus County Fairgrounds
Notes: Salamanca’s genuine, singular status as the only U.S. city built on leased Native American reservation land – governed by a still-active federal lease agreement – makes Cattaraugus County one of the most legally and historically distinctive counties found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Cattaraugus County Real Property and GIS Services – Little Valley, NY, custom maps available starting at $7
Parcel Search: Cattaraugus County Real Property Tax Service – Little Valley, NY
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Cattaraugus County Office of Emergency Services
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: SPCA in Cattaraugus County – 2944 NY-16, Olean, NY 14760 | (716) 372-8492 | Hours: Tue–Sat 12–5 PM, Sun 1–4 PM (closed Mon)
Services: Genuinely founded in 1905, a private no-kill nonprofit shelter and the largest animal shelter in New York’s Southern Tier; moved to its current 11-acre campus in 1984, with 68 dog kennels and dedicated open cat rooms; donations account for roughly 70% of annual income.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) – dec.ny.gov
Notes: Cattaraugus County Refuse Division handles county waste programs – contact Public Works at (716) 938-9121; municipal collection schedules vary by town.
NOTES
Cattaraugus County is genuinely home to Salamanca, the only city in the United States built on land leased from a Native American reservation, still governed by an active federal lease agreement with the Seneca Nation. All contact information above was sourced from official county, town, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Cattaraugus County
Cattaraugus County is shaped by two geographic realities: the Allegheny Plateau, which gives the county its rolling hills, deep valleys, and genuine rural isolation, and the Allegany Territory of the Seneca Nation, which covers a significant portion of the county’s southwestern reaches. The city of Salamanca occupies land leased from the Seneca Nation – the only city in the United States situated on Native American territory – and the lease relationship between the city and the Nation has been the subject of periodic renegotiations that affect property rights and planning in ways unique to this part of New York. The Seneca Nation Allegany Casino and Resort in Salamanca draws visitors from across Western New York and northern Pennsylvania.
Olean is the county’s largest city and commercial center, home to St. Bonaventure University (a Franciscan institution with a nationally recognized journalism school and a consistently competitive basketball program). Allegany State Park, on the county’s western edge, is New York’s largest state park at more than 65,000 acres and provides a significant outdoor recreation and camping draw for the region. Cattaraugus County’s economy is a mix of small manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture (dairy, timber), and the modest tourism generated by skiing, hunting, and state park visitation. The county’s population has declined gradually over decades, a pattern common to rural Western New York, but the natural landscape and low cost of living have attracted some remote workers.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Cattaraugus County municipalities assess at varying percentages of market value; equalization rates reflect town revaluation histories. Basic STAR reduces school taxes for primary residences (income under $500,000); Enhanced STAR for seniors 65+ (income ≤ $107,300 in 2025) is typically a state check. Grievance Day is the third Tuesday of May; SCAR provides residential appeal access. New York estate tax applies above $7.16 million; no New York inheritance tax. A special note: property located within the Allegany Territory of the Seneca Nation operates under a different land tenure system – leasehold rather than fee simple for many parcels – and estate transfers involving such properties require coordination with Seneca Nation legal processes in addition to county probate.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Cattaraugus County Department of Aging
1 Leo Moss Drive, Suite 3530, Olean, NY 14760
Phone: (716) 373-8050
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, home care services, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Cattaraugus County residents.
Senior Services
Cattaraugus County Department of Aging
1 Leo Moss Drive, Suite 3530, Olean, NY 14760
Phone: (716) 373-8050
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, home care services, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Cattaraugus County residents.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
303 Court St, Little Valley, NY 14755
(716) 938-2224
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Cattaraugus County Surrogate’s Court, Little Valley (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Cattaraugus County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Cattaraugus County Surrogate’s Court Cattaraugus County Courthouse, 303 Court Street, Little Valley, NY 14755 (716) 379-6636
Cattaraugus County was founded March 28, 1817, in Western New York bordering Pennsylvania, seated in Little Valley (though Olean is the county’s largest city).
Step 1: figure out which path applies
New York probate and estate administration is governed by the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) and handled by the Surrogate’s Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled. New York has 62 counties, each with its own Surrogate’s Court.
Voluntary Administration / Small Estate Affidavit (SCPA Article 13) – available when the decedent’s PERSONAL property (not real property) has a gross value of $50,000 or less, excluding certain property automatically set aside for a surviving spouse or children under 21 (EPTL 5-3.1). Owning real property does NOT disqualify an estate from this process – only the personal property counts toward the $50,000 cap. The filing fee is just $1.00.
Probate – required when there’s a valid will and the estate exceeds the small-estate threshold or involves real property.
Administration – required when the decedent died intestate (no will); the Surrogate’s Court appoints an administrator following the statutory priority order under SCPA 1001.
Step 2: filing for probate or administration
File the will (if any) with the Surrogate’s Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled, along with a probate or administration petition.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will) to the appointed fiduciary.
The fiduciary notifies creditors and beneficiaries and inventories the estate’s assets.
Debts, expenses, and any required New York State Estate Tax are paid.
The fiduciary distributes the remaining assets according to the will or New York’s intestacy law and files a final accounting to close the estate.
What it costs
Voluntary Administration filing fee: $1.00.
Full probate/administration filing fees vary and generally scale with estate value.
UNIQUE TO NEW YORK: New York imposes its own separate state ESTATE TAX. For 2026, the New York basic exclusion amount is $7,350,000 – estates at or below that owe no state estate tax. New York has an unusual “cliff”: if the estate’s value exceeds the exclusion by more than 5% (over $7,717,500 in 2026), the ENTIRE estate becomes taxable from the first dollar. No portability between spouses. Rates range from about 3.06% to 16%.
New York has no separate state inheritance tax.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
3963 Route 353, Little Valley, NY 14755
(716) 938-9191
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
1 Leo Moss Dr, Suite 1010, Olean, NY 14760
(716) 373-8050
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1 Leo Moss Dr, Suite 6010, Olean, NY 14760
(716) 701-3313
Social Services
1 Leo Moss Dr, Olean, NY 14760
(716) 373-8065
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Cattaraugus County Health Department – Little Valley, NY
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Little Valley
Population: 76,000
Tier: 3
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Cattaraugus County facilities via Amazon.
