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Dunkirk, New York Chadwicks Bay, Ganadawao[1] | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Dunkirk, facing north overLake Erie | |
  Dunkirk Location of Dunkirk in New York Show map of New York Dunkirk Dunkirk (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:42°28′46″N79°20′02″W / 42.47944°N 79.33389°W /42.47944; -79.33389[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Chautauqua |
| Established | 1880 (officially incorporated) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-Council |
| • Mayor | Kate Wdowiasz (D) |
| • Common Council | |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.57 sq mi (11.83 km2) |
| • Land | 4.54 sq mi (11.77 km2) |
| • Water | 0.023 sq mi (0.06 km2) |
| Elevation | 617 ft (188 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 12,743 |
| • Density | 2,803.9/sq mi (1,082.59/km2) |
| ZIP Codes |
|
| Area code | 716 |
| FIPS code | 36-013-21105 |
| Website | cityofdunkirk |
Dunkirk is acity inChautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880.[3] The population was 12,743 as of the2020 census.[4] Dunkirk is bordered on the north byLake Erie. It shares a border with thevillage ofFredonia to the south, and with thetown ofDunkirk to the east and west. Dunkirk is the westernmost city in the state ofNew York.[5]
TheIroquoian languages-speakingErie people occupied this area of the forested lakefront along the southern shore ofLake Erie well into the 1600s, when Europeans, mostly French, started trading around theGreat Lakes. They were pushed out by theSeneca people, one of theFive Nations of the powerfulIroquois League, based here and further east in New York.[6][7]The European-American demarcation and settlement of Chadwick Bay began in 1826.[8] and later the town was named afterDunkirk in France[9]
The Dunkirk Lighthouse at Point Gratiot was built soon after and still stands. Dunkirk served as a minor railroad hub and steamship port on Lake Erie into the early 1900s. Both freight and passenger ships traveled the lakes.[7]
The Chautauqua County Fair, which had been held sporadically over the years starting in 1821, was first held regularly in Dunkirk in 1881 on land acquired for its permanent use.[10]
A major employer in Dunkirk in the second half of the 19th century wasBrooks Locomotive Works, founded in 1869 byHoratio G. Brooks.[11] The Brooks plant built almost 4,000steam locomotives, for which they won several awards at international exhibitions,[12][13] and a few of their locomotives were hailed as the fastest and largest locomotives in the world.[14][15] Brooks Locomotive Works was merged intoAmerican Locomotive Company in 1901.[16] The homestead of Horatio G. Brooks became the Brooks Memorial Hospital following a donation by Brooks's daughter in 1898.[17][18]
The city thrived as a steel town forRoebling and others through the 1950s. In addition, it was a manufacturing leader with Plymouth Tube andRalston Purina. Its coal-burningNiagara Mohawk Power Corporation plant provided power for the region. The plant was mothballed in 2016, negatively impacting Dunkirk's tax base. NRG Energy acquired the plant and proceeded with plans to convert it from coal-burning to run on natural gas.[19] Since the 1970s, population has declined following a regional drop in manufacturing as the steel industry and other restructured. Overall employment has declined in the area.
Dunkirk gained international recognition in 1946 for the Dunkirk-to-Dunkerque campaign. It was a humanitarian assistance program for its namesake and sister city, Dunkerque, France, which had been devastated inWorld War II. Dunkirk-to-Dunkerque became the model for similar relief efforts in cities elsewhere in the United States.[20]
Beginning in the 1980s, the city refocused its economic efforts on revitalizing its pier[21] and fishing, to improve the quality of life for residents and attract more tourists. In addition, in 2016 it attracted a high-tech drug manufacturing project as part of business related to the state project of area investment called the "Buffalo Billion."[22]
In 2016, Willie Rosas, a former law enforcement officer, became the first Hispanic to be elected mayor in the State of New York.[23]
Dunkirk lies on the southeastern shore of Lake Erie and is 45 miles (72 km) southwest ofBuffalo.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 4.6 square miles (11.8 km2), of which 4.5 square miles (11.7 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2), or 1.10%, is water.[4]
According to theKöppen climate classification system using 1991-2020 data, Dunkirk has anoceanic climate (Cfb) closely bordering on both ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa) and ahumid continental climate (Dfa/Dfb), owing to the significant moderating influence of Lake Erie that prevails especially during the summer months. Theplant hardiness zone is 7a, accommodating for plants that can withstand an average minimum air temperature between 0 °F (−18 °C) and 5 °F (−15 °C).
| Climate data forChautauqua County/Dunkirk Airport, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1945–1953, 1997–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 72 (22) | 74 (23) | 81 (27) | 86 (30) | 89 (32) | 94 (34) | 99 (37) | 96 (36) | 96 (36) | 87 (31) | 85 (29) | 71 (22) | 99 (37) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 58.8 (14.9) | 58.0 (14.4) | 67.7 (19.8) | 79.3 (26.3) | 84.2 (29.0) | 89.2 (31.8) | 89.5 (31.9) | 88.8 (31.6) | 86.3 (30.2) | 79.4 (26.3) | 68.7 (20.4) | 59.6 (15.3) | 91.7 (33.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.1 (1.2) | 35.1 (1.7) | 42.7 (5.9) | 55.4 (13.0) | 67.1 (19.5) | 76.0 (24.4) | 80.0 (26.7) | 78.6 (25.9) | 72.2 (22.3) | 61.0 (16.1) | 49.2 (9.6) | 39.0 (3.9) | 57.5 (14.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 26.7 (−2.9) | 27.0 (−2.8) | 34.0 (1.1) | 45.2 (7.3) | 56.6 (13.7) | 66.1 (18.9) | 70.7 (21.5) | 69.3 (20.7) | 62.8 (17.1) | 52.2 (11.2) | 41.7 (5.4) | 32.8 (0.4) | 48.8 (9.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 19.4 (−7.0) | 18.9 (−7.3) | 25.3 (−3.7) | 34.9 (1.6) | 46.2 (7.9) | 56.2 (13.4) | 61.4 (16.3) | 60.1 (15.6) | 53.4 (11.9) | 43.5 (6.4) | 34.3 (1.3) | 26.6 (−3.0) | 40.0 (4.5) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −1.2 (−18.4) | 0.0 (−17.8) | 7.5 (−13.6) | 23.1 (−4.9) | 31.9 (−0.1) | 43.3 (6.3) | 49.8 (9.9) | 48.6 (9.2) | 39.7 (4.3) | 29.1 (−1.6) | 20.6 (−6.3) | 11.1 (−11.6) | −5.1 (−20.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −16 (−27) | −28 (−33) | −11 (−24) | 18 (−8) | 27 (−3) | 39 (4) | 45 (7) | 43 (6) | 32 (0) | 22 (−6) | 3 (−16) | −12 (−24) | −28 (−33) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 1.66 (42) | 1.21 (31) | 1.73 (44) | 2.78 (71) | 3.08 (78) | 3.70 (94) | 3.65 (93) | 3.30 (84) | 3.55 (90) | 3.86 (98) | 3.09 (78) | 2.38 (60) | 33.99 (863) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 13.5 | 10.5 | 11.1 | 13.0 | 12.2 | 11.9 | 10.9 | 11.2 | 11.0 | 14.7 | 13.2 | 15.4 | 148.6 |
| Source 1: NOAA[24] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[25] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 5,231 | — | |
| 1880 | 7,248 | 38.6% | |
| 1890 | 9,416 | 29.9% | |
| 1900 | 11,616 | 23.4% | |
| 1910 | 17,221 | 48.3% | |
| 1920 | 19,336 | 12.3% | |
| 1930 | 17,802 | −7.9% | |
| 1940 | 17,713 | −0.5% | |
| 1950 | 18,007 | 1.7% | |
| 1960 | 18,205 | 1.1% | |
| 1970 | 16,855 | −7.4% | |
| 1980 | 15,310 | −9.2% | |
| 1990 | 13,989 | −8.6% | |
| 2000 | 13,131 | −6.1% | |
| 2010 | 12,563 | −4.3% | |
| 2020 | 12,743 | 1.4% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[26] | |||
As of thecensus[27] of 2010, there were 12,563 people, 5,477 households, and 3,690 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 2,774.6 people per square mile (1,119.2 per km2). There were 6,071 housing units at an average density of 1,340.6 per square mile (517.4 per km2). The city's racial makeup of the city was 65.70%White, 5.1%Black orAfrican American, 0.52%Native American, 0.50Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 9.14% fromother races, and 1.8% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 26.40% of the population.
There were 5,477 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% weremarried couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,313, and the median income for a family was $35,058. Males had a median income of $29,462 versus $21,682 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $15,482. About 18.5% of families and 22.3% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 38.0% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
TheChautauqua County/Dunkirk Airport, in thetown of Dunkirk, provides training facilities and charter services.[29]
Freight railroad service in Dunkirk is provided byCSX Transportation (via the Buffalo-Cleveland-Willard (Ohio)-Chicago Main Line) andNorfolk Southern Railway (Buffalo-Cleveland-Fort Wayne-Chicago Main Line). TheLake Shore Limited dailyAmtrak passenger train passes through the city but does not stop.Erie Railroad andNew York Central trains stopped at one station.Nickel Plate andPennsylvania Railroad trains stopped at another station.[30][31] As recently as 1968 the New York Central operated a Buffalo-Chicago daytime train, #51, the formerEmpire State Express, that made a stop westbound in Dunkirk. Two other daily trains eastbound stopped in Dunkirk, #64 and #90, the formerChicagoan.[32] In the late 1990s Amtrak considered adding the city as a stop between Buffalo and Erie. Dunkirk was listed as a stop with service "to commence on a date to be announced" on several timetables, but the stop was never added.[33]
TheNew York State Thruway (Interstate 90) passes through the southern edge of the city, with access from Exit 59 (NY Route 60) just east of the city limits. The Thruway leads northeast 42 miles (68 km) to the outskirts ofBuffalo and southwest 28 miles (45 km) to thePennsylvania border.New York State Route 5 runs through the center of the city, leading northeast 9 miles (14 km) toSilver Creek and southwest 18 miles (29 km) toWestfield.New York State Route 60 runs from Dunkirk south, heading towardJamestown, New York.
The city of Dunkirk has its own police force and a paid fire department with three stations in the city.
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Average speed 72.92 miles an hour. Maximum speed 92.3 miles an hour.
Municipalities and communities ofChautauqua County, New York,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Villages | ||
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| Other hamlets | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Unorganized territory | ||
| Geographic | |
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| Other | |