Alfred, New York

Alfred, NY is a small town nested in the beautiful hills of Western New York along the Southern Tier. The layout of the valley is such that the lowest part contains the town, and upon the hills to the East and West are Alfred University and Alfred State College (respectively). The valley was originally called "Kanakadea" (or "Canakadea," or other spellings) by Native American Indians. Local college legends state that Kanakadea means "valley of the insane" as it was cursed either due to its being a burial ground, or purposefully by the Indians as they were forced out by European settlers.

Alfred is located in the 607 area code, 14802 zip code, and is in the poorest county in the state (Steuben, neighboring the second poorest (Allegany). Hillary Clinton was convinced to visit Alfred University in her bid for NY Senator based on these grounds. The larger town of Alfred contains multiple villages, including Alfred (proper) and Alfred Station. The closest city is Hornell (no relation to Cornell, despite the similarity in college situation between Alfred and Ithaca).

The elevation of Alfred is about 1450 feet, but due to the hilliness of the region, this varies greatly within the town. In Western New York (as in New England) there is a truism that "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes, it'll change." The hills greatly affect the weather, and resulting in quick changes as well as different conditions in neighboring vallies. Although not a real tourist trap, the town is cute and worth visiting on Hot Dog Day (early April) if you're in the area.

According to the 2000 census, the town of Alfred has 5,140 persons, 98.9% of whom are white, and the village of Alfred has 3,954 persons, also 98.9% of whom are white. These statistics include students of the two colleges.

See also:

• Alfred the Great
• Alfred State College
• Alfred University