Town of Yates

The town of Yates was set off from the town of Ridgeway on April 17, 1822, encompassing ranges three and four of township 16 in the county of Orleans, bounded by Lake Ontario on the north, on the east by the town of Carlton, on the south by Ridgeway and on the west by Niagara County. The town had been called Northton by the Holland Land Company surveyors, but a few months after organization the name was changed to Yates in honor of the governor of New York State, Joseph C. Yates.

While being for the most part a level terrain, the eastern portion of the town, around the present Alps Road, is hilly and picturesque. The soil is a mixture of sandy loam and red clay suitable to all types of agriculture.

Flowing across the town in a northeasterly direction is Johnsons Creek, named for Sir William Johnson, a British Indian agent. In the mid-1700's he commanded an expedition of English soldiers and Indians from Oswego to Fort Niagara for meetings which produced a peace treaty between the Indians and the English crown. On the return trip his night out the travelers camped at the junction of the stream with Lake Ontario in what is now Carlton.

The first road in Yates was an old Indian trail which started in Ridgeway Corners and ran northeast striking Johnson Creek about two miles below Lyndonville. It followed the creek for a short distance and then went on to the lake. The earliest of the present roads is known as the Angling Road, west of Lyndonville. The first post route was a direct line, by blazed trees from Ridgeway to Yates Center. Improved by widening and laying logs across, called a corduroy road, it became the most popular road into town, and eventually continued on to the lake. It is now New York State Rt. 63 and Main Street through Lyndonville.

The first bridge was made of logs and crossed the creek a few yards east of the present bridge. The next bridge was timbered, spanning both the flats and the creek, and covered with a framed arch. 

Only a handful of settlers arrived before 1810 and it was not until the hostilities of the War of 1812 ended that rapid development began. One story goes that a family rowed across Lake Ontario and settled on the lake shore in 1806.

Visit their website at TownofYates.org

Must see & do in Yates:

Yates Town Park: 6 acre park located on the shores of Lake Ontario at the north end of Morrison Road. A major transformation was completed in 2022 that began with the protection of a precious commodity from erosion - the Lake Ontario shoreline. The additions include:\

• a picnic pavilion with restrooms
• new handicapped accessible playground
• a concrete ramp/launch for canoes and kayaks
• a walking trail
• a 75’ sightseeing and fishing pier
• a horse-and-buggy turnaround with hitching posts to accommodate the Amish and Mennonite residents.

Stay tuned for more additions in 2025 as the Western New York Land Conservancy recently acquired the adjacent 153-acre Yates Lakeshore Preserve to preserve wildlife, the shoreline and native vegetation.