Overview - Wyoming County
Wyoming County is in western New York, east of Buffalo and southwest of Rochester, with a population of roughly 42,000 residents. This mostly rural county is well-known for dairy farming and wide-open spaces. The county seat is Warsaw, near the center of the county. The biggest attraction in Wyoming County is Letchworth State Park, an enormous and scenic park billed as “the Grand Canyon of the East.” Most of the huge park is in Wyoming County, while a portion is in neighboring Livingston County.
Wyoming County also is home to the infamous Attica Correctional Facility, best known for the 1971 prison riot that put the name “Attica” into the national conscience. The Attica & Arcade Railroad, which offers steam train excursions into the countryside, is a popular attraction. The village of Wyoming in the town of Middlebury has a charming downtown district and is called “the Gaslight Village.” Wyoming also is the site of the annual AppleUmpkin Festival in the fall.
Hidden Valley Animal Adventure in Varysburg offers trolley rides in a “safari” atmosphere. Also in Varysburg is Byrncliff Resort and Conference Center, and the annual “Jam in the alley,” a popular two-day country music festival held in the summer. Silver Lake is a tiny glacial lake and the only one of the Finger Lakes group that is west of the Genesee River. Silver Lake State Park has a number of attractions.
The northern part of the county is close to Darien Lake Theme Park, the largest amusement park in New York state and the site of a performing arts center that attracts national musicians to concerts every summer.
Wyoming County has several golf courses and historical societies as well as race tracks for motocross and other forms of racing.