BATAVIA

city, seat (1802) of Genesee county, northwestern New York, U.S. It lies along Tonawanda Creek, midway between Buffalo (west) and Rochester (northeast). Batavia is a distribution point and trade centre for a dairy and truck-farm region and has some industry, including the manufacture of heat-exchange equipment, compressed-air sprayers, and shoes. The town was laid out in 1801 by Joseph Ellicott, surveyor for the Holland Land Company, who proposed naming it Bustia or Bustiaville for Paul Busti, the general agent for the company. The name chosen instead was Batavia (a traditional name for The Netherlands), in honour of the company's Dutch investors. The New York State School for the Blind was established there in 1868. The Tonawanda Indian Reservation is located 13 miles (21 km) northwest, and Attica Correctional Facility lies 11 miles (18 km) south. Genesee Community College, now part of the State University of New York system, was opened in 1966. Inc. village, 1823; city, 1914. Pop. (1990) 16,310; (1998 est.) 15,784.