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History


In the mid-nineteenth century, the land that would become Hamlin Park was a driving park for horse drawn carriages and a racetrack on the outskirts of Buffalo, owned by Cicero J. Hamlin.In the 1890's, it was converted into an amusement park, and in 1912, was the center of real estate development.Hamlin Park was the city's first planned subdivision. The first residents in the subdivision were German immigrants followed by Jewish immigrants.Canisius College, the largest landholder, moved to the area in 1912.African American migration to Hamlin Park began in the late 1950's, and led to the development of a stable, middle and upper class neighborhood which remains intact today because of the many amenities in or near the area: the Frederick Law Olmsted designed Delaware and Martin Luther King Parks, the North Jefferson Library, the Albright Knox Art Gallery, the Historical Society, the Zoo, and the Museum of Science; the availability of public transportation, with two rapid transit stations in or near the community, and the nearby expressway system that provides ready access to downtown, the international airport and to outlying communities and employment opportunities.
The first African Americans to settle in Hamlin Park were affluent black professionals, such as Dr. Yerby Jones, a nationally recognized ophthalmologist, who served as chief of staff at the former E. J. Meyer Memorial Hospital (now ECMC), Dr. Lydia T. Wright, a pediatrician and first African American School Board member, and her husband Dr. Frank Evans, a general practitioner and clinical assistant professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo.They were followed by professional athletes like baseball player Luke Easter and football player Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist. Many politicians, educators, entertainers, entrepreneurs and other affluent professionals later resided in Hamlin Park.The Hamlin Park Community and Taxpayers' Association was formed in 1966, and today it continues its efforts to protect and improve the community.According to the 1990 census, Hamlin Park residents rank among the highest in median income and in level of education of any neighborhood in the city.