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From the Gowanda PennySaver News "Reflections" series compiled by Mary Pankow. issue date - April 04, 2004

c. 1940s

Gowanda ... from the air - Downtown Gowanda has seen many changes since this aerial photo was taken in the early 1940s. The iron bridge that spanned the Cattaraugus Creek was removed in 1962. Fires in 1946 and 1949 destroyed the blocks on either side of what is now the Persia Town Hall, then the Bank of Gowanda. The Gowanda Hotel on South Water Street burned in 1964. Still more buildings were removed in the early 1960s to create a parking lot and access from Jamestown to West Main Street. Study this detailed photo carefully and you may be able to spot your own home or business. (Photo courtesy of the Gowanda Area Historical Society.)