Wheatfield

A little history

Wheatfield was the last town organized in Niagara County. It was split off from the Town of Niagara on May 12, 1836, and held its first town meeting that June in a district schoolhouse. The name describes the land: the heavy clay loam was hard to work but grew grain well, especially wheat.

In 1843 more than 800 Prussian Lutherans came to the area looking for freedom to worship without state interference. They founded farming communities such as Bergholz. The German Heritage Museum (Das Haus) keeps their story, including an original 1843 cabin that sheltered families through their first winter. In the 20th century, Bell Aircraft's Wheatfield plant built P-39 Airacobra fighters in World War II. It also built the X-1, which broke the sound barrier in 1947, and later made parts for NASA's Apollo program. Today Wheatfield is a growing suburban town of about 18,600 residents.