Today is the Wellsville Police Department’s 150th birthday. It has long been rumored that Wellsville was named for its vast history in the petroleum industry.
However, the real story is in 1832 a group of leaders met at Van Buren’s Tavern to choose a name for their community. They selected “Wellsville” after Gardiner Wells who was one of the first settlers and largest landowner.
The Village of Wellsville was incorporated from the Town on October 12, 1857. In 1870 the Village had a population of 3,781 residents. On April 27, 1871 the Village Trustee’s formed the Wellsville Police Department which has been serving the residents of Village since.
