History & Culture · Western New York
Persia Has a Thatcher Brook and Gowanda Beginning
Persia's local story runs through Thatcher Brook, Cattaraugus Creek, Hidi, Aldrich Mills, Lodi, Gowanda, rail lines, and old mill work.
Published July 6, 2026 · Last verified July 6, 2026
Persia is easier to picture when the map starts with water. The town sits in northwest Cattaraugus County, with the village of Gowanda partly inside it. Older local history adds the moving pieces: Point Peter Brook and Thatcher Brook run north toward Cattaraugus Creek, and Jamestown Road once followed Thatcher Brook through the western part of town.
The place names changed as work gathered near the creek. An early settlement called Hidi began in the village area in 1810. Land on both sides of Cattaraugus Creek was bought in 1816 and called Aldrich Mills. The name shifted to Lodi in 1826, then to Gowanda in 1848.
Persia’s old story is not just a date. It has mills, bridges, water, rail, and fire. Early town records were lost in an 1856 fire at Gowanda, and other fires followed in 1875 and 1893. Thatcher Brook flooded in 1857. Sawmills, grist mills, a tannery, wool work, cheese factories, the Erie Railroad, and the Buffalo and Southwestern left marks.
That makes Persia feel less like a quiet label beside Gowanda and more like a creek-and-road town with a busy working memory.