Town & Village of Alfred, N.Y

ALFRED (1808):  The most accepted belief is that Alfred was named after Alfred the Great who took over England in 871.  In early years it was called Alfred Center.  When the Erie Railroad came through in 1851, the depot was not located in Alfred Center but 2 miles away in Bakers Bridge.  The Baker family built Bakers Bridge over Whitney’s Creek so they could get to the gristmill at Almond. When the railroad built the depot at Bakers Bridge the name was changed to Alfred Station. Name confusion arose and by 1900 the word “Center” was dropped from Alfred.  Between Alfred Station and Andover is located an unusual place called “Tip Top.” Today, Tip Top’s reference point is the mammoth chicken next to the road marking Tomm’s Chicken Farm.  This place is famous in local railroad lore in that it marked the highest elevation point on the entire Erie Railroad line running from New York City to Chicago.  Steam locomotives had to refill their water tanks here.  The elevation is exactly 1776 feet.   Formed from Angelica March 11, 1808.

(Alfred the Great Facts:  Called “King of the Anglo-Saxons”; Reigned from 23 April 871 to 26 October 899, day of his death. (Est. age 50)