East Aurora

East Aurora: Elbert Hubbard Roycroft Museum

East Aurora, village, Erie county, western New York, U.S. It lies 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Buffalo and, oddly enough, 90 miles (145 km) west of Aurora. Settled in 1804, it was incorporated as Willink in 1849 and as East Aurora in 1874. Inspired by the English designer William Morris and his communal Kelmscott Press, the editor and publisher Elbert Hubbard established the Roycroft Press in East Aurora in 1893; he later added the Roycroft Shops. There he printed The Philistine magazine and his pamphlet A Message to Garcia. The Roycroft enterprises, which closed in 1938, became known for their excellent craftsmanship and at one time employed hundreds of local people. East Aurora is now primarily residential. The Elbert Hubbard Roycroft Museum contains Roycroft furniture and handicrafts, and a house (1825) that President Millard Fillmore lived in as a young man has been restored as a museum. The Roycroft Summer Festival of Arts and Crafts is held in June. Pop. (2000) 6,673; (2010) 6,236.