Attica Resident and Business Man

Lived: (October 25, 1790-1861)

Biography

Gaius Barrett Rich was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts. As a teenager his family moved to Rome, NY, it was here he met his future wife Aphia Salisbury. He would move to Rochester where he lived and worked for 5 years.

In 1813, he was sent to work at his employer’s newly opened general store in Attica. Rich later became Attica’s first postmaster in 1814.

1816 he married Aphia and brought her to Attica where he had a home fitted to serve as a store. He would continue to work as a merchant until his former employer at the general store, Brown, sold the store to Gaius. The general store was located in the area of the St. James Hotel or todays Car Quest.

Gaius seeing an investment opportunity in June 1830 he along with Jacob Leroy, Oliver Benton, James Ferris and others became the first trustees of the new Bank of Genesee. This bank is still in operation today under the name M&T.

Rich determined that the village needed a bank and established the Bank of Attica in 1838. Its location was on the corner of Main Street and Exchange Street where the current Post Office is located. The banking business was immediately successful. At the urging of his son-in-law, Rich moved his bank to Buffalo in 1841 renaming it The Gaius Bank of Attica. It would later change its name to Buffalo Commercial Bank and it was absorbed into the Marine Midland Bank later in 1902.

Gaius would go on the become the first treasurer for the University of Buffalo.

Gaius passed away in 1861. It is believed that his family founded Rich Products, the namesake of Rich Stadium, once home of the Buffalo Bills.