Located in south-central wooded and rural Allegany County, it is the largest population and business center in a 30-mile (48 km) radius.

Wellsville Airport, Tarantine Field, located to the west of the village, provides general aviation and charter services.

Wellsville was the location of encampments for thousands of years, including the Lamoka and Brewerton cultures.

He married a Native American woman (Esther) and moved his family to the Wellsville area by 1795, while it was still owned by the Seneca Nation (two years before the Big Tree Treaty of 1797).

His tombstone has the official memorial that was placed there by the Catherine Schuyler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

This proved that Nathaniel Dyke's choice of location was the quickest, easiest and most practical way across Allegany County.

The cleared ground quickly produced excellent grazing for a tremendous dairy industry which followed.

On April 4, 1871, the New York State Legislature officially changed Wellsville's name to Genesee.

[citation needed] Wells was the major landowner of the real estate pieces, now the downtown Main Street section of Wellsville.

A second boom occurred with the discovery of "Secondary Recovery", led by Bradley Producing, based in Wellsville.

Wellsville is known for being the junction of many foothill streams including Dyke's Creek feeding the Genesee River from the east.

At present, local officials are attempting to obtain a charter for the community to reorganize both municipalities into one entity, a city.

Land in Wellsville totals 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2), according to the United States Census Bureau.

New York State Route 19, running north and south, intersects New York State Route 417 north and south of the center of town, with the two highways running together between the two intersections, parallel to Main Street.

After passing through Wellsville, Route 417 quickly begins a downhill descent to the west on the Allegheny River, through its tributary in Bolivar, Dodge Creek.

Meteorologists including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gather their weather data of the Wellsville area from meteorological devices located at the airport, at an elevation of 2,150 feet (660 m) above sea level.

Wind speeds and temperature, as well as precipitation often differ greatly, especially in the spring and the fall, between the village and the top of the mountain where the airport is located (northeast leg of Niles Hill).