Editing Watkins Glen, New York

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Watkins Glen, New York
|settlement_type          = [[census-designated place|CDP]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = NY 14 SB approaching NY 409-NY 414.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Franklin Street in Watkins Glen
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
||pushpin_map             = New York#USA
|pushpin_label = Watkins Glen
|pushpin_label_position   = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location within the state of New York
|pushpin_mapsize          = 
|image_map                = 
|mapsize                  = 
|map_caption              = 
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[New York (state)|New York]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in New York|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Schuyler County, New York|Schuyler]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = Mayor
|leader_name              = Laurie DeNardo|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = Settled
|established_date         = {{start date and age|1791}}
|established_title2       = Named
|established_date2        = {{start date and age|1842}}<br/>as Jefferson
|established_title3       = Named
|established_date3        = {{start date and age|1852}}<br/>as Watkins Glen

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=September 20, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 5.03
|area_land_km2            = 4.04
|area_water_km2           = 0.99
|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.94
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.56
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.38

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 1863
|population_density_km2   = 461.05
|population_density_sq_mi = 1194.23

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 141
|elevation_ft             = 463
|coordinates              = {{coord|42|22|52|N|76|52|16|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = [[United States Post Office (Watkins Glen, New York)|14891]]
|area_code                = [[Area code 607|607]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 36-78696<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0974082<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=2007-10-25}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|http://www.watkinsglen.us/}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
}}

'''Watkins Glen''' is a village and [[census-designated place]] in and the [[county seat]] of [[Schuyler County, New York|Schuyler County]],<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=2011-06-07|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> [[New York (state)|New York]], United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,829. Watkins Glen lies between the towns of [[Dix, New York|Dix]] and [[Reading, New York|Reading]]. To the southwest of the village is the [[Watkins Glen International]] race track, which hosts annual [[NASCAR Cup Series]] and [[WeatherTech SportsCar Championship]] races, and formerly hosted the [[Formula One]] [[United States Grand Prix]] and various [[IndyCar Series|IndyCar]] races.

The village was the recipient of the ten-million-dollar Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant in July 2017 to revitalize the Mixed Use Village Center (VC). Former governor of New York [[Andrew Cuomo|Andrew M. Cuomo]] awarded fourteen projects in hopes that they would be catalysts for increased private investment in the village. This grant was largely secured by the work of local government officials and the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development (SCOPED). As of December 2023, the majority of the awarded projects have been completed.

==History==
The settlement of the village began in 1791. First named "Jefferson" in 1842, the village was later renamed in 1852 to honor Dr. Samuel Watkins.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Watkins Glen|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Watkins-Glen|website=Britanica}}</ref>  Watkins' older brother John purchased property around the gorge in 1794 and constructed mills.  After his brother's death, Samuel Watkins inherited the property and spent four decades building up the area with roads, shops, and a hotel.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Watkins Glen Chamber of Commerce|title=Watkins Glen State Park – the untold story…|url=https://watkinsglenchamber.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/watkins-glen-state-park-the-untold-story/amp/|access-date=2021-07-17|website=Wordpress}}</ref> The newspaper [[Watkins Glen Review & Express]] has served the area since 1854.

==Geography==
[[Image:Watkins Glen State Park pano 6.jpg|350px|thumb|right|Watkins Glen State Park]]

Watkins Glen is located at {{Coord|42|22|52|N|76|52|16|W|type:city}} (42.380984, -76.871079).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the village has a total area of {{convert|2.2|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|1.9|sqmi|km2}} of the village is land and {{convert|0.4|sqmi|km2}}  (17.41%) is water.

[[New York State Route 14]] joins [[New York State Route 79]] and [[New York State Route 414]] by Watkins Glen.  NY-14 is one of the principal streets in Watkins Glen. [[New York State Route 329]] and [[New York State Route 409]] lead into Watkins Glen from the west.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1870= 2039
|1880= 2716
|1890= 2604
|1900= 2943
|1910= 2817
|1920= 2785
|1930= 2956
|1940= 2913
|1950= 3052
|1960= 2813
|1970= 2716
|1980= 2440
|1990= 2207
|2000= 2149
|2010= 1859
|2020= 1829
|estyear=2022
|estimate=2228
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|date=May 24, 2020|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2010, there were 1,859 people, 873 households, and 442 families residing in the village. The population density was {{convert|845|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 977 housing units at an average density of {{convert|444|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 96.2% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.50% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.40% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.50% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.70% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.70% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.40% of the population.

There were 873 households, out of which 22.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.70% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.40% were non-families. 42.40% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the village, the age distribution of the population was spread out, with 22.70% under the age of 20, 5.40% from 20 to 24, 31.80% from 25 to 50, and 17.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.20 years old. The Village of Watkins Glen had 866 male and 993 female residents.

The median income for a household in the village was $34,969 and the median income for a family was $55,357. Males had a median income of $37,885 versus $29,000 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $24,116. 5.0% of the population and 1.70% of families lived below the [[poverty line]]. 3.6% of those under 18 and 6.80% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

== Notable events and attractions ==
[[File:Seneca Lake from Watkins Glen July 2017.jpg|thumb|left|Seneca Lake from Watkins Glen]]

=== Watkins Glen State Park ===
{{Main|Watkins Glen State Park}}
[[Watkins Glen State Park]] is a 778-acre park with a 400-foot-deep (120 m)<ref name=RIoG_PS>{{cite book |title=2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook |url=http://www.rockinst.org/nys_statistics/2014/2014_Yearbook_Section_O.pdf |publisher=The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government |year=2014 |chapter=Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9 |page=674 |access-date=April 3, 2016 |archive-date=April 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428231718/http://www.rockinst.org/nys_statistics/2014/2014_Yearbook_Section_O.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> narrow gorge featuring 19 waterfalls throughout less than two miles. It is considered a "flagship" park by the State of New York.<ref>{{cite web |title=Watkins Glen State Park History |url=https://www.watkinsglenchamber.com/watkins-glen-state-park-history |publisher=Watkins Glen Chamber of Commerce |access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref>

=== Auto racing at Watkins Glen ===
[[File:Cars drive through the Esses during the 2014 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen.jpg|thumb|right|The Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International]]

Watkins Glen is noted for its role in [[auto racing]], being the home of a street course used in [[road racing]], a famous racetrack, [[Watkins Glen International]], one of the premier automobile road racing tracks in the United States, which has hosted the [[NASCAR Cup Series]] [[NASCAR Cup races at Watkins Glen|Go Bowling at The Glen]], [[IndyCar Series]] [[Grand Prix at The Glen]], and the [[IMSA SportsCar Championship]] [[6 Hours of Watkins Glen]]. The first Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prix was held in 1948 on public streets in and near the village. Organized by resident [[Cameron Argetsinger]], it was the first post-[[World War II|WWII]] road race held in the United States and it marked the revival of American road racing.

The original course ran for {{convert|6.6|mi|km}} and passed through the center of the village. The streets used for the original course remain intact today and a checkered flag marks the original start-finish line on the village's main street. During the 1952 race, driver Fred Wacker struck onlookers sitting on a curb on a corner coming down West 4th St. (State Route 409), killing a 7-year-old boy and injuring 10 others. The tragedy caused the end of street racing at the Glen and elsewhere in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last=Defechereux |first=Philippe|title= Watkins Glen 1948-1952: The Definitive Illustrated History|year=1998 |publisher=Beeman Jorgensen |isbn=0-929758-17-X }}</ref>

A permanent racing facility, the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course opened in 1956. It has hosted nearly every type of road racing, from the Sahlen's [[6 Hours of Watkins Glen]] (1948-current), the [[Formula One]] [[United States Grand Prix]] (1961–1980), and the [[I Love New York 355 at The Glen]] (1957-current), which was one of the few races on the [[Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series]] schedule not conducted on an oval speedway, the other being [[Sonoma Raceway]] until NASCAR added more road courses to the Cup Series schedule.

=== International Motor Racing Research Center ===
[[File:International Motor Racing Research Center.jpg|thumb|International Motor Racing Research Center]]
The International Motor Racing Research Center, a professional archive of motorsports history, opened in June 1999 in an annex of the [[Watkins Glen Public Library]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.racingarchives.org/about-the-imrrc/our-history/ |website=IMRRC |publisher=International Motor Racing Research Center |access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref> The mission of the center is to preserve and share the history of motorsports around the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Collecting, Preserving and Sharing History |url=https://www.racingarchives.org/about-the-imrrc/overview/ |website=IMRRC |publisher=International Motor Racing Research Center |access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref>

=== Personal Watercraft racing at Watkins Glen ===
Since 2014, Watkins Glen has hosted a weekend of IJSBA (International Jet Sports Boating Association) closed course racing, and has become one of the largest race venues in the sport today. Originally promoted in Region 8 by NEWA (North East Watercraft Alliance), until 2016 when East Coast Watercross purchased the series, racing has been in Seneca Lake, near Clute Memorial Park and Campground and is typically the last weekend in August. The event has always been free to spectators and features both closed course racing and freestyle competition using standup, sit-down, and sport class machines.

=== 1973 Summer Jam at Watkins Glen Rock Festival ===
The racetrack was also the scene of the July 28, 1973, [[Summer Jam at Watkins Glen]] [[rock festival]] attended by an estimated 600,000 people, one-and-a-half times the crowd at 1969's historic [[Woodstock Festival]] and a world record for the largest number of people at a pop music festival. The concert featured [[The Allman Brothers Band]], [[Grateful Dead]], and [[The Band]]. The music started at noon on Saturday and continued long into Sunday.

=== Phish festivals ===
On July 1–3 of 2011, the band [[Phish]] hosted Superball IX, a three-day music festival on the same grounds as the Summer Jam of '73. On August 21–23, 2015, Phish hosted their 10th festival, Magnaball, on the grounds. Phish planned to return to Watkins Glen for their 11th festival, Curveball, on August 17–19, 2018 but was forced to cancel when their permit was revoked due to floods contaminating the local water supply.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://phish.com/news/curveball-forced-to-cancel/|title = Curveball Forced to Cancel}}</ref>

=== ''True Love'' schooner ===
Watkins Glen is the home port for ''True Love'', a schooner built in 1926 that was featured in ''[[High Society (1956 film)|High Society]]'' (1956).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wskg.org/history/true-love-schooner/|title=True Love Schooner|last=Johnson|first=Shane|website=WSKG|date=8 May 2014|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-02}}</ref>

=== Farm animal protection movement ===
[[File:FarmSanctuary.JPG|thumb|Farm Sanctuary's headquarters in Watkins Glen]]
[[File:Schuyler County Courthouse, Watkins Glen, New York State.jpg|thumb|right|Schuyler County Courthouse in Watkins Glen]]
Watkins Glen is the home of [[Farm Sanctuary]], a national farm animal protection organization co-founded by activist [[Gene Baur]] in 1986. In 1991, the organization opened a shelter in Watkins Glen that has since provided lifelong care for thousands of animals rescued from abuse; hosted numerous public events; and welcomed thousands of visitors from all over the world, sharing with them views of militant vegetarianism.

==See also==
*[[Century House (publisher)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|wikt=no|commons=Category:Watkins Glen, New York|b=no|n=no|q=no|s=1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Watkins|v=no|voy=Watkins Glen|species=no|d=Q2738851}}
* [http://www.watkinsglen.us/ Village of Watkins Glen]
* [http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/142/details.aspx Watkins Glen State Park]
* [http://www.chronos-historical.org/rockfest/articles/WG1.html Book excerpt on the 1973 Summer Jam Rock Festival from "AQUARIUS RISING" by Robert Santelli]
* [https://archive.org/details/descriptiveguide00mfro 1884 Guidebook to Watkins Glen with Illustrations at Internet Archive]
* [http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=839834&filename=Watkins%20Glen%20Grand%20Prix%20Circuit%20Map.kmz Google Earth overlay of original circuit]

{{Schuyler County, New York}}
{{New York}}
{{New York county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:County seats in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Populated places in Schuyler County, New York]]