Chemung County, New York

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Chemung County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 84,148 as of the 2020 census.<ref name="USCensusEst2019">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Elmira.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Its name is derived from a Delaware Indian village whose name means "big horn" in the Seneca language. The county is part of the Southern Tier region of the state.

Chemung County comprises the Elmira, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Elmira-Corning, NY Combined Statistical Area.

Many signs posted along roads in Chemung County refer to the area as "Mark Twain Country," because the noted author lived and wrote for many years in Elmira.

History

File:Chemung County New York - Beers 1869.jpg

1869 map of Chemung County

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Chemung County was formed from Template:Convert of Tioga County in 1836.<ref name="NYLAWS CHEMUNG 01">New York. Laws of New York.1836, 59th Session, Chapter 077, Section 1, Page 102.</ref>

In 1854, Chemung County was divided and Template:Convert became Schuyler County, reducing Chemung to Template:Convert, its current size.<ref name="NYLAWS CHEMUNG 02">New York. Laws of New York.1854, 77th Session, Chapter 386, Sections 1—4 & 6, Pages 913—915.</ref>

In the late 1870s, the Greenback Party became prominent in Chemung and nearby counties in western New York. Here it was primarily allied with labor in a critique of capital, reaching its peak in 1878, the year following the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the Scranton General Strike in Pennsylvania. There were also strikes that year in Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo, starting with the railroad workers. In Steuben and Chemung counties, Greenbackers were elected to county councils in 1878 instead of Democrats, and others were elected from there and nearby counties to the state legislature, gaining votes of more than 25 percent in several of the Southern Tier counties. It gradually declined after that, due to internal dissension and the strength of the two major parties.<ref name="klein">Milton M. Klein, The Empire State: A History of New York, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2005, pp. 455-456</ref>

File:Chemung County Flag.jpg

Flag of Chemung County, at the Chemung County Courthouse

Geography

File:John H. Hazlett Building, Elmira.jpg

The Chemung County Government Building in Elmira

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.8%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Chemung County is in the southwestern part of New York State, along the Pennsylvania border, in a part of New York called the Southern Tier and is also part of the Finger Lakes Region.

The Southern Tier Expressway runs through the County east-west near the Pennsylvania border, between Waverly, New York and Corning, New York via Elmira, New York.

Transportation

Major highways

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Airport

Elmira Corning Regional Airport

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 Census

Chemung County Racial Composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	69,559	82.66%
Black or African American (NH)	5,009	5.95%
Native American (NH)	198	0.23%
Asian (NH)	1,426	1.69%
Pacific Islander (NH)	15	0.02%
Other/Mixed (NH)	5,003	5.95%
Hispanic or Latino	2,938	3.49%

2000 Census

As of the 2000 census,<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 91,070 people, 35,049 households and 23,272 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 37,745 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 90.96% White, 5.82% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. 1.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.4% were of German, 15.7% Irish, 12.5% English, 11.8% Italian, 7.8% American and 6.3% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000 [1]. Most of those claiming to be of "American" ancestry are of English descent and, in upstate New York, also in some cases of Dutch descent, but have family that has been in the country for so long, in many cases since the early seventeenth century, that they choose to identify simply as "American".<ref>Sharing the Dream: White Males in a Multicultural America By Dominic J. Pulera.</ref><ref>Reynolds Farley, "The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?", Demography, Vol. 28, No. 3 (August 1991), pp. 414, 421.</ref><ref>Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, 'The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns', Social Science Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44-6.</ref><ref>Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, 'Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82-86.</ref><ref>Mary C. Waters, Ethnic Options: Choosing Identities in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), p. 36.</ref> 96.2% spoke English and 1.6% Spanish as their first language.

There were 35,049 households, of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.80% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.60% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97.

Age distribution was 24.40% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.30 males.

The median household income was $36,415, and the median family income was $43,994. Males had a median income of $35,076 versus $24,215 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,264. About 9.10% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.40% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Template:Expand section Before 1974, Chemung County was governed by a board of supervisors. On January 1, 1974, executive and legislative powers were split between a county executive and a 15-seat legislature.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> All 15 members are elected from single-member districts. As of 2024, the Chemung County Legislature includes 13 Republicans and 2 Democrats. Chemung County is a part of the 23rd congressional district, represented by Republican Nick Langworthy.

**Chemung County Executives**
Name	Party	Term
John H. Hazlett	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Republican	January 1, 1974 – 1975
Morris E. Blostein	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Republican	1975 – 1979
R. Stanley Benjamin	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Republican	1979 – 1983
Robert G. Densberger	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Republican	1983 – 1991
G. Thomas Tranter, Jr.	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Republican	1991 – 2000
Thomas J. Santulli	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Republican	2000 – 2019
Christopher J. Moss	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Republican	2019 –

In presidential elections, Chemung County tends to vote Republican. Only two Democrats (Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and Bill Clinton in 1996) have carried the county since 1920. It voted for George W. Bush in 2004 by a 10.85% margin. In 2008, the margin was much closer, but voters still gave John McCain a 1.23% win over Barack Obama. In 2012, Mitt Romney carried the county by 2.33%. In 2016, Donald Trump carried Chemung County with 55.64% of the vote compared to Hillary Clinton's 38.09%. Trump carried the county again in 2020 with over 55% of the vote.

Education

Template:See also Education in Chemung County is provided by various private and public institutions. High school students and adults have access to GST BOCES.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> BOCES provides vocation-style training in a wide range of fields as well as adult education and special education.

Public school districts

School districts with any portion of territory in the county, even if the schools and/or administrative offices are elsewhere, include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref> Template:Div col

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Private schools

Chemung Valley Montessori School<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Elmira Christian Academy<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Holy Family Middle School<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Saint Mary Our Mother School<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notre Dame High School<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Twin Tiers Christian Academy<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Higher education

Arnot Ogden School of Nursing<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Corning Community College<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (off-campus sites)
Elmira College
Elmira Business Institute<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Public libraries

Chemung County Library District

File:Steele Memorial Library.png

Steele Memorial Library

Steele Memorial Library
Horseheads Free Library
Big Flats Library
West Elmira Library
Van Etten Library
Chemung County Bookmobile<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Communities

Larger Settlements


#	Location	Population	Type	Area
1	†Elmira	29,200	City	Elmira-Horseheads
2	Southport	7,238	CDP	Elmira-Horseheads
3	Horseheads	6,461	Village	Elmira-Horseheads
4	Big Flats	5,277	CDP	West
5	West Elmira	4,967	CDP	Elmira-Horseheads
6	Elmira Heights	4,097	Village	Elmira-Horseheads
7	Horseheads North	2,843	CDP	North
8	Pine Valley	813	CDP	North
9	Breesport	626	CDP/Hamlet	Northeast
10	Wellsburg	580	Village	Southeast
11	††Van Etten	537	CDP/Hamlet	Northeast
12	Erin	483	CDP	Northeast
13	Millport	312	Village	North