Steuben County, New York

Steuben County (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell Template:Small Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell)<ref>Template:OED</ref> is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,584.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Bath.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Its name is in honor of Baron von Steuben, a Prussian general who fought on the American side in the American Revolutionary War, though it is not pronounced the same (Template:IPA). The county is part of the Southern Tier region of the state.

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

History

Template:See also Ontario County was established in 1789 to govern lands the state of New York had acquired in the Phelps and Gorham Purchase; at the time it covered the entirety of Western New York. Steuben County, much larger than today, was split off from Ontario County on March 8, 1796. In 1823 a portion of Steuben County was combined with a portion of Ontario County to form Yates County. Steuben County was further reduced in size on April 17, 1854, when a portion was combined with portions of Chemung and Tompkins counties to form Schuyler County.

In its earliest years Steuben County was demographically and geographically linked to the Susquehanna River basin in Pennsylvania, leading to the port of Baltimore. The Canisteo River, navigable as far as Arkport, emptied into the Chemung River and it into the Susquehanna. There were no natural barriers, like the Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk, to impede transportation, and timber and other agricultural products were easily shipped downriver from what are today (2019) the towns of Addison, Canisteo, and Hornellsville. Prior to the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, followed by the railroads, communication with the Hudson Valley and New York City was difficult. Limited to horses, mules, and donkeys, it was far too expensive to be used to ship bulky agricultural products.

In 1892 a bill was introduced in the Legislature to split Steuben County, with Canisteo, Corning, and "the south towns" becoming Lincoln County. It did not pass.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Geography

File:Steuben County Courthouse, Corning, New York.jpg

Steuben County Courthouse in Corning

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 (1.0%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Steuben County is in the southwestern part of New York State, immediately north of the Pennsylvania border. The population of Steuben County according to the 2000 U. S. census was 98,726. The county is in the Southern Tier region of New York State.

Adjacent counties

• Ontario County - north
• Yates County - northeast
• Schuyler County - east
• Chemung County - east
• Tioga County, Pennsylvania - south
• Potter County, Pennsylvania - southwest
• Allegany County - west
• Livingston County - northwest

Government and politics

Steuben County is governed by a 17-member legislature headed by a chairman.

State and federal government

Steuben County is a Republican stronghold in national elections. The last Democrat to carry the county was Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide.<ref>https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref>

Office	District	Area of the county	Officeholder	Party	First took office	Residence
U.S. Representative	New York's 23rd congressional district	All<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Nicholas Langworthy	Republican	2022	Corning, Steuben County
State Senator	58th State Senate District	All<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Thomas F. O'Mara	Republican	2011	Big Flats, Chemung County
State Assemblyman	132nd State Assembly District	All of the county not covered by the 133rd and 148th assembly districts<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Philip A. Palmesano	Republican	2011	Corning, Steuben County
State Assemblyman	133rd State Assembly District	The north and northwest parts of the county (towns of Dansville, Cohocton, Hornellsville, Prattsburgh, Wayland)<ref>Template:Cite web </ref> || colspan=3 align=center| Vacant ||
State Assemblyman	148th State Assembly District	The southwest corner of the county (towns of Greenwood, Jasper, Troupsburg, West Union)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Joseph M. Giglio	Republican	2005	Gowanda, Cattaraugus County

Steuben County is part of:

• The 7th Judicial District of the New York Supreme Court
• The 4th Department of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division

Demographics

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 98,726 people, 39,071 households, and 26,216 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 46,132 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 96.43% White, 1.36% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.81% of the population. 18.6% were of German, 15.2% English, 14.4% American, 13.6% Irish and 8.3% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.5% spoke English and 1.3% Spanish as their first language.

There were 39,071 households, out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.70% were married couples living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.00% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,479, and the median income for a family was $41,940. Males had a median income of $32,155 versus $24,163 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,197. About 9.90% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.70% of those under age 18 and 5.80% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

Steuben County racial composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	84,338	90.12%
Black or African American (NH)	1,416	1.51%
Native American (NH)	203	0.22%
Asian (NH)	1,616	1.72%
Pacific Islander (NH)	12	0.01%
Other/mixed (NH)	4,281	4.6%
Hispanic or Latino	1,718	1.83%

Industry

The largest employer in Steuben County is Corning, Inc. (formerly Corning Glass Works), the world headquarters of a large firm (34,000 employed worldwide) which manufactures specialty glass and related products. Related is the nearby Corning Museum of Glass. There is a wine industry in Hammondsport, also the headquarters of the Mercury Corporation, a custom manufacturer, formerly of aircraft and aircraft components. There is a museum of aviation, the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, in Hammondsport. Former industries in Steuben County are the Steuben Glass Works, in Corning, now part of Corning Glass Works, and the Erie Railroad repair shops, in Hornell.

Education

There is one institution of post-secondary education in Steuben County: Corning Community College. Alfred University and Elmira College are nearby.

School districts in the county include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref> Template:Div col

• Addison Central School District
• Alfred-Almond Central School District
• Andover Central School District
• Arkport Central School District
• Avoca Central School District
• Bath Central School District
• Bradford Central School District
• Canaseraga Central School District
• Campbell-Savona Central School District
• Canisteo-Greenwood Central School District
• Corning City School District
• Dansville Central School District
• Elmira City School District
• Hammondsport Central School District
• Hornell City School District
• Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District
• Naples Central School District
• Penn Yan Central School District
• Prattsburgh Central School District
• Wayland-Cohocton Central School District
• Whitesville Central School District

Transportation

Major highways

• File:I-86.svg Interstate 86 (Southern Tier Expressway)
• File:NY-17.svg New York State Route 17 (Southern Tier Expressway)
• File:I-99.svg Interstate 99
• File:US 15.svg U.S. Route 15
• File:I-390 (long).svg Interstate 390
• File:NY-15.svg New York State Route 15
• File:NY-21.svg New York State Route 21
• File:NY-36.svg New York State Route 36
• File:NY-414.svg New York State Route 414
• File:NY-415.svg New York State Route 415
• File:NY-417.svg New York State Route 417

Airports

Steuben County contains the following public-use airports:

• Corning-Painted Post Airport in the town of Erwin, near Corning and Painted Post
• Hornell Municipal Airport in the city of Hornell

Public transportation

Local bus service is provided by Hornell Area Transit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Communities

Larger settlements

#	Location	Population	Type	Area
1	Corning	11,183	City	Southeast
2	Hornell	8,563	City	West
3	†Bath	5,786	Village	Northeast
4	Gang Mills	4,185	CDP	Southeast
5	Canisteo	2,270	Village	West
6	Wayland	1,865	Village	Northwest
7	Painted Post	1,809	Village	Southeast
8	Addison	1,763	Village	Southeast
9	South Corning	1,145	Village	Southeast
10	Avoca	946	Village	Northwest
11	Arkport	844	Village	West
12	Cohocton	838	Village	Northwest
13	Savona	827	Village	Northeast
14	North Hornell	778	Village	West
15	Campbell	713	CDP	Southeast
16	Hammondsport	661	Village	Northeast
17	††Prattsburgh	656	CDP	Northeast
18	Coopers Plains	598	CDP	Southeast
19	Riverside	497	Village	Southeast
20	‡Almond	466	Village	West

† - County seat

†† - Former village

‡ - Not wholly in this county

Towns

• Addison
• Avoca
• Bath
• Bradford
• Cameron
• Campbell
• Canisteo
• Caton
• Cohocton
• Corning
• Dansville
• Erwin
• Fremont
• Greenwood
• Hartsville
• Hornby
• Hornellsville
• Howard
• Jasper
• Lindley
• Prattsburgh
• Pulteney
• Rathbone
• Thurston
• Troupsburg
• Tuscarora
• Urbana
• Wayland
• Wayne
• West Union
• Wheeler
• Woodhull

Hamlets

• Adrian
• Canisteo Center
• Gibson
• South Hornell
• South Canisteo

Notable people

People born in Steuben County:

• Stanley C. Armstrong (1888–1950), politician
• Josiah H. Bonney (1817–1887), politician
• Olive Byrne (1904–1990), domestic partner
• Edward Conner (1829–1900), republican
• Glenn H. Curtiss (1878–1930),<ref>House, Kirk W.: Hell-Rider to King of the Air: Glenn Curtiss's Life of Innovation pp. 1, 220</ref> aviation pioneer
• Jasper Humphrey (1812–1892), democrat
• Artemas Martin (1835–1918), mathematician
• Selwyn N. Owen (1836–1916), lawyer
• James A. Parsons (c.1868–1945), politician
• Omar L. Rosenkrans (1843–1926), republican
• Eric M. Smith (born 1980), juvenile murderer
• Peter Truax (1828–1909), philanthropist

See also

• Steuben County Transit System
• Corning Museum of Glass
• Corning Community College
• List of counties in New York
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Steuben County, New York
• Corning Incorporated

Further reading

• Clayton, W. W., History of Steuben County, New York. Philadelphia: Lewis, Peck & Co., 1879.
• Template:Cite book
• Sherer, Richard, (ed.) Steuben County: The First 200 Years, A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 1996.
• Stromquist, Shelton, "'Our Rights as Workingmen': Class Traditions and Collective Action in a Nineteenth-Century Railroad Town, Hornellsville, New York, 1869-82," in David O. Stowell (ed.), The Great Strikes of 1877. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2008; pp. 55–75.
• Template:Cite Q

External links

• Steuben County, New York official government site
• Painted Hills Genealogy Society, Steuben County Page It contains a great deal of info on Steuben County.