Chemung

Chemung County, New York
Map
Location in the state of New York
New York's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	March 29, 1836
Seat	Elmira
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	410.81 sq mi (1,064 km²) 408.11 sq mi (1,057 km²) 2.7 sq mi (7 km²), 0.64%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	91,070 223/sq mi (86/km²)
Website: www.chemungcounty.com

Chemung County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Chemung County. As of the 2000 census, the population was 91,070. Its name is derived from the name of a Delaware Indian village (meaning "big horn"). Its county seat is Elmira. Many signs posted along roads in Chemung County refer to the area as "Mark Twain Country" because of the many years the author lived and wrote in Elmira. The Chemung County Chamber of Commerce has represented business and Industry in Elmira and Chemung County in such diverse areas as local, State and Federal legislation, small business concerns, tourism promotion and economic development.

History

For the history of Chemung County prior to its creation by partition, see Tioga County, New York.

Chemung County was formed from a partition of 520 square miles (1,300 km²) of Tioga County on 1836-03-29 ^[1].

On 1854-04-17, Chemung County was partitioned so that 110 square miles (280 km²) of land was used to create Schuyler County, reducing Chemung to 410 square miles (1,100 km²), which is the current size^[2].

Geography

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.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 411 square miles (1,064 km²), of which, 408 square miles (1,057 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it (0.64%) is water.

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.

Adjacent counties

• Schuyler County, New York - north
• Tompkins County, New York - northeast
• Tioga County, New York - east
• Bradford County, Pennsylvania - south
• Tioga County, Pennsylvania - southwest
• Steuben County, New York - west

		Schuyler County	Tompkins County
	Steuben County		Tioga County
		Chemung County, New York
	Tioga County, Pennsylvania	Bradford County, Pennsylvania

Major highways

• Interstate 86 / New York State Route 17 (Southern Tier Expressway)
• New York State Route 13
• New York State Route 14
• New York State Route 328
• New York State Route 352

Demographics

At of the 2000 census^[3], there were 91,070 people, 35,049 households and 23,272 families residing in the county. The population density was 223 per square mile (86/km²). There were 37,745 housing units at an average density of 92 per square mile (36/km²). 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]. 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 and politics

This section requires expansion.

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.^[4] All 15 members are elected from single member districts.

Cities, towns, villages, and other locations

Towns

• Ashland
• Baldwin
• Big Flats
• Catlin
• Chemung
• Elmira
• Erin
• Horseheads
• Veteran
• Southport
• Van Etten

Cities, Villages and Hamlets

• Elmira (city)
• Elmira Heights (village)
• Horseheads (village)
• Millport (village)
• Van Etten (village)
• Wellsburg (village)
• West Elmira (Census Designated Place)
• Horseheads North (Census Designated Place)

Other

• Big Flats Airport

See also

New York portal

External links

• Chemung County, New York site
• Chemung County Chamber of Commerce
• Chemung County History
• Early brief history of Chemung County
• Elmira College
• Chemung County at the Open Directory Project

References

• New York: Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Compiled by Kathryn Ford Thorne and Edited by John H. Long.

1. ^ New York. Laws of New York.1836, 59th Session, Chapter 077, Section 1, Page 102.
2. ^ New York. Laws of New York.1854, 77th Session, Chapter 386, Sections 1—4 & 6, Pages 913—915.
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "3 MORE COUNTIES ADOPT CHARTERS", The New York Times (New York, New York): 59, 1973-11-25 

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Chemung County, New York County seat: Elmira City Elmira Villages Elmira Heights | Horseheads | Millport | Van Etten | Wellsburg Towns Ashland | Baldwin | Big Flats | Catlin | Chemung | Elmira | Erin | Horseheads | Southport | Van Etten | Veteran CDPs Big Flats | Southport

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Coordinates: 42°08′N 76°46′W / 42.14°N 76.76°W / 42.14; -76.76