Elmira () is a city in and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 census, down from 29,200 at the 2010 census, a decline of more than 7 percent.
The City of Elmira is in the south-central part of the county, surrounded on three sides by the Town of Elmira. It is in the Southern Tier of New York, a short distance north of the Pennsylvania state line.
The city was the site of the Elmira Prison, a prisoner-of-war camp that held over 12,000 captured Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Elmira College is located within the city.
History
Early history The region of Elmira was inhabited by the Cayuga nation (also known as the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ) of the Haudenosaunee prior to European colonization. Cayuga residing in the region maintained relations with European settlers, primarily related to the fur trade, but were otherwise relatively isolated from expanding colonial settlements.
During the American Revolutionary War, the Sullivan Expedition of 1779 was mounted by the Continental Army against the four Haudenosaunee nations which had allied with the British. The expeditionary force fought a combined British-Haudenosaunee force at the Battle of Newtown, south of the current city, in which the Continental Army was victorious. After the conclusion of the war, the Haudenosaunee and the United States signed a treaty at Elmira in 1791 to settle territorial disputes in the region. Most of the Cayuga emigrated under pressure from encroaching American settlements with the other nations of the Haudenosaunee to Canada, where they resettled on land provided by the British Crown.
The first European-American settler in Elmira was Abraham Miller, who served as a captain in the Continental Army. Miller constructed a cabin after resigning just before the end of the Revolutionary War. Miller's Pond and Miller Street are named after him and are near the location of his house.
Elmira's formation The New York legislature established the Township of Chemung, now Chemung County, in 1788. The settlement of Newtown was soon established at the intersection of Newtown Creek and the Chemung River. In 1792, the settlement at Newtown joined with the Wisnerburg and DeWittsburg settlements to form the village of Newtown. In 1808, the village officially changed its name to the Town of Elmira, at a town meeting held at Teall's Tavern. It is said the town was named after tavern owner Nathan Teall's young daughter, but that story has never been confirmed."How Elmira got its name -- maybe", As one story goes, city's moniker may have originated during judge's visit to tavern. From the Star-Gazette, August 1, 2008 by Jim Pfiffer. https://www.chemungvalleymuseum.org/usr/How%20Elmira%20Got%20its%20Name%20article.pdf According to Amos Bugbee Carpenter's "Carpenter Memorial" family history book printed in 1898, Elmira is named after Major General Matthew Carpenter's daughter. This naming occurred, according to this book, in 1821 at the constitutional convention to which Matthew was a delegate. In any case, the City of Elmira, nicknamed "The Queen City," was incorporated in 1864 from part of the town of Elmira and the village of Elmira. The remaining part of the town of Elmira exists still, surrounding the city on the west, north and east. The city and town share an intricately entwined history.
It appears that Amos Carpenter in his 1898 book was referencing an 1879 book.
Elmira served as a transportation hub for New York's Southern Tier in the 1800s, connecting commercial centers in Rochester and Buffalo with Albany and New York City, via the canal system and railroads. The city was the southern terminus of the Chemung Canal completed in 1833; later, the Junction Canal was constructed to connect Elmira with Corning, facilitating transport of coal from the Pennsylvania mines via the Northern branch of the Susquehanna Canal system. In 1849, the New York and Erie Railroad was built through Elmira, giving the area a New York City to Buffalo route. In 1850, the Elmira and Jefferson Railroad gave the area a route north and, in 1854, the Elmira and Williamsport Railroad a route south. These railroads and their connections made the city a prime location for an Army training and muster point early in the Civil War.
In 1872 construction began on the Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad, eventually creating a route to Cortland and Syracuse via Horseheads, Breesport and Van Etten. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, completed in 1884, competed with the Erie's New York City to Buffalo line.
Prisoner-of-war camp
A great deal of the Union installation, known as Camp Rathbun, fell into disuse as the Civil War progressed, and the camp's "Barracks #3" were converted into a Civil War prisoner of war camp in the summer of 1864. The camp, in use from June 6, 1864, until autumn 1865, was dubbed "Hellmira" by its inmates. Towner's history of 1892 and maps from the period indicate the camp occupied a somewhat irregular parallelogram, running about west and approximately the same distance south of a location several hundred feet west of Hoffman Street (Foster Avenue) and Winsor Avenue, bordered on the south by Foster's Pond, on the north bank of the Chemung River.
In the months the site was used as a camp, 12,123 Confederate soldiers were incarcerated; of these, 2,963 died during their stay from a combination of malnutrition, prolonged exposure to brutal winter weather and disease directly attributable to the dismal sanitary conditions on Foster's Pond and lack of medical care. The camp's dead were prepared for burial and laid to rest by the sexton at Woodlawn National Cemetery, ex-slave John W. Jones. At the end of the war, each prisoner was given a loyalty oath and given a train ticket back home; the last prisoner left the camp on September 27, 1865. The camp was closed, demolished and converted to farmland. Woodlawn Cemetery, about north of the original prison camp site (bounded by West Hill, Bancroft, Davis and Mary Streets), was designated a "National Cemetery" in 1877. The prison camp site is today a residential area.
Reformatory and correctional facility
The state legislature authorized the building of a state prison for first offenders in 1866. It opened in 1876 as the Elmira Reformatory, under the direction of Zebulon Brockway, serving offenders aged sixteen to thirty. It was the first institution of its kind, and a model for others to follow. In 1970 the complex was renamed the Elmira Correctional and Reception Center.
Hurricane Agnes and the 1972 flood
During the summer of 1972, Hurricane Agnes struck the eastern seaboard of the United States, causing significant damage stretching from Florida into New England. Elmira was particularly hit hard by the flood, with over an estimated $291 million in damage. Over 15,000 people had to flee the city, and approximately 5,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Coordinated efforts between local churches and regional businesses helped with the cleanup. Operating in secrecy, Rochester, NY-based Eastman Kodak sent crews as part of Operation Rebuild. Their efforts rebuilt 78 homes and assisted in the repairs of countless others.
Elmira city leaders approached the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) to lead the redevelopment of the city post-flood. With a select group of businessmen and city officials attempting to minimize public input, the UDC implemented the "New Elmira Plan". This entailed the removal of buildings along the river to create Riverside Park, and razing other buildings in the business district for two parking garages. Altogether, forty percent of Elmira's commercial space was eliminated as part of the plan. Local citizens lamented the loss of character and vibrancy of downtown Elmira.
"Storm of the Century" – 1993 snow blizzard In March 1993, the city of Elmira was hit hard by a snow blizzard, nicknamed "Storm of the Century", that added 21.5 inches of snow to Elmira in a single day.
2012 tornado
On July 26, 2012, an EF1 tornado touched down near Cottage Drive off of Route 352 and traveled through Golden Glow and the rest of the city. Moderate damage was seen after the storm passed and hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down. No one was injured. The tornado was wide and took the city by surprise as this area has not been prone to tornadic activity.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and (3.56%) is water.
The Chemung River flows eastward through the city. Elmira is built almost entirely in the flood plain of the Chemung River and has suffered many floods, the worst from Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Newtown Creek, flowing from the north, joins the Chemung River at the city's southeast corner.
Interstate 86/New York State Route 17, The Southern Tier Expressway, connects with the city at Exit 56. New York State Route 14 passes through Elmira between Watkins Glen and Pennsylvania. New York State Route 13 begins near Lake Ontario and travels through Cortland and Ithaca before ending in Elmira. New York State Route 352 begins in Elmira at Exit 56 of the Southern Tier Expressway and continues West into Corning.
Climate
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Elmira had a population of 26,523. The median age was 36.4 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 104.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.8 males age 18 and over.
99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas.
There were 10,646 households in Elmira, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 27.0% were married-couple households, 24.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 37.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 12,407 housing units, of which 14.2% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.1%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 19,169 72.3% Black or African American 3,960 14.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 116 0.4% Asian 207 0.8% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 11 0.0% Some other race 523 2.0% Two or more races 2,537 9.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,596 6.0%
2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 30,940 people, 11,475 households, and 6,701 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 12,895 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 82.03% White, 13.05% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.37% from other races, and 2.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.14% of the population.
There were 11,475 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.