Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States, and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,830 at the 2020 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls referring to a large waterfall in the Hudson River at the southern end of the city.

Glens Falls is a city in the southeastern corner of Warren County, surrounded by the town of Queensbury to the north, east, and west, and by the Hudson River and Saratoga County to the south. Glens Falls is known as "Hometown U.S.A.," a title Look magazine gave it in 1944. The city has also referred to itself as the "Empire City."

History

The area is originally called Chepontuc ("difficult place to get around") in the Iroquoian languages of the area's Indigenous inhabitants. It also referred to as the "Great Carrying Place." Later, European-American settlers named the area "The Corners" in English.

As a halfway point between Fort Edward and Fort William Henry, the falls was the site of several battles during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. The then-hamlet was mostly destroyed by fire twice during the latter conflict, forcing the Quakers to abandon the settlement until the war ended in 1783. Fire also ravaged the village in 1864, 1884, and 1902.

In 1766, it was renamed Wing's Falls for Abraham Wing – the leader of the group of Quakers who established the permanent settlement – and for the falls on the Hudson River. Wing's claim to the name of the falls and the hamlet was transferred to Colonel Johannes Glen of Schenectady in 1788, either on collection of a debt, as a result of a game of cards, or in exchange for hosting a party for mutual friends, depending on which local legend is believed. Colonel Glen changed the name to "Glen's Falls," though it was often printed with varying spelling such as "Glenn's," "Glenville",Map of the Hudson River, Showing Glenville, NY. David Rumsey Map Collection. Accessed May 16, 2025. https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~237245~5511082?qvq=w4s%3A%2Fwhere%2FHudson%2BRiver%3Bq%3Aalbany%3Blc%3ARUMSEY~8~1&mi=53&trs=54#. or "Glens". The spelling "Glens Falls" came to be the common usage.

A post office was established in 1808. Glens Falls became an incorporated village in 1839, and was re-incorporated in 1874 and 1887, expanding the village to what would become the city limits when the state legislature granted the city charter in 1908, at which time the city became independent from the town of Queensbury.

In 2003, with permission from Queensbury, Glens Falls annexed approximately of the town. The land, known as Veterans Field or the Northway Industrial Park, is on Veterans Road between Luzerne Road and Sherman Avenue and is just east of I-87. The land was vacant at the time. A thin, strip of Sherman Avenue was part of this annexation, to comply with state law on contiguity of annexed land. As a result, the city and town share this stretch of highway.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and (2.54%) is water.

The city is on the Hudson River, in the Adirondack foothills, at the border of Saratoga County.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Glens Falls had a population of 16,830. The median age was 39.6 years. 19.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.7 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 6,904 households in Glens Falls, of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 31.4% were married-couple households, 24.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 7,430 housing units, of which 7.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 14,159 88.7% Black or African American 334 2.3% American Indian and Alaska Native 45 0.3% Asian 179 1.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.0% Some other race 145 1.0% Two or more races 968 6.5% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 552 3.7%

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 14,707 people, 6,548 households, and 3,529 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,112 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.7% White, 1.8% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.3% of the population.

There were 6,548 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 20, 6.8% from 20 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 20 and over, there were 90.9 males.

Income and poverty

In 2016, median income for a household in the city was estimated at $46,305, and the median income for a family was $60,545. Males had a median income of $41,993 versus $37,988 for females. About 12.6% of families and 16% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The Glens Falls region is a major producer of medical devices. Glens Falls is home to Navilyst Medical, a medical device maker, previously a regional office of Pfizer and Boston Scientific Corporation. Glens Falls is also a principal provider of medical services for a vast region from Saratoga County to the south, extending northward to the central Adirondacks. These services are centered around the Glens Falls Hospital, a 410-bed facility downtown. Founded in the summer of 1897 by a group of twelve local physicians, the Glens Falls Hospital was meant to serve the entire Upper Hudson River Valley. Solomon A. Parks donated his home in Glens Falls for the original hospital. The present structure has been extensively modified, enlarged, and modernized several times to better serve the needs of the community, and it is the region's fast-response trauma center. The hospital is now the area's biggest employer. A VA outpatient facility serves veterans' medical needs.

Danfloss Flomatic Corporation is headquartered on Pruyn's Island in Glens Falls. The company is a leading manufacturer of industrial and municipal valves. Also on Pruyn's Island is Umicore, a Belgium-based company manufacturing silver-based contact materials.

Finch Paper LLC, headquartered at the base of Glen Street hill, is a major regional employer and a manufacturer of specialty paper and forest products. It is by far the largest taxpayer in the City of Glens Falls, owning property assessed at $60-million in 2006, according to city records. In mid-June 2007, Finch Pruyn & Company announced it had sold all of its assets, including of forestland in the Adirondacks, to Atlas Holdings of Greenwich, Conn. The Company name was then changed to Finch Paper LLC. Atlas then sold all of the forestland to The Nature Conservancy.

The Glens Falls Cement company, established 1893, is now a part of Lehigh Northeast, itself a division of HeidelbergCement, one of the world's largest cement producers.

Glens Falls has an old and prevalent history in the region's finance sector. Arrow Financial Corporation, headquartered downtown, is a publicly traded multi-bank holding company for Glens Falls National Bank & Trust Company (1851) and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company. Evergreen Bank, N.A., formerly the First National Bank of Glens Falls, originated in 1853, and is now owned by banking conglomerate TD Banknorth. Advantage Capital Partners, a venture capital firm, has its New York offices downtown.

Arts and culture

Arts and theater The 300-seat Charles R. Wood Theater is home to the Adirondack Theater Festival, a professional non-profit summer theatre.

The Wood Theater provides artistic and cultural presentations throughout the year. Opened in 2003, the theater is named for Mr. Wood, a local entrepreneur and founder of The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom.

The Glens Falls Community Theatre has produced theatrical productions in Glens Falls for nearly 75 years.

The Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council promotes the arts, hosts an annual arts festival, and maintains a gallery.

The Glens Falls Symphony began as a community orchestra at Adirondack Community College, now SUNY Adirondack, in 1977, initially named the Adirondack Concert Orchestra and later becoming the Adirondack Philharmonia. In 1986, the Symphony became a fully professional orchestra, making Glens Falls one of the smallest cities in the United States with a fully professional orchestra. In 1990, the Board and musicians voted to join the national American Federation of Musicians (AFM), the professional musicians’ union.

Museums include: The Hyde Collection, featuring European and American art. The Chapman Museum, featuring local history exhibits The World Awareness Children's Museum is a children's museum focused on cultural diversity.

Art in the Public Eye is a local non-profit arts organization.

The Shirt Factory Arts and Healing Center is a historic shirt factory that now houses artists' studios, shops, galleries, healing arts and services. More than 50 artists and 13 shops and galleries are in this building.

The Glens Falls September 11 Memorial is a tribute to the lives lost on that day, and the first responders. The memorial consists of 12 foot, solid granite towers resembling the trade center encompassed by granite walls to resemble the Pentagon. It also incorporates a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.

Historic sites

Glens Falls has two historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the equivalent New York State Register of Historic places. The Fredella Avenue historic district includes a series of concrete block structures, and the Three Squares Historic District makes up most of the Central Business District.

Historic sites: Crandall Public Library, founded in 1893, and relocated in 1931. It was designed by Charles A. Platt. The library is a part of the Southern Adirondack Library System. Civil War Monument, a limestone obelisk dedicated in 1872 to honor the 644 men from Queensbury who served in the Civil War. Ninety-five names, those of the men who died, are engraved on the monument. Zopher Delong House, currently the location of the Chapman Historical Museum. Glens Falls Feeder Canal, a hydro-electric power-plant on the Hudson River at Glens Falls. The canal was created around 1820 to feed water into the Champlain Canal. During the early 19th century, the New York State Canal System was crucial to the development of the state's economy. Lime, marble, lumber, and agricultural commodities were shipped between Glens Falls and the docks at the base of Canal Street.