CHEMUNG COUNTY 



Chemung County is situated in the center of the southern tier of 

 counties in New York, and is bounded on the south by Pennsyl- 

 vania. From east to west the county measures about 20 miles, 

 and from north to south, 20 miles. It has an area of 260,480 

 acres. The population is shown in the following table: 



Population by Cities and Townships 



(Census of 1915) 



•Elmira | city) 40,093 Horseheads 6,033 



Ashland 828 Southport 2,320 



Baldwin 539 Van Etten 1,116 



Big Flats 1,495 Veteran 1,565 



Catlin 834 



Chemung 1,383 Total 59,017 



Elmira 1,97 1 = 



Erin 840 



* Elmira is the county seat. 



HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS 



Chemung County was formed from Tioga in 1836. The name 

 is taken from the Chemung River, and is said to signify " big 

 hom " or " horn in the water." Throughout the entire time that 

 the red men occupied this- part of the county the valley of the 

 Chemung was one of their great thorough-fares. Previous to the 

 Revolution the Indians probably learned something of agriculture 

 from the French. 



When General Sullivan invaded the region in 1779 he found 

 Indian lands that had been cultivated for years. The orchards 

 showed years of growth ; the soil was well cultivated, and the 

 variety of products gave evidence of the practice of agricultural 

 knowledge far in advance of that possessed by the warrior race 

 in other sections. The Senecas- laid special claim to the country 

 of the Chemung valley. The Indians were defeated at Newtown, 

 now Elmira. They fled in a panic, leaving the way open for 

 Sullivan's advance. This campaign marked the end of Indian 



Note: Elmira now has a population of 45,000. 



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