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New York Counties

There are 62 counties in the State of New York. The first twelve counties in New York were created immediately after the British annexation of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, although two of these counties have since been abolished. The most recent county formation in New York was in 1912, when Bronx County was created from the portions of New York City that had been annexed from Westchester County. New York's counties are named for a variety of Native American words, British provinces, cities, and royalty, early American statesmen and generals, and state politicians.

Chemung County, New York

Chemung County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Elmira
Year Organized: 1836
Square Miles: 408

Court House:

203 Lake Street
John H. Hazlett Building
Elmira, NY 14901-3108

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Derived from the name of the Delaware Indian village signifying "big horn"

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Chemung County is part of New York's southern tier. It borders Pennsylvania on the south, Steuben county on the west, and Schuyler County on the north. On the east is its mother county, Tioga, from which it was separated in 1836. The first towns were Chemung which name remains as the county, a town and a village, and Newtown, which became Elmira in 1808. Both of these were towns in the mother Tioga County, and became the source of the towns that exist now in Chemung.

In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Ontario County. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.

Tioga County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery County (the others being Herkimer and Otsego Counties) in 1791. Tioga County was at this time much larger than the present county, also including the present Broome and Chemung Counties and parts of Chenango and Schuyler Counties.

Tioga County was reduced in size in 1798 by the splitting off of Chemung County (which also included part of the present Schuyler County and by the combination of a portion with a portion of Herkimer County to create Chenango County. In 1806 it was further reduced by the splitting off of Broome County.

The area comprising Chemung County was located along the Forbidden Trail connecting all the major Native American villages from the Susquehanna River through the Chemung Valley and westward to Ohio. Guarded by the Senecas, the trail was forbidden to whites and enemy tribes. The first European to successfully navigate this path was a Moravian missionary who traveled through the area in 1767. Full History at NYSAC

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.

Neighboring 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

Cities and Towns:

- Big Flats	town
- Catlin	town
- Chemung	town
- Elmira (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Elmira Heights	village	Incorporated Area
- Erin	town
- Horseheads	village	Incorporated Area
- Millport	village	Incorporated Area
- Southport	town
- Van Etten	village	Incorporated Area
- Veteran	town
- Wellsburg	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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