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.
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 of Tioga County on 1836-03-29
[New York. Laws of New York.1836, 59th Session, Chapter 077, Section 1, Page 102.].
On 1854-04-17, Chemung County was partitioned so that of land was used to create
Schuyler County, reducing Chemung to , which is the current size
[New York. Laws of New York.1854, 77th Session, Chapter 386, Sections 1—4 & 6, Pages 913—915.].
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
Major highways
Demographics
thumb|left|200px|Age distribution (2000 census)thumb|right|200px|Population (2000-2008)thumb|left|200px|Median income (2000 census)At of the 2000
census, 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 . 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
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.
All 15 members are elected from single member districts.
Cities, towns, villages, and other locations
TownsCities, Villages and HamletsOtherSee also
