The Finger Lakes region is chock-full of rich history and culture.
In this series I’m sharing with you all the firsts, important historical events, notable individuals, world records, and occasional quirky roadside attractions I come across in my explorations, organized by county.
Here are some fun facts about Chemung County. For random facts about the other 13 Finger Lakes counties:
Cayuga, Cortland, Livingston, Monroe, Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, Yates.
I know I’m only scratching the surface of all the cool things to know, so please tell me interesting facts to add! You can comment below or send me a message.
And make sure you subscribe to the Finger Lakes Family Fun email list or follow on Instagram, where I’ll be sharing my latest discoveries.
Chemung County Basic Facts
Population: 84,148
County seat: Elmira
Origin of name: Seneca language, meaning “big horn,” probably referring to wooly mastodon tusks found in the area
Tourism site: marktwaincountry.com
Elmira
Ernie Davis
American Football player Ernie Davis attended Elmira Free Academy and went on to become the first African-American recipient of the Heisman Trophy in 1961. Davis was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Elmira when he was 12 years old. Recruited by several colleges, he decided to play football for Syracuse University. He was the first pick in the 1962 NFL draft but died at age 23 from leukemia before he could play with the Cleveland Browns. He was a 1979 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Tommy Hilfiger
Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger was born in Elmira in 1951 and opened his first clothing store downtown in 1971. In 2021, Hilfiger partnered with Elmira College to form Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Business School.
Soaring Capital of America
Elmira is considered the Soaring Capital of America because of its storied history in motorless flight. For example, the first 13 national soaring contests were held at Harris Hill from 1930-46, it was the site of the Schweizer Aircraft Corp., and it is now the site of the National Soaring Museum.
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, along with all of the Clemens family. He and his wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens, were married in her hometown Elmira in 1870 (they moved to Buffalo afterward) and summered and wrote at Quarry Farm (now owned by Elmira College), the home of her sister Susan Crane, in the 1870s and 1880s. Elmira College now runs a Center for Mark Twain Studies.
Erin
Kate Warne
Born in 1833 in Erin, Kate Warne is known as the first female detective. Widowed by age 23, she responded to an ad by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency and walked into the office in Chicago. Warne proved herself in a prominent embezzlement case and became the head of the new Female Detective Bureau in 1860. In 1861 she played a key role in foiling the Baltimore Plot, a planned assassination of President Lincoln, and she conducted intelligence work during the Civil War.
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Featured image photo credit: Will Parsons/Chesapeake Bay Program, under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Cayuga County Fun Facts
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