Early history The region of Elmira was inhabited by the
Cayuga nation (also known as the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ) of the
Haudenosaunee prior to
European colonization. Cayuga residing in the region maintained relations with European settlers, primarily related to the
fur trade, but were otherwise relatively isolated from expanding colonial settlements. During the
American Revolutionary War, the
Sullivan Expedition of 1779 was mounted by the
Continental Army against the four Haudenosaunee nations which had allied with the
British. The expeditionary force fought a combined British-Haudenosaunee force at the
Battle of Newtown, south of the current city, in which the Continental Army was victorious. After the conclusion of the war, the Haudenosaunee and the
United States signed a treaty at Elmira in 1791 to settle territorial disputes in the region. Most of the Cayuga emigrated under pressure from encroaching American settlements with the other nations of the Haudenosaunee to
Canada, where they resettled on land provided by the
British Crown. The first European-American settler in Elmira was Abraham Miller, who served as a captain in the Continental Army. Miller constructed a cabin after resigning just before the end of the Revolutionary War. Miller's Pond and Miller Street are named after him and are near the location of his house.
Elmira's formation The New York legislature established the Township of Chemung, now
Chemung County, in 1788. The settlement of Newtown was soon established at the intersection of Newtown Creek and the
Chemung River. In 1792, the settlement at Newtown joined with the Wisnerburg and DeWittsburg settlements to form the village of Newtown. In 1808, the village officially changed its name to the
Town of Elmira, at a town meeting held at Teall's Tavern. It is said the town was named after tavern owner Nathan Teall's young daughter, but that story has never been confirmed. According to Amos Bugbee Carpenter's "Carpenter Memorial" family history book printed in 1898, Elmira is named after
Major General Matthew Carpenter's daughter. This naming occurred, according to this book, in 1821 at the constitutional convention to which Matthew was a delegate. In any case, the City of Elmira, nicknamed "The Queen City," was incorporated in 1864 from part of the town of Elmira and the village of Elmira. The remaining part of the town of Elmira exists still, surrounding the city on the west, north and east. The city and town share an intricately entwined history. It appears that Amos Carpenter in his 1898 book was referencing an 1879 book. Elmira served as a transportation hub for New York's Southern Tier in the 1800s, connecting commercial centers in
Rochester and
Buffalo with
Albany and
New York City, via the canal system and railroads. The city was the southern terminus of the
Chemung Canal completed in 1833; later, the
Junction Canal was constructed to connect Elmira with
Corning, facilitating transport of coal from the
Pennsylvania mines via the Northern branch of the Susquehanna Canal system. In 1849, the
New York and Erie Railroad was built through Elmira, giving the area a New York City to Buffalo route. In 1850, the Elmira and Jefferson Railroad gave the area a route north and, in 1854, the Elmira and Williamsport Railroad a route south. These railroads and their connections made the city a prime location for an
Army training and muster point early in the
Civil War. In 1872 construction began on the
Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad, eventually creating a route to
Cortland and
Syracuse via
Horseheads,
Breesport and
Van Etten. The
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, completed in 1884, competed with the Erie's New York City to Buffalo line.
Prisoner-of-war camp A great deal of the Union installation, known as Camp Rathbun, fell into disuse as the Civil War progressed, and the camp's
"Barracks #3" were converted into a Civil War
prisoner of war camp in the summer of 1864. The camp, in use from June 6, 1864, until autumn 1865, was dubbed "Hellmira" by its inmates. Towner's history of 1892 and maps from the period indicate the camp occupied a somewhat irregular
parallelogram, running about west and approximately the same distance south of a location several hundred feet west of Hoffman Street (Foster Avenue) and Winsor Avenue, bordered on the south by Foster's Pond, on the north bank of the Chemung River. In the months the site was used as a camp, 12,123
Confederate soldiers were incarcerated; of these, 2,963 died during their stay from a combination of
malnutrition, prolonged exposure to brutal winter weather and disease directly attributable to the dismal sanitary conditions on Foster's Pond and lack of medical care. The camp's dead were prepared for burial and laid to rest by the
sexton at
Woodlawn National Cemetery, ex-slave
John W. Jones. At the end of the war, each prisoner was given a loyalty oath and given a train ticket back home; the last prisoner left the camp on September 27, 1865. The camp was closed, demolished and converted to farmland. Woodlawn Cemetery, about north of the original prison camp site (bounded by West Hill, Bancroft, Davis and Mary Streets), was designated a "
National Cemetery" in 1877. The prison camp site is today a residential area.
Reformatory and correctional facility The state legislature authorized the building of a state prison for first offenders in 1866. It opened in 1876 as the Elmira Reformatory, under the direction of
Zebulon Brockway, serving offenders aged sixteen to thirty. It was the first institution of its kind, and a model for others to follow. In 1970 the complex was renamed the Elmira Correctional and Reception Center.
Hurricane Agnes and the 1972 flood During the summer of 1972,
Hurricane Agnes struck the eastern seaboard of the United States, causing significant damage stretching from Florida into New England. Elmira was particularly hit hard by the flood, with over an estimated $291 million in damage. Over 15,000 people had to flee the city, and approximately 5,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Coordinated efforts between local churches and regional businesses helped with the cleanup. Operating in secrecy, Rochester, NY-based
Eastman Kodak sent crews as part of Operation Rebuild. Their efforts rebuilt 78 homes and assisted in the repairs of countless others. Elmira city leaders approached the
New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) to lead the redevelopment of the city post-flood. With a select group of businessmen and city officials attempting to minimize public input, the UDC implemented the "New Elmira Plan". This entailed the removal of buildings along the river to create Riverside Park, and razing other buildings in the business district for two parking garages. Altogether, forty percent of Elmira's commercial space was eliminated as part of the plan. Local citizens lamented the loss of character and vibrancy of downtown Elmira.
"Storm of the Century" – 1993 snow blizzard In March 1993, the city of Elmira was hit hard by a snow blizzard, nicknamed "
Storm of the Century", that added 21.5 inches of snow to Elmira in a single day.
2012 tornado On July 26, 2012, an
EF1 tornado touched down near Cottage Drive off of
Route 352 and traveled through Golden Glow and the rest of the city. Moderate damage was seen after the storm passed and hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down. No one was injured. The tornado was wide and took the city by surprise as this area has not been prone to tornadic activity. ==Geography==