Horseheads is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Chemung County,
New York, United States. The population was 19,412 at the 2020 census.
The name of the town is derived from the number of bleached horses' skulls once found there.
Horseheads is north of the city of
Elmira, upon which it borders. There is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
named
Horseheads within the town. It is part of the Elmira
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
.
History
On September 1 1779, General George Washington ordered the forces of General
John Sullivan to march north on a journey through a wooded wilderness from
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware R ...
, over to
Wyoming, Pennsylvania
Wyoming is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north of Wilkes-Barre, along the Susquehanna River. The population was 3,097 as of the 2020 census.
Etymology
The name "Wyoming" ...
, and on up the
Susquehanna River to Newtown (Elmira) to mount a raid on
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
. They continued north through what is now known as Horseheads to the
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...
region and west to
Geneseo. Devastating the already weakened Iroquois, Sullivan's troops retreated back along the same route.
The journey had been particularly severe and wearing upon the animals, and their food supply was found insufficient. Arriving about north of Fort Reid on September 24, 1779, they were obliged to dispose of a large number of sick and disabled horses. The number of horses was so great that they were quite noticeable, and the native
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
collected the skulls and arranged them in a line along the trail. From that time forward, that spot was referred to as the "valley of the horses' heads" and is still known by the name given to it by the Iroquois.
Around 1787, the first settlers arrived, making the area one of the first in the county to be populated. The town of Horseheads was formed from the towns of
Elmira and
Chemung in 1835. Fairport, the current village of Horseheads, set itself off from the town by becoming an incorporated village in 1837.
Fire of 1862
From the August 14, 1862 edition of the ''
Elmira Gazette'' of Aug. 14, 1862:
''"Terrible Conflagration At Horseheads—The Entire Business Portion Of The Village Destroyed—Immense Destruction Of Property—Loss Probably One Hundred Thousand Dollars:''
''Last night, our sister village of Horseheads was visited by one of the most terrible conflagrations we have ever been called upon to record. The entire business portion of the village is one vast mass of ruins, and the loss of property is consequently immense. The devouring element, in unabated fury, swept over the heart and treasure of the village, swallowing up hotels, halls, blocks, stores, shops, residences, &c. &c. and leaving in their stead one universal waste of black desolation. – There is but one store remaining in the village—Whittaker & McDonald’s.''
''The fire broke out about one o’clock, either in Raymond’s Stables, corner of Church and Franklin Streets, or in one of the barns adjoining, belonging to Colwell’s Hotel. Horseheads being without a fire engine, all attempts by hands to stop the fire here proved unavailing. The flames consequently soon communicated to neighboring buildings, spreading down Franklin Street, east side, destroying the building owned by Comfort Bennett, Esq., and occupied by S. Randall as a shoe store. The loss to Mr. Bennett will probably reach $1000, on which there is no insurance, as we could learn—Randall’s loss on stock will be about $400.''
''Raymond, the owner of the line of stages between this village (Elmira) and Horseheads, lost his house, together with barns and stage horses,--valued at about $13,500. From Randall’s the fire followed the east side of the street down, consuming all the buildings, on which were situated the following: "S.H. Maxwell, store buildings, loss $1200, insured for $800. Two stores, owned by Wm. Reynolds, of Elmira, estimated to have been worth $1500. One of these was occupied by Wm. T. Carpenter, as a grocery, loss $1000, insured from four to five hundred. The other was occupied by J.S. Humphrey. The Post Office was located in this store, the effects of which, books, papers, letters, &c, were partially saved.''
''The total loss will probably exceed $100,000, on which there is scarcely $15,000 insurance. It is a terrible blow to the village and vicinity."''
World War II
Located in the northern portion of Horseheads, The
Holding Point The Holding Point is an area in the Town of Horseheads, New York that is the site of the Horseheads Industrial Center.
The name dates back to World War II, when the federal government used eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippine ...
was used by the Federal government for the war effort. Originally called The Holding Point and Reconsignment Point, it was a storage and collection point for military equipment. At the cost of over $8 million, the 700+-acre plot of land was managed by 30 soldiers from the
Army Transportation Corp and aided by 500 civilians. In the summer of 1944,
German POWs were brought to the Holding Point as labor from nearby former CCC camps in
Van Ettan. The German POWs only served at the Holding Point for a limited time, before they were replaced by approximately 400 Italians from two
Italian Service Units
The Italian Service Units or ISUs were military units composed of Italian prisoners of war (POWs) that served with the Allies during World War II against Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan from May 1944 to October 1945. The armed forces of the Un ...
.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.87%, is water.
Newtown Creek, a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Chemung River
The Chemung River ( ) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 in south central New York and northern ...
, flows west then south through the center of the town. The
Southern Tier Expressway
New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and follows the Southern T ...
(combined
Interstate 86 and
New York State Route 17) is a major east–west highway, with access from exits 52, 53, and 54.
New York State Route 13
New York State Route 13 (NY 13) is a state highway that runs mainly north–south for between NY 14 in Horseheads and NY 3 west of Pulaski in Central New York in the United States. In between, NY 13 intersects wit ...
and
New York State Route 14
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
are north–south highways through the town. The western end of
New York State Route 223
New York State Route 223 (NY 223) is an east–west state highway in Chemung County, New York, in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 13 northeast of the city of Elmira in the town of Horseheads to a ...
is east of Horseheads village. The town is in the
Southern Tier region of New York.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 19,561 people, 7,960 households, and 5,253 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 545.5 people per square mile (210.6/km
2). There were 8,350 housing units at an average density of 232.8 per square mile (89.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 95.89%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 1.29%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.12%
Native American, 1.53%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.01%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.20% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.96% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 7,960 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were
married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $37,444, and the median income for a family was $46,827. Males had a median income of $36,546 versus $24,197 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $19,795. About 5.6% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Transport
Historically, the
Elmira & Seneca Lake Railway opened for operation on June 19, 1900, from Horseheads to
Seneca Lake. The former
Chemung Canal
The Chemung Canal is a former canal in New York, United States. The canal connected Seneca Lake at Watkins Glen to the Chemung River at Elmira, New York. It was planned to connect the Finger Lakes region and Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River ...
passed through the town.
Interstate 86 /
State Route 17 (Southern Tier Expressway) runs through the town connecting
Elmira /
Elmira Heights to the southeast and
Corning to the west. It is connected to the north to
Watkins Glen via
State Route 14 and to
Ithaca
Ithaca most commonly refers to:
*Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey''
*Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca
*Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College
Ithaca, Ithaka ...
via
State Route 13. It is served by the
Elmira-Corning Regional Airport
Elmira Corning Regional Airport is in Chemung County, New York, seven miles northwest of Elmira and eight miles east of Corning. It is in the town of Big Flats but its mailing address is Horseheads, New York. The airport was formerly Elmira R ...
, located in Big Flats NY, and has bus service through
C-Tran.
Sister city program
Starting in 1990, Horseheads was the sister city of
Bato in
Tochigi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the ...
in
Japan, a town that could be translated as Horseheads. However, in 2005 Bato merged with
Ogawa
Ogawa (written: lit. "small river" or in hiragana) is the 30th most common Japanese surname. Less common variants are (also "small river") or ("tail river"). Notable people with the surname include:
*, American poet
*, Japanese footballer
* ...
to form a new town called
Nakagawa. Nakagawa inherited the title of sister city, and the two cities continue to exchange student and adult delegates.
Communities and locations in the Town of Horseheads
*
Breesport – A hamlet by the eastern town line on NY-223, named after settler Azariah Breese.
*
Elmira Heights – The village of Elmira Heights is a northern suburb of Elmira. Most of the village is inside the town of Horseheads.
*Elmira Heights North – A
suburb of
Elmira.
*
Horseheads – The village of Horseheads is a northern suburb of Elmira, located on NY-17.
*
Horseheads North, a census-designated place in the northern part of the town
*Orchard Knoll – A hamlet southeast of Horseheads village on County Road 51.
*Ormiston – A location south of Breesport.
*Slabtown – A location by the northern town line between NY-13 and NY-14.
References
External links
Town of Horseheads official website
Town & Village of Horseheads, Chemung County New York; accessed May 7, 2014.
accessed May 7, 2014.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horseheads (Town), New York
Towns in Chemung County, New York