Big Flats is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 7,822 at the 2020 census. The town is on the western border of the county, west of Elmira. It is part of the Elmira Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town contains a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

also named Big Flats.

History

The town of Big Flats, which had formerly been called "Great Plains", was organized in 1822 from the town of Elmira. The Warren E. Eaton Motorless Flight Facility was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Big Flats has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.29%, is water. The Chemung River, a tributary of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

, flows through the southern portion of the town. Sing Sing Creek flows through the center of the town and is a tributary of the Chemung. The geography consists of a broad expanse of relatively flat land, the axis of which lies generally northeast to southwest. It is a river valley. The land has historically been very good for agriculture, including tobacco. Diligent searching will result in the finding of fossil seashells indicating the land was an ancient sea bottom. Other evidence is found in the rock of the region, which is mostly

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

. The western town line is the border of Steuben County. The Southern Tier Expressway ( Interstate 86/

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate New York, Downstate regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins at the New York–Pennsylvani ...

) passes through Big Flats, with access from exits 49, 50, and 51.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 7,224 people, 2,725 households, and 2,144 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,836 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.35%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.18%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.01% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.15% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population. There were 2,725 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,435, and the median income for a family was $59,500. Males had a median income of $42,317 versus $28,327 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $23,391. About 1.3% of families and 2.6% 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 ...

, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Elmira Corning Regional Airport Elmira Corning Regional Airport is in Chemung County, New York, northwest of Elmira and east of Corning. It is in the Big Flats census-designated place and in the town of Big Flats, while its mailing address gives the location as Horsehe ...

is located in the town.

Education

Horseheads Central School District covers much of Big Flats Town. Other parts of the town are in Corning City School District, Elmira Heights Central School District, and Elmira City School District.

Communities and locations in the Town of Big Flats

* Arnot Mall, shopping mall in the eastern part of the town, just west of Horseheads *Big Flats – The hamlet of Big Flats, located at the junction of the Southern Tier Expressway (I-86 and NY-17) and NY-352. " Big Flats" is also a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

that covers the hamlets of Big Flats and Fisherville as well as the area in between. * Elmira-Corning Regional Airport – An airport with scheduled air service; northwest of Elmira. *Fisherville – A hamlet south of the airport and east of Big Flats village on Chemung County Route 64. *Golden Glow Heights – A hamlet located by the southern town line on the south bank of the Chemung River. *Harris Hill – A prominent hill south of the airport. *Harris Hill Gliderport – A small airport on Harris Hill used for glider operations. *Harris Hill Manor – A hamlet on the north bank of the Chemung River on NY-352.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Big Flats has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Big Flats, New York
/ref>

Culture

National Soaring Museum is in the town limits. - Compare with the location of the museum
with the full address
"51 Soaring Hill Drive Elmira, NY 14903".

References

External links

Town of Big Flats official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Flats (Town), New York Towns in Chemung County, New York Towns in New York (state)