Hornell, NY
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Hornell is a
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. The City of Hornell is surrounded by Town of Hornellsville. Hornell is about south of Rochester and is near the western edge of Steuben County. Hornell is nicknamed the "Maple City" after the large
maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
trees that once grew throughout the town and covered the surrounding hills of the Canisteo Valley. Hornell residents celebrate with one of the largest
Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...
parades and celebrations in the area, bringing many out to welcome spring and show their green.


History

What is now Hornell was first settled in 1790 under the name "Upper Canisteo", to distinguish it from the community of Canisteo, then known as "Lower Canisteo". The family of Benjamin Crosby were the first settlers in what is now Hornell. The area was incorporated as 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 1820, as "Hornellsville." The name comes from early settler George Hornell Jr, who built the first
gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...
here. The City of Hornell was chartered in 1888 as the "City of Hornellsville," (having been first organized as the "Village of Hornellsville" in 1852). The name was changed to Hornell in 1906. Major flooding in 1936 put parts of the city under water, prompting the creation of a system of levees to prevent future serious flooding issues. The former city park, Union Park, was destroyed by the highway construction of the 1970s. In 1950, Hornell had a population just above 15,000 people. It had two radio stations,
WWHG WWHG (105.9 FM) is a commercial mainstream rock radio station licensed to Evansville, Wisconsin, and serving the areas of Madison and Janesville. The station is owned by Scott Thompson, through licensee Big Radio, and began a new rock music ...
and
WLEA WLEA (1480 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Hornell, New York, United States, the station serves the Canisteo Valley area, and is a part of the Elmira Corning Radio Market The station is currently owned by Daw ...
, and three movie theaters - the ''Steuben'' and the ''Majestic'' were located on Broadway, the ''Hornell'' on Main Street. The current mayor of Hornell is Republican John Buckley. The
Hornell Armory Hornell Armory is a historic National Guard armory building located at Hornell in Steuben County, New York. It is a brick and stone castle-like structure built in 1894. It was designed by architect Isaac G. Perry. The three-story main structure ...
,
Hornell Public Library Hornell Public Library is a historic library building located at Hornell in Steuben County, New York, USA. It was designed in 1908 and dedicated in 1911, with funds provided by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It is one of 3,000 such libraries ...
,
Adsit House Adsit House was a historic house located at 34 Main Street in Hornell, Steuben County, New York. Description and history It was a two-story, L-shaped brick dwelling constructed in stages between 1828 and 1880. The original section construct ...
, Lincoln School, St. Ann's Federation Building, and
United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...
are 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 ...
.


Railroads and Hornell

Hornell had four rail lines, though the companies operating the railroads often changed names, routes, and ownership: * The main Erie Railroad line, connecting New York City (terminal in
Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...
) and
Dunkirk, New York Dunkirk is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Dunkirk ...
. * Erie's Buffalo line. This began as the Attica and Hornellsville Railroad (1845–1851), which became part of the Buffalo and New York City Railroad, which extended the line to Buffalo and operated it from 1852 to 1861, when it was acquired by Erie. Hornell was the junction and transfer point for the two main branches of the Erie. * A line running to the northeast, from a separate depot on Seneca St. near Adsit, connecting Hornell via Wayland with
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
. The company was the Geneva Southwestern and Hornellsville Railway (1872–1875), then the Geneva and Hornellsville Railway (1875–1876), and the Geneva, Hornellsville and Pine Creek Railway (1876–1879), and the Rochester, Hornellsville and Lackawanna Railroad (1886–1889), then the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western, or Lackawanna for short. Later the
Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad The Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad also known as the Shawmut Line, was a Class I railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in central Pennsylvania and western New York (state), New York. The line w ...
ran on this route one train in each direction per day, connecting Hornell with
Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...
to the west and Wayland to the north. * The Hornellsville Electric Railway Company and Hornellsville & Canisteo Railway Company, consolidated in 1909 as the Hornell Traction Company, provided service to North Hornell, Canisteo, and within the city, linking the Lackawanna and Erie depots, from 1892 until 1926. Some grading was done in 1872–1873 for a proposed but unbuilt Rochester, Hornellsville, and Pine Creek railroad. The most important railroad in Hornell was the
New York and Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...
, or Erie for short. It arrived in Hornell in 1850 and began public service on May 14, 1851. President
Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a De ...
, himself a native of western New York, and Secretary of State
Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...
rode through Hornell on the inaugural train. Hornell was a central location on the Erie, making it a favorable location for the railroad's repair yards. According to an 1882 traveler's guide to the Erie Railroad, in Hornell "There are an immense amount of side-tracks, ample engine-houses, repair-shops, and other railroad structures, as the village is the dividing-point of the Susquehanna and Western Divisions, and the point of junction of the Buffalo Division of the Erie Railway.... It has banks, newspapers, a nourishing library association, which maintains a course of popular lectures, and is one of the most efficient and attractive institutions of the kind in the interior of the State. There are churches of various denominations, and a population of about 9,000. The cars destined for Buffalo, Niagara Falls, etc., are here detached from those going west via Salamanca or Dunkirk. At the station is a spacious dining-saloon, where meals are served to travelers at regular hours." In 1895 the Erie constructed "at the foot of Pine Street...an immense stock barn" for the large number of cattle being shipped east on its trains.


Hornell during the railroad period (1860–1960)

For the next hundred years Hornell enjoyed prosperity, with its steam engine shop doing the repairs for the entire Erie line. The most important point in town was the train station, which survives and since 2005 houses the Hornell Erie Depot Museum. Next to it were the police station and fire department, at the beginning of Broadway, a wide street with stores, a luncheonette, and the Steuben and Majestic Theaters. Heading south, Broadway ended at Canisteo Street just before it passed under the tracks, a route served for some decades by the Hornell Traction Company. The underpass was closed, save for a pedestrian passage, when the Route 36 arterial was built. At the five-way intersection just north of the underpass, where Broadway began, Canisteo Street ran northwestward. Near its southern end (now covered by the Route 36 arterial), was Hornell's largest hotel, the New Sherwood, the offices of the Hornell Evening Tribune and above it those of its radio station
WWHG WWHG (105.9 FM) is a commercial mainstream rock radio station licensed to Evansville, Wisconsin, and serving the areas of Madison and Janesville. The station is owned by Scott Thompson, through licensee Big Radio, and began a new rock music ...
. On the east side was a storefront
Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...
station (service Elmira – Corning – Bath – Hornell – Batavia – Buffalo, no direct service to Rochester); on the west side was Hornell's main park, Union Park, destroyed by the Hornell Arterial, with the city's high school (middle school after new high school built), containing the city's largest auditorium, and other businesses. Main Street, with the Hornell Theater,
WLEA WLEA (1480 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Hornell, New York, United States, the station serves the Canisteo Valley area, and is a part of the Elmira Corning Radio Market The station is currently owned by Daw ...
's studios, Koskie's music store, and other businesses, connected the two now-separated streets (Broadway and Canisteo/Seneca). Main St. extended east to Hornell's Carnegie Library (the
Hornell Public Library Hornell Public Library is a historic library building located at Hornell in Steuben County, New York, USA. It was designed in 1908 and dedicated in 1911, with funds provided by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It is one of 3,000 such libraries ...
), Hornell's largest grocery store, Loblaw's, the
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
, with the only public swimming pool in the city, various medical and dental offices, and finally (turning south and crossing the Canisteo River), the Erie repair shops. North of Main Street the downtown area extended another block with the city's pharmacy, Jacobson's, a shoe store, the
United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...
(all now
009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight ...
vacant), and the Steuben Trust Company (bank). In the block north of Main Street, Church Street had Hornell's synagogue, Temple Beth-El (closed), and at the intersection with Genesee Street four churches, one on each corner; two survive today (2017). Further north on Seneca Street were Hornell's best restaurant, The Big Elms, Hornell's baseball field (from 1942 to 1957 Hornell had a minor-league team), and car dealers. The current high school is adjacent to the baseball field. The city ended at the
Canisteo River The Canisteo River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Tioga River in western New York in the United States. It drains a dissected pl ...
, where a bridge led to the village of North Hornell. Yet things were not idyllic in Hornell. In 1922, after a recruitment talk by " KKK organizer C. S. Fowler... at the local
Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...
hall, the Klan announced its existence by igniting a huge cross on the side of a mountain, a demonstration evidently intended to intimidate the community's sizable immigrant population."


Hornell in the post-railroad period (1960–present)

Hornell has struggled to regain its former prosperity. The population is half what it was in 1960, and still declining. Passenger service, in severe decline, ended completely by 1970. (The former station has been refurbished and, since 2006, is the Hornell Erie Depot Museum.) The railroad came upon further hard times as trucking picked up more and more of the freight business. In October 1960, the Erie merged with the Lackawanna to form the
Erie Lackawanna The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...
. Diesel engines, replacing older steam engines, required less maintenance; consequently, many of the staff were laid off. The Erie Accounting Office, in Hornell, was closed and its work transferred to the Lackawanna headquarters in
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
. In 1972, flooding from
Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes was the List of costliest Atlantic hurricanes, costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, ...
destroyed about of roadbed along the
Canisteo River The Canisteo River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Tioga River in western New York in the United States. It drains a dissected pl ...
, removing all hope of reoperating the railroad line southeast of Hornell. The Erie Lackawanna filed for bankruptcy soon after. The former Erie repair shops were completely closed for years. They were later reopened to service EMD diesels and perform bodywork and painting. Yet later, they were operated by
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
for a short time, followed by Morrison-Knudsen. Today, the Hornell shops are a major employer, serving as
Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...
's main North American assembly and manufacturing site, at which AC traction motors, railway cars, and passenger locomotives are produced. Car bodies are shipped
disassembled "Avengers Disassembled" is a 2004 crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics involving the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Captain America, Spider-Man and Thor. The beginning of Brian Michael Bendis's ''Avengers'' run, it depicts the destruction o ...
from
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, and assembled in Hornell. Alstom won a contract worth $194 million to completely overhaul
PATCO Speedline The PATCO Speedline, signed as the Lindenwold Line in Philadelphia and commonly referred to as the PATCO High Speed Line, is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...
's
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
fleet, beginning in 2011. In 2013, the facility was contracted to build 34 light rail vehicles for
OC Transpo OC Transpo is the primary Transit district, public transport agency for the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operating bus rapid transit, light rail, conventional transit bus, bus routes, and door-to-door paratransit in the nation's capital regi ...
. In 2020, the plant began production of
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's second generation
Acela The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship passenger train service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermedia ...
high-speed trains. In January 2021, the plant won a $1.8bn contract to build new passenger railcars for
Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...
, which is expected to create 250 additional jobs.


Highway construction


Route 36 Arterial

Hornell's central layout changed significantly when the New York Route 36 arterial was built about 1972. Prior to that, Route 36, Hornell's main north–south highway, was routed along Seneca Street (to the north) and Canisteo Street (to the south). Neither of these streets were adequate for the increased automobile and truck traffic which accompanied the decline of the railroad, and they could not be easily expanded. Canisteo Street also had a significant bottleneck (originally the "Canisteo Subway" on the Hornell-Canisteo trolley, pictured on a postcard, above) where the route went under the Erie Railroad tracks, just south of downtown. Route 36 between Hornell and Canisteo, also inadequate, could not be expanded due to the adjacent Canisteo River. The decision was made to replace the route with an arterial, west of Seneca Street on the north side, crossing the downtown and exiting Hornell east of Canisteo Street on the south side. "The highway required the demolition of 245 houses and many commercial buildings, split the city in half, and sacrificed Hornell's Union Park." The four-lane route was continued to Canisteo. Unconnected fragments of the former Route 36 from Hornell to Canisteo survive; in Hornell it starts from East Avenue, east of the river, and heading north from the Village of Canisteo it is today Dineen/McBurney Road. The impact of the relocation of Route 36 on central Hornell was profound. Much of the south end of the downtown was destroyed, either physically or economically. Seneca Street and Broadway, formerly important commercial streets, became deserted side streets. (See
United States Post Office (Hornell, New York) The former U.S. Post Office in Hornell, Steuben County, New York, United States, is located on Seneca Street. It was built in 1916 and is one of a number of post offices in New York State designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of th ...
.) It is not fondly remembered, and it was something wanted by the trucking industry and its customers, not the local working class.


The Southern Tier Expressway (New York Route 17, now Interstate 86)

When the decision was made in the 1960s to upgrade the western portion of
New York Route 17 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 runs east as a limite ...
to expressway status, it was decided to route the expressway through the Hornell area, as it was considered to have more prospects for development than
Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to: People * Greenwood (surname) Settlements Australia * Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region * Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ...
and
Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...
, along the old route (now
New York Route 417 New York State Route 417 (NY 417) is an east–west state highway located in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It begins at exit 20 of the Southern Tier Expressway ( Interstate 86 or I-86 and NY 17) i ...
). Interstate 86 begins (or ends) in Pennsylvania, running from
I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
near
Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...
, across New York's
Southern Tier The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York, Upstate region of New York (state), New York State, geographically situated along or very near the state border with Pennsylvania. Definitions of the region vary wide ...
to Windsor, NY. It crosses
New York State Route 36 New York State Route 36 (NY 36) is a north–south state highway in the western part of New York (state), New York in the United States. The highway extends for from the New York–Pennsylvania border, Pennsylvania state line at Trou ...
between Hornell and
Arkport Arkport is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. It is located in the town of Hornellsville, and is north of the city of Hornell. The population was 844 at the 2010 census. The name comes from the barges used to ship products t ...
. It is today (2023) Hornell's main highway.


Geography

Hornell is located at (42.3244, -77.6603). Hornell is at an altitude of above sea level. 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 ...
, the city has a total area of , all land. Hornell is on the
Canisteo River The Canisteo River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Tioga River in western New York in the United States. It drains a dissected pl ...
and surrounded by the foothills of the
Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...
.


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 9,019 people, 3,596 households, and 2,218 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,100 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.73%
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 ...
, 2.38%
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 ...
, 0.23% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.04%
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 ...
, 0.38% from other races, and 0.67% 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 1.29% of the population. There were 3,596 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% 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, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% 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 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,184, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $31,727 versus $18,854 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 city was $14,419. About 18.7% of families and 21.4% 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 32.1% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.


Parks and recreation

There are several parks in the city of Hornell including: * Maple City Park is adjacent to the Hornell High School and is maintained by both the school district and the city. It includes tennis courts, a baseball field, softball field, multiple half-basketball courts, a playground, a 6-lane rubber track, and a turf field (football and soccer). It is the home of the
Hornell Dodgers The New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league founded in 1978 and sanctioned by the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball. Each NY ...
NYCBL baseball team and the Hornell Red Raider athletic teams. Hornell's annual "Music Under the Stars"
drum and bugle corps Drum and bugle corps is a name used to describe several related musical ensembles. * Drum and bugle corps (modern), a musical marching unit * Drum and bugle corps (classic), musical ensembles that descended from military bugle and drum units retur ...
event also takes place on the turf field at this site. Prior to the construction of the high school, the park was the home of the minor league baseball team
Hornell Dodgers The New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league founded in 1978 and sanctioned by the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball. Each NY ...
(1942–1957). * Veterans Memorial Park at James Street (formerly known as simply James St. Park) has many sports fields, pavilions, the city pool, and several playgrounds.
Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...
celebrations, including fireworks, are located at this park. * Michael C. Fucci Memorial Park at Shawmut is where the Hornell
skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipe ...
is located. Many youth football and baseball games are also played on the fields. There was, at one time, an effort for Rails to Trails to create a bike/hike trail from this park northwestward.


Education

There are four public schools and one private school in Hornell: * Hornell High School (public, grades 7–12) * Intermediate School (public, grades 3–6) * North Hornell School (public, grades 3PreK–2): located in the village of North Hornell, but still part of the Hornell City School District * Columbian School (public, Head Start): also location of administrative offices * St. Ann's Academy (private, grades PreK–6): independent Catholic school that opened in 2012 after St. Ann's Catholic School (K–8) was closed by the Diocese of Rochester The current Superintendent of Schools is Jeremy Polatti. In June 2007, the ''Hornell Evening Tribune'' newspaper announced that a school planning committee is proposing a $100 million project to re-organize the schools and improve assessment results.


Transportation

Hornell is served by Hornell Area Transit buses.
New York State Route 21 New York State Route 21 (NY 21) is a state highway extending for about through the western part of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 417 in the village of Andover, ...
conjoined with
New York State Route 36 New York State Route 36 (NY 36) is a north–south state highway in the western part of New York (state), New York in the United States. The highway extends for from the New York–Pennsylvania border, Pennsylvania state line at Trou ...
passes through the city, which is just south of 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 runs east as a limite ...
( 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 ...
). County Roads 65, 68 and 109 also lead into the city. The city is served by two railroads: it is on
Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
's Southern Tier Mainline and is the eastern terminus of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad.
Hornell Municipal Airport Hornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. The City of Hornell is surrounded by Town of Hornellsville. Hornell is about ...
(KHTF) is located a few miles north of the city on Route 36.


Notable people

* John William Barber (1920–2007), jazz tubist *
Gene Burns Gene Burns (December 3, 1940 – May 25, 2013) was an American talk radio host. He hosted ''Dining Around with Gene Burns'', a food wine and travel program, which aired Saturdays on NewsTalk 810 AM in San Francisco. He also hosted ''The Gene Bu ...
(1940–2013),
talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
host *
Bob Crane Robert Edward CraneCrane, Robert (2015). Crane : Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder'. Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky. p. 100. . (July 13, 1928 – June 29, 1978) was an American acting, actor, drummer, rad ...
(1928–1978), Radio Broadcaster WLEA * Bill Dugan (born 1959), professional football player *
Frank Kelly Freas Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was an American artist known for his work in science fiction and fantasy, with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the s ...
(1922–2005), science fiction artist *
John Keel John Alva Keel, born Alva John Kiehle (March 25, 1930 – July 3, 2009), was an American journalist and influential ufologist who is known best as author of '' The Mothman Prophecies''. Early life Keel was born in Hornell, New York, the son ...
(1930–2009), author * Bob Morton (1934–2015), Washington state legislator * Thomas Murphy (1915–2006), CEO of General Motors (1974–1980) *
Iddo Netanyahu Iddo Netanyahu (; born July 24, 1952) is an Israeli physician, author, and playwright. He is the younger brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yonatan Netanyahu, a highly decorated soldier who was killed leading the Ent ...
(born 1952), Israeli physician, author and playwright *
Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. Pullman made his film debut i ...
(born 1953), actor * Vice Adm. Lyndon Spencer (1898–1981), U.S. Coast Guard officer * M. Louise Stowell (1861–1930) artist *
Mike Waufle Mike Waufle (born June 27, 1954) is a former American football coach who most recently served as the defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Waufle served as defensive line coach for the Oakland Raiders ...
(born 1954), professional football coach *
James A. Wetmore James Alfonso Wetmore (November 1863 – March 14, 1940) was an American lawyer and administrator, best known as the Acting Supervising Architect of the U.S. Office of the Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury Department, Treasury ...
(1863–1940), US acting Supervising Architect * Wanda D. Kirkum (1973–1991), formerly unidentified murder victim


Media

;Print * The Evening Tribune ;Radio *
WLEA WLEA (1480 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Hornell, New York, United States, the station serves the Canisteo Valley area, and is a part of the Elmira Corning Radio Market The station is currently owned by Daw ...
- AM 1480 *
WCKR WCKR (92.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) format. Licensed to Hornell, New York, United States, the station serves the Canisteo Valley area. The station is currently owned by GRI Telecom, a company controlled by Dawn Ichik ...
- FM 92.1 *
WKPQ WKPQ (105.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Hornell, New York, United States, the station serves the Elmira-Corning area including the Canisteo valley and northern Pennsylvania. The station is currently o ...
- FM 105.3 *
WWHG WWHG (105.9 FM) is a commercial mainstream rock radio station licensed to Evansville, Wisconsin, and serving the areas of Madison and Janesville. The station is owned by Scott Thompson, through licensee Big Radio, and began a new rock music ...
(defunct) *
WHHO WHHO (1320 AM) was a radio station broadcasting a sports talk format. Licensed to Hornell, New York Hornell is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Steuben County, New York, Steuben County, New York, United States. The popu ...
(defunct)


See also

*
Glenwood Inn (Hornellsville, New York) The Glenwood Inn was "one of the best known summer resorts in this section of the state and Hornell's leading place of recreation". Glenwood Park was south of Hornellsville (after 1906, Hornell) and north of Canisteo (village), New York, Canist ...
* Hornell Traction Company


References


Further reading

*


External links


City of Hornell, New York

Hornell Area Chamber of Commerce

Maple City Park
at
SABR Sabr () (literally 'endurance' or more accurately 'perseverance' and 'persistence'"Ṣabr", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'') is one of the two parts of Iman (concept), faith (the other being ''shukr'') in Islam. It teaches to remain Spirituality, sp ...
Bio Project {{authority control Cities in New York (state) Populated places established in 1790 Cities in Steuben County, New York 1790 establishments in New York (state)