Horseheads is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Chemung County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 6,606 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from the number of bleached skulls of pack horses left behind by the

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign) was a United States military campaign under the command of General John Sullivan (general), John Sullivan duri ...

. The village of Horseheads is located within the town of Horseheads. It is north of the city of Elmira and is part of the Elmira Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In September 1779, forces under General John Sullivan marched north 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 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

, 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 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 ...

to Newtown (Elmira), then 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 directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...

region and west to Genesee, on a scorched-earth mission against

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

and more significantly against their

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

allies. They returned about three weeks later, largely on 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 surviving Iroquois 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. Today this area is part of the heartland of

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

, across which thirty-five monoliths mark the path of Sullivan's troops and the locations of the Iroquois villages they razed dotting the region, erected by the New York State Education Department in 1929 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the expedition. The settlement of the village area began around 1830. The village was officially incorporated in 1839 as the "Village of Fairport," due to its location on the Chemung Canal, but changed its name back to "Horseheads" in 1845. In 1885, it was renamed "North Elmira" but the village resumed the original name, "Horseheads" in 1886. The village was once a port on the Chemung Canal. The Chemung Railway Depot-Horseheads, Hanover Square Historic District, Horseheads 1855 Extension Historic District, Teal Park, and Zimmerman House 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 ...

. The village is where high speed rail cars will be built for the

Brightline West Brightline West is a proposed privately run high-speed rail route, currently in early construction, to link the Las Vegas Valley and Rancho Cucamonga in Greater Los Angeles through the California high desert via Interstate 15. The line will ...

train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

Siemens Mobility Siemens Mobility GmbH is a division of Siemens. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens Mobility has four core business units: Mobility Management, dedicated to rail technology and intelligent traffic systems, Railway Electrification, ...

has been selected to build the rail cars, and is building its factory there, announced in September 2024. A $60 million facility of about will be built in Horseheads, and the rail line is planned to be in service by 2028, with rail cars from this plant. This constitutes the start of a new industry in the US.

Geography

Horseheads village is in the

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 ...

Region of New York, north of downtown Elmira. It is located at a low point on the St. Lawrence Continental Divide separating the

watershed to the south and the

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

watershed to the north. Newtown Creek on the east side of the village flows south toward 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 ...

, a tributary of the Susquehanna, while the northernmost part of the village drains north to Catharine Creek, the main tributary of Seneca Lake, one of the

. 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 village has a total area of , of which , or 0.38%, is water.

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 ...

and Interstate 86 pass through the village, with access from exits 52 and 53.

New York State Route 14 New York State Route 14 (NY 14) is a state highway located in western New York in the United States. Along with New York State Route 19, NY 19, it is one of two routes to transect the state in a north–south fashion between ...

, a north-south highway, intersects State Route 17 in the village.

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 ...

intersects State Route 17 east of the village.

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 6,452 people, 2,862 households, and 1,800 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 3,007 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.57%

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 ...

, 1.30%

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.20% from other races, and 0.87% 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 0.91% of the population. There were 2,862 households, out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% 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, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.82. In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $35,915, and the median income for a family was $44,971. Males had a median income of $36,774 versus $22,776 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 village was $20,779. About 4.6% of families and 8.8% 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 10.9% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The school district for Horseheads Village is Horseheads Central School District.
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References

External links

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* ttp://www.joycetice.com/articles/horschro.htm - A timeline of Horseheads from 1776-1963 {{authority control Villages in New York (state) Villages in Chemung County, New York Horseheads, New York