Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1932 on and old-book passages.
The Chemung post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chemung’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Chemung.
A post office called Chemung was established in 1845, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1943. The name Chemung is comes from the word in the Seneca language meaning "big horn" after a large horned fossil was discovered in a nearby river.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Chemung, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Chemung Precinct. — June 7, 1848. "Ordered by the court, That township 46 north, range 5 east, be, and is hereby, constituted an election precinct by the name of Chemung; that the elections in paid precinct be held at the Parker's Hotel, in the village of Chemung, and that Daniel P. Hutchinson, Daniel Baker and ffm. Hart, Jr., be appointed judges."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ORIGIN" OF NAME The name Chemung was given the village of Chemung before the township was organized, by a Mr. Steward who came from Chemung County. X. V., and he desired to name the place after his old home.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Not till after the village of Chemung had become a point of business and this township was pretty well settled did it receive a name. It is understood that Chemung Village was named by a Mr. Seward, who came from Chemung County, N. Y., and the township was afterward named for the village.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In Chemung Township the first school was taught in the village of Chemung about INK). In 1880 the number of persons of school age in the township was UTS, or ninety more than any township within the county. It paid at that date next to the highesl wages for teachers of any of the townships. The school property of seven schoolhouses was then valued at $16,500. The first school in Harvard was taught in 1859; -I. E. Young was the first principal, assisted by .Miss Mary Ballon.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chemung. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chemung.
Nobody well known was born in Chemung itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Chemung post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
