Chemung as a Crossroads

Chemung has long been a crossroads in the region. The Chemung River was used for transportation and commerce by the earliest settlers. When the Junction Canal opened in 1856, it provided a link between Elmira’s Chemung Canal and Pennsylvania’s North Branch Canal. Shipments of coal were carried from Pennsylvania on the canal to the turning basin in Chemung where it was transferred to cars on the Erie Railroad. The railroad line with a station in Chemung was completed in 1849. Trains eventually made the canal obsolete and it was abandoned in 1872. Today, the Norfolk Southern Railroad still runs through Chemung.

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Chemung

Junction Canal stock certificate The construction of the Junction Canal began in 1853. It was 18 miles long and had 11 locks. On a single day in 1869, 90 boats passed through Lock 6 in Chemung.
Railroad Spike The Erie Railroad was established on the north side of the river in the Town of Chemung in 1850. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad came through the area on the south side of river in the 1880s. Today, the Norfolk Southern Railroad runs through the town.
Erie Railroad switch tower, 1908 Trains became the preferred method of transporting goods because they were fast, had a large capacity, and could operate year-round. In the photograph above, trolley tracks can be seen to the left of the railroad bridge. Photograph courtesy of Mike Tuccinardi
Stereoscope view of the first suspension bridge over the river in Chemung, 1875-1912. From the collection of Mary Ellen P. Kunst, Chemung town historian
Chemung trolley, 1907 In 1907, the W.S.A. Traction Co. ran a trolley line from Waverly to Wellsburg through Chemung. E.C. & W. (Elmira, Corning & Waverly) took over the line in 1909 and operated it until its last run on March 31, 1930. Photograph courtesy of Mike Tuccinardi

Chemung as a Crossroads

Junction Canal stock certificate

The construction of the Junction Canal began in 1853. It was 18 miles long and had 11 locks. On a single day in 1869, 90 boats passed through Lock 6 in Chemung.

Railroad Spike

The Erie Railroad was established on the north side of the river in the Town of Chemung in 1850. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad came through the area on the south side of river in the 1880s. Today, the Norfolk Southern Railroad runs through the town.

Erie Railroad switch tower, 1908

Trains became the preferred method of transporting goods because they were fast, had a large capacity, and could operate year-round. In the photograph above, trolley tracks can be seen to the left of the railroad bridge. Photograph courtesy of Mike Tuccinardi

Stereoscope view of the first suspension bridge over the river in Chemung, 1875-1912. From the collection of Mary Ellen P. Kunst, Chemung town historian

Chemung trolley, 1907

In 1907, the W.S.A. Traction Co. ran a trolley line from Waverly to Wellsburg through Chemung. E.C. & W. (Elmira, Corning & Waverly) took over the line in 1909 and operated it until its last run on March 31, 1930. Photograph courtesy of Mike Tuccinardi