Town of Elmira

 

The Town of Newtown was created by an act of the New York State Legislature on April 10, 1792. The village of Newtown was located in the center of the town. In 1808, another act of the legislature forced the town to change its name to Elmira because, at that time, there were 33 Newtowns in New York.

 

The town border originally extended from Pennsylvania to Seneca Lake and included many areas that became separate towns and villages throughout the 19th century. Catherine separated in 1798 and Big Flats and Southport became their own towns in 1822. Montour and Dix became part of Schuyler County when it was formed in 1854. Horseheads separated in 1884. In the 1890s, much of the town was farms and undeveloped land but, by the 1920s, areas such as West Elmira had begun to grow as suburbs of the city.