Chemung County Historical Society

415 E. Water Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607) 734-4167
Geolocation:

Chemung County Historical Society

About

Founded in 1923, the Chemung County Historical Society is a non-profit educational institution dedicated to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the history of the Chemung Valley region. First chartered by New York State in 1947, today CCHS operates two cultural repositories, the Chemung Valley History Museum and the Booth Library. We are the largest general history museum in our region.

Open year round, CCHS tells the history of Chemung County through interactive exhibits, educational programming and lectures for visitors of all ages.

The Chemung County Historical Society is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and receives funding from the New York State Council on the Arts.

Chemung County Historical Society is a member of the South Central Regional Library Council.

Collections

Black Oral History Collection of Chemung County

This collection contains oral histories of members of Chemung County’s Black community, as well as whites involved in the Civil Rights movement.

COVID Memory Project of Chemung County

Oral histories of Chemung County residents describing their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic and related events.

Elmira City Directories

Directories for Elmira, New York and surrounding areas in Chemung County, including Elmira Heights.

Floods of Chemung County

This digital collection derived from the Chemung County Historical Society’s archive and the Chemung County Library District’s collection, includes photographs, documents, video, and/or sound recordings about the floods that impacted Chemung County.

High School Yearbooks from Chemung County

This collection consists of High School Yearbooks from the Central library's and Chemung County Historical Society yearbook collection. 

Overseas Relief Papers

This collection contains documents relating to the resettlement of displaced persons in the Twin Tiers following World War II.

Rose Spadaccino portrait

Records, photographs and documents of Rose Spadaccino Muccigrosso (1873-1950), an Italian immigrant and midwife serving Elmira's Italian community.

Thatcher Glass Manufacturing Company Collection

A leading business in Elmira, NY for more than 80 years, Thatcher Glass once produced 50 percent of the milk bottles in the United States, pioneering sealed glass bottles and automated bottle production. The collection includes archival material such as design drawings, correspondence and other company documents.

Helen Sunderlin, interviewee

Oral histories from Chemung County, covering topics like the 1972 flood, neighborhoods, Finnish immigrants, labor history, and others.