Area Attractions

Museums and Culture

Chemung County Historical Society
Chemung Valley History Museum
415 East Water Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Tel: (607) 734-4167
Fax: (607) 734-1565

Take a walk through time and discover treasures from the past. The Chemung Valley History Museum of the Chemung County Historical Society strives to present history in unique and dynamic ways. At the museum, the Chemung County Historical Society offers resources on the history of the Chemung Valley region through collections and exhibits focusing on the Southern Tier of New York State and neighboring Northern Pennsylvania.

The Chemung County Historical Society offers several special programs throughout the year including bicycle and bus tours, crafts for kids, lectures, and discussion panels. Their programs focus on exposing an element of local history through hands-on, first person, and personal experiences.

The Booth Library of the Chemung County Historical Society, located on the second floor of the Chemung Valley History Museum, serves as the center for genealogy and historical research in Chemung County with more than 50,000 resources. Research can be performed at The Booth Library during regular research hours or staff members can research a topic for a nominal fee.

The gift shop contains numerous books, publications, postcards, pictures, and other treasures that highlight the rich and diverse history of the Chemung Valley.

Opening in August of 2007, the Chemung Valley History Museum will feature a salute to World War II with At Home and At War: Chemung County in World War II. This exhibition recognizes Chemung County’s local heroes who did their part either on the home front or on the war front. 10,000 people from Chemung County served in the military during WWII. Of those, 296 died in service, over 600 were wounded, and 100 were prisoners of war. While many men and women were away fighting overseas, local industries converted to the production of war materials, and workers flooded into Chemung County. To show their support for the war, people who remained on the home front showed their patriotism by joining civil defense efforts, saving gum wrappers for scrap drives, and planting Victory Gardens. Visitors can view photographs, uniforms, artifacts, and hear music from the war era. Patrons can witness World War II veterans and Chemung County citizens on video and can try their hands at learning how to signal allied battleships with signal flags. The exhibit will be on display until August of 2008.

The Chemung Valley History Museum is located near the intersection of Water and Lake Streets in downtown Elmira.
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Arnot Art Museum
235 Lake Street
Elmira, New York 14901
Tel: (607) 734-3697
Fax: (607 734-5687

Art from five centuries awaits you at the Arnot Art Museum. From an ancient Egyptian vase to 21st century sculpture, the Museum houses a permanent collection and temporary exhibitions of both regional and international art. It's Re-presenting Representation exhibitions, held every other year, have been featured around the world on CNN. These exhibitions focus on contemporary realist art. The Museum's collection of contemporary art complements the 1910 bequest of Matthias H. Arnot of 17th to 19th century Europeans paintings and sculpture. The Matthias Arnot collection is still housed in its original 1890s gallery, one of the few of its kind left in the country.

The Museum's Regional Exhibition has been held annually for 70 years. It features artists from Maine to Delaware. The Scholastic Art Awards, held every February, highlights junior and senior high school work from eight surrounding counties. The Elmira Regional Art Society holds its Palette Awards exhibition at the Museum every December.

When you visit, you may see school children of all ages engaged in various programs: sixth graders acting out ancient Egyptian myths and making Egyptian artifacts; fourth graders writing in their journals about their experience of the art, history, and ecology of the Chemung River; or preschoolers exploring the world of art using their senses.

The Museum is housed in the 1833 neo-classical home of the Arnot family at the intersection of Lake and Gray Streets in downtown Elmira.
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The Center for Mark Twain Studies
One Park Place
Elmira, NY 14901
Tel: (607) 735-1941
Fax: (607)735-1756

Established in 1983, the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College awards internationally-renowned scholars Quarry Farm Fellowships, hosts spring and fall lecture series, and offers a graduate certificate in Mark Twain Studies. The Center also hosts a quadrennial Mark Twain Conference and publishes the Quarry Farm Paper series.

The Center for Mark Twain Studies includes the Mark Twain Study, an octagonal study in which Twain wrote works such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Roughing It, and more. The Study was moved to the Elmira College campus in June, 1952. The Study is staffed by trained student guides daily throughout the summer and early fall.

The Mark Twain Exhibit is another component of the Center for Mark Twain Studies. The Mark Twain Exhibit, located in Hamilton Hall, houses photographs, stereoscopic views, and memorabilia from the summers Mark Twain and his family spent in Elmira. The Exhibit also contains association furniture and clothing. Trained student guides are on hand to speak with visitors daily throughout the summer early fall about Elmira's unique place in Mark Twain's life.

The Center for Mark Twain Studies is located on the Elmira College campus on Park Place near the intersection of Washington Avenue.
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Chemung Valley Living History Center
PO Box 475
Wellsburg, NY 14894.
Tel: (607) 733-0950

The Chemung Valley Living History Center sponsors several annual events at Newtown Battlefield including a Civil War Weekend, Rendezvous!, A Revolutionary War Weekend, the Fall Foliage Festival, and the Native American Heritage Festival.

Newtown Battlefield and Sullivan's Monument are located just off Interstate 86 about 3 miles east of Elmira.
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Tanglewood Nature Center
443 Coleman Avenue
Elmira, NY 14903
Phone: 607-732-6060
Fax: 607-732-6210

The Tanglewood Nature Center and Museum aims to lead and support educational and other efforts in our region to achieve a heightened awareness, understanding, enjoyment and caring for our natural environment. Tanglewood includes two hiking trails, Gleason Meadows & Frenchman's Bluff Trail and Personius Woods Trail. These trails offer distinct habitats and a wide variety of wildlife. Tanglewood also includes a 125-seat auditorium to present environmental education that encompasses the world of nature and our role as a vital link in the web of life. Summer Ecology Workshops and other classes involve children in hands-on, adventure-based learning. Visit the displays of native reptiles and amphibians, including the endangered Eastern Timber Rattlesnake. Stroll through the Nuthatch Gift Shop for the best in nature gifts.
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National Soaring Museum
51 Soaring Hill Drive
Elmira, NY 14903
Tel: (607) 734-3128
Fax: (607) 732-6745

Located on Harris Hill, rising high above the Chemung River valley at Elmira, New York, the National Soaring Museum holds a commanding view of the valley below. Adjacent to the historic Harris Hill Soaring Corporation site, the Museum houses, protects and fosters the history and lore of soaring flight. It is a living record that resides here, a record of the intellect, tenacity and courage of aviation pioneers of the past, the present - and the future.

Of course, at the core of the NSM's holdings is its unparalleled sailplane and glider collection. Approximately 60 ships are either on display or awaiting their turn for restoration. Restoration work is agonizingly slow, sometimes taking years for a single ship's restoration. NSM's restoration crew is primarily highly skilled volunteers who love the challenge of returning an aging ship to near flight-ready status.

The National Soaring Museum's Gift Shop is a treasury of aviation-related and unusual gifts. From books and tee shirts to kites, jewelry and balsa gliders, there is something here for everyone. They carry books on the history of motorless flight. You will find titles such as "Wings Like Eagles" and "The Story of Soaring in the United States" by Paul A Schweizer. Children will find books on the dynamics of flight, scientific experiments and aviation adventures.

The Museum also sponsors educational programs such as the Eileen Collins Aviation Camp during the summer.

The Museum is located at Harris Hill Park, off County Route 55A in the Town of Big Flats.
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Wings of Eagles Museum
17 Aviation Drive
Horseheads, NY 14845
Tel: (607) 739-8200
Fax: (607) 739-8374

The Wings of Eagles Museum (formerly the National Warplane Museum) is an educational institution founded to collect, preserve, interpret and exhibit military aviation memorabilia and to fly military aircraft.

The Museum honors the men and women who made sacrifices in defense of their country and in the preservation of world freedom.

The Wings of Eagles Museum is located adjacent to the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport off exit 50 of Interstate 86.
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