Corning (city), New York

Corning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,842 at the 2000 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany, New York financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company that developed the community.

The City of Corning is at the western edge of the Town of Corning, from which it was set apart as a village in the 1830s. It was incorporated as a city in 1890.

The city is the headquarters of Corning Inc., formerly Corning Glass Works, a manufacturer of glass and ceramic products for industrial, scientific and technical uses.

It is also home to the Corning Museum of Glass, which houses one of the world's most comprehensive collections of glass objects from antiquity to the present. The museum houses The Rakow Library, one of the world's major glass research centers.

The city's other major cultural attraction is the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. It contains an important collection of Western American painting and sculpture assembled over the past 40 years by Robert F. and Hertha Rockwell.

The city has been cited several times by American Style magazine as one of the top arts destinations in the U.S. -- most recently in June 2005.

Since 1979, Corning Country Club has annually hosted The Corning Classic, a stop on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour. The city has commercial air service available at Elmira-Corning Regional Airport in the nearby city of Elmira.

Geography

Corning is located at (42.148142, -77.05697).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.5 km² (3.3 mi²). 8.1 km² (3.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (5.18%) is water. Just upstream from Corning, the Cohocton River and the Tioga River merge to form the Chemung River which flows through downtown. The river was an important source of power in the early history, and is part of the attractiveness of the region today. The river is prone to floods, as rain water runs off quickly from the steep hillsides of the area, the worst recent flood being in 1972, as the remnants of Hurricane Agnes dropped fifteen or more inches of rain in the area within a short time. The entire downtown area was flooded, with severe damage. Downtown has been refurbished and has become somewhat gentrified.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,842 people, 4,996 households, and 2,667 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,346.0/km² (3,489.5/mi²). There were 5,509 housing units at an average density of 683.9/km² (1,773.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.94% White, 2.84% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 1.49% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.79% of the population.

There were 4,996 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,780, and the median income for a family was $46,674. Males had a median income of $39,805 versus $27,489 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,056. About 9.1% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Most local officials are Republicans. The Corning area typically votes Republican, though some outsiders have deemed its constituents "moderate" Republicans. Amo Houghton, the area's long-serving U.S. Congressman, was a moderate Republican, and his successor, John R. "Randy" Kuhl, has tried to follow in his moderate footsteps.

Government

Since 1995, the City of Corning operates under the Council-Manager form of government with the City Manager serving as the Chief Executive Officer. The first City Manager was Suzanne Kennedy who served until July 1997. In July 1997, Mark L. Ryckman was appointed as the City's second City Manager. The current Mayor is Democrat Frank Coccho.

Joseph Nasser served for many years as Corning's mayor, and the Nasser Civic Center, headquarters of city government, bears his name.

Education

Corning has eight public elementary schools, two public middle schools, two public high schools and Corning Community College (CCC). Middle schools include Corning Free Academy (CFA) and Northside Blodgett. Elementary schools include Kent Philips, Hugh Greg, Winfield Street, William Severn, Calvin U. Smith, Lindley-Presho, Erwin Valley, and Frederick Carder school. There are also some private schools, the most popular being All-Saints, the k-8 Christian school. High schools include East High School and West High School.

Recently, the Corning Area School District has implemented the 'International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program' (grades 6-10) and the 'International Baccalaureate Diploma Program' (grades 11-12). The Corning Middle and High Schools were authorized as "IB World Schools" in February 2005.

Famous residents

T. G. Hawkes
Frederick C. Carder
Robert F. Rockwell, Jr.
Arthur A. Houghton, Sr.
Alanson B. Houghton
Amory Houghton
Amory "Amo" Houghton Jr.
James R. Houghton
Thomas S. Buechner

Sister cities

Corning has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities, Inc. (SCI):

External links

Steuben County, New York | Cities in New York

Corning (New York) | Corning

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