top of page
Chemung History
Elmira, New York
Diane Janowski
Nov 53 min read
Elmira Compact – Or, Speaking of Voter Fraud
By Diane Janowski © copyright - all rights reserved I may be the only person who knows what the “Elmira Compact” was, although there...
25 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jul 103 min read
The Mountain House and Frenchman’s Cross
by Diane Janowski, Elmira City Historian The Mountain House, located about three miles west of Elmira, was a famous roadhouse in the...
26 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 204 min read
Bears and Monkeys in Elmira
By Diane Janowski, Elmira City Historian A bear pit was completed at Eldridge Park the last week of June 1891. Two caverns and a pen were...
5 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 204 min read
Made in Elmira and Chemung County
by Diane Janowski Over the years, many fine products have been made locally. If you grew up here, you learned about our fire hydrants,...
20 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 203 min read
Mark Twain Walking Around
By Diane Janowski, Elmira City Historian Historians sometimes lie awake at night, thinking about things. I spent several nights this week...
7 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 183 min read
Louis Leon, Captive at the Elmira Prison Camp
By Diane Janowski, Elmira City Historian Louis Leon was born in Darmstadt, Germany, on November 27, 1841. Louis and his German-born...
11 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 183 min read
Things you don’t know about Iszard’s
By Diane Janowski, Elmira City Historian Those of us past a certain age remember our beloved Iszards on North Main Street. We recollect...
20 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 182 min read
Matthias Hollenback - Elmira’s First Merchant
by Diane Janowski Matthias Hollenback was born on February 15, 1752, in either Virginia or Jonestown, Pennsylvania, depending on the...
6 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 183 min read
South Main Street’s Miller Block and Townhouse
By Diane Janowski, Elmira City Historian In my capacity as Historian of the City of Elmira, New York, one of my greatest pleasures is...
12 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 183 min read
Matron Bruner of City Hall
By Diane Janowski, Elmira City Historian I do a lot of research using old Star-Gazette newspapers. One of the names I often see is Police...
2 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 183 min read
A Story of Tuttle Avenue
by Diane Janowski, Elmira City Historian Parts of New York Route 17 (today’s Interstate 86) were designated in 1924. It was constructed...
5 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 84 min read
A Terrible Day
By Diane Janowski On July 27, 1891, forty-year-old Reverend Wellington White and family were on sabbatical from their lives as Christian...
23 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 83 min read
Gleason’s Water Cure
by ©Diane Janowski, Elmira City Historian, all rights reserved Modern hydropathy – a system of treating illnesses using water was...
34 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 83 min read
Frank Buchanan Converse, Banjo Player
By ©Diane Janowski Last year, someone asked if I knew anything about an Elmiran named Frank Converse. Instantly, I thought of sneakers....
5 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 83 min read
A Different Big Flood Visits Elmira
By By©Diane Janowski, all rights reserved From the Elmira Gazette, Saturday & Sunday, March 1 & 2, 1902 “Elmira is shut off from the rest...
9 views0 comments
Diane Janowski
Jun 84 min read
We had a Millionaire in my Neighborhood
By©Diane Janowski, all rights reserved You know that I love mystery photos. I recently acquired this one marked “J.H. Clark” with a...
18 views0 comments
bottom of page