Hammondsport is a
villageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in
Steuben CountySteuben County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,990. Its name is in honor of Baron von Steuben, a German general who fought on the American side in the American Revolutionary War, though it is not pronounced the same...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 731 at the 2000 census. The village is named after its founding father.
The
Village of Hammondsport is in the
Town of UrbanaUrbana is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 2,546 at the 2000 census.The Town of Urbana is in the northeast part of the county and northeast of Bath, New York.- History :The town was first settled around 1793....
and is northeast of
Bath, New YorkBath is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 5,641 at the 2000 census. Bath is the county seat of Steuben County. The community was named either for the English city or for Lady Bath, daughter of William Pulteney, one of the original landowners.The Village of...
.
History
Lazarus Hammond founded the village around 1827. The village was incorporated in 1856. The village later became a center for the New York
wineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
industry.
The American
motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
designer and manufacturer, and recognized expert on gasoline engines
Glenn Hammond CurtissGlenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
resided at Hammondsport, where he was born in 1878. Early development of
aircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
and
seaplaneA seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s was carried out at Hammondsport by Glenn Curtiss who had joined with
Alexander Graham BellAlexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
and others in the
Aerial Experiment AssociationThe Aerial Experiment Association was a Canadian aeronautical research group formed on 30 September 1907, under the tutelage of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell...
.
In 1921, five local men purchased a wood barrel factory just south of the present D.W. Putnam Wine Company, and named it the Aerial Service Corporation. Two of these men, Henry Kleckler, the President and William Chadeayne, Vice President, were formerly with the Curtiss Aeroplane Company, founded by
Glenn Hammond CurtissGlenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
. Today this company is known as the Mercury Corporation.
Hammondsport was the birthplace of American film critic and writer
Charles Champlin, in 1926.
Geography
Hammondsport is located at 42°24′32"N 77°13′22"W (42.408873, -77.222779).
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the village has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1 km²), of which, 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (5.41%) is water.
Hammondsport is at the south end of
Keuka LakeKeuka Lake is an unusual member of New York's Finger Lakes because it is Y-shaped, instead of long and narrow. Because of its shape, it was referred to in the past as Crooked Lake...
, one of the
Finger LakesThe Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
. The village is north of the junction of
New York State Route 54New York State Route 54 is a state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with the Southern Tier Expressway in the village of Bath in Steuben County...
and
New York State Route 54ANew York State Route 54A is a state highway in the western part of New York, United States. It runs in a northeast to southwest direction through part of the Finger Lakes district of New York. The southern terminus of NY 54A is at NY 54 south of Hammondsport. The northern terminus...
. NY-54A passes through the village after linking with County Road 76.
Keuka Inlet and Glen Brook flow past the village.
Demographics
As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 731 people, 332 households, and 200 families residing in the village. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,088.5 people per square mile (806.4/km²). There were 388 housing units at an average density of 1,108.5 per square mile (428.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.58% White, 1.37% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.41% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.27% of the population.
There were 332 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the village the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 83.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $38,182, and the median income for a family was $50,125. Males had a median income of $32,143 versus $28,906 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the village was $18,308. About 4.6% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.
Additional Hammondsport Information
The
Pleasant Valley Wine CompanyPleasant Valley Wine Company, also known as Great Western Winery, is a historic winery complex located in the Hamlet of Rheims in the Town of Urbana in Steuben County, New York. The complex consists of nine historic buildings constructed of fieldstone...
, founded in 1860 and a mile southwest, was designated U.S. Bonded Winery No.1 and has eight remarkable stone buildings listed on the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. This winery along with many others make up Hammondsport's current wineries.
The Great Western Winery and Visitor Center, the most comprehensive center of its kind in the world, is part of the same facilities. Displayed there are historical artifacts covering over 140 years of
Finger LakesThe Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
winemaking and grape growing expertise; a working model of the
Bath and Hammondsport RailroadB&H Rail Corporation , formerly the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad, is a Class III shortline railroad. Initially the line served the communities of Bath, New York and Hammondsport, New York. In Bath, the railroad connected with the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad...
, "The Champagne Trail"; and the cooper's shop, featuring authentic wine casks and barrels, cooper tools and equipment.
Hammondsport is also home to numerous other wineries, such as
Bully Hill VineyardsBully Hill Vineyards is a vineyard and winery located in Hammondsport, New York, United States, in the Finger Lakes American Viticultural Area.-History:...
, Dr. Konstantin Frank, Heron Hill Winery, and Chateau Renaissance Wine Cellars. Bully Hill Vineyards includes the Greyton H. Taylor Wine Museum.
The village is referred to as "The Cradle of Aviation" and is home to The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, dedicated to the memory of the pioneer aviator and housing such exhibits as a full-scale replica of the first naval aircraft and many original planes and developed by Curtiss.
The modern-day Mercury Corporation is a privately held company having 1500000 sq ft (139,354.6 m²). of manufacturing facilities in New York, subsidiaries in Florida, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Mexico, Alliance partnerships in Europe and Asia and is one of the leading corporations involved in contract manufacturing, sheet metal fabrication and assembly, and plastic injection molding.
The village was served by the Bath & Hammondsport Railroad for many years. Although the tracks are still in place, railroad service has been discontinued.
Hammondsport is along the route of the
Finger Lakes TrailThe Finger Lakes Trail System consists of a network of trails in New York. The trail system is administered by the , a non-profit, volunteer organization....
, a scenic trail winding across central and western New York.
Much of the 1995
mockumentaryA mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
"Dadetown" was filmed in and around Hammondsport.
In addition to Pleasant Valley Wine Company complex, other sites on the National Register of Historic Places are:
Germania Wine CellarsGermania Wine Cellars, or Olde Germania Wine Cellars, is a historic winery complex and national historic district located at Hammondsport in Steuben County, New York. The complex was built in nine sections between 1881 and 1902. The majority of the buildings are built of local stone, portions of...
, Gold Seal Winery,
Hammondsport Union Free SchoolHammondsport Union Free School, also known as Hammondsport Academy and Hammondsport High School, is a historic school building located at Hammondsport in Steuben County, New York. It is a three story stone structure in the Italianate style. The earliest section was built in 1858 as a private...
,
Mallory MillMallory Mill is a historic grist mill located at Hammondsport in Steuben County, New York. It was built about 1836 and is four story, gambrel roofed stone industrial building. In the 1880s, it was converted for use as a winery....
, and the
Pulteney Square Historic DistrictPulteney Square Historic District is a national historic district located at Hammondsport in Steuben County, New York. The district includes 15 contributing buildings, one contributing structure , one contributing site , and three contributing secondary buildings...
.
External links