Elmira, New York

 Elmira

Pictured above is the Mark Twain study, which is where the famous author Mark Twain wrote stories like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  

A road trip this week took me to a part of New York I had never visited.  I traveled to The City of Elmira (Chemung County) and visited the nearby Town and Village of Horseheads.  

I was pleasantly surprised at the size of Elmira, having only read about it online and in books.  The city boasts its Mark Twain heritage, and signs around the area are found nick naming it Mark Twain Country.  In fact, the author himself, whose real name was Samuel Clemens is buried in his family plot in Woodlawn Cemetery also located in Elmira.  

The city is made up of classic quaint houses that scream upstate New York.  Elmira College is located within the confines of the city and has a decent sized student population as well.  

On the corner of Roe and College Avenue was a great eatery known as Central Hots serving among other things the famous Garbage Plate.  Which while we know originated in Rochester, was still pretty enjoyable.  A very clean establishment with friendly service.  

I then ventured over to the nearby Town and village of Horseheads.  Named for the bleached horse skulls left behind after the revolutionary war that the native Americans then lined up calling the area the Valley of the Horseheads.  I was pleasantly surprised with how nice this town was, with very clean looking houses and a nice Main Street.  

Overall, I recommend Elmira and surrounding Chemung County for a visit.  It’s a scenic County with a lot of history behind it.  Definitely worth a visit for New York Fans.