STEUBEN was formed in 1796, and named for hero of the Revolution Baron Steuben. He never visited, but the name continually confuses researchers who mix it up with the Town of Steuben, near the Baron’s home in Herkimer County… not to mention those who mix it up with Steuben County, Indiana (where several place names are duplicated, just to muddy the waters even more).
*Steuben County is bigger than Rhode Island… in fact, it’s almost the size of Delaware. Its terrain varies considerably. Roughly south of the line of the Conhocton and Chemung Rivers, the highlands of the Appalachian Plateau rise. In the northwest corner, western New York’s rich muckland begins.
*The county’s so big that folks from its various components scarcely know the rest of the place. Corning, of course, is dominated by Corning Incorporated. Formerly an industrial town where the Glass Works pumped out soot, and trains ran down the main streets, Corning is now world headquarters for the company, and the center of research. Market Street, once crammed with saloons, is a lovely tourist marketplace. The Glass Museum is a major tourist attractor, and Corning Community College perches up on the peak of Spencer Hill.
*Hornell once boomed with railroad work – nowadays it hums, but the “Maple City” still earns much of its bread from the trains. Hornell has one of two Carnegie libraries in the five-county region. For decades Hornell was home to farm teams for Major League Baseball… alumni include Don Zimmer and Charlie Neal.
*Bath bustles as the county seat, and home for a V.A. Medical Center, which began life as a place to care for New York veterans of the Civil War. Arbor Development, the ARC, Pro-Action, Catholic Charities and other service agencies complement the work of the County and the V.A. Bath also has the county prison, and what used to be called “the infirmary.”
*Hammondsport, like Corning, is a tourism magnet (though many of the tourists bed down in Bath). The attractors here are Keuka Lake, the wineries, and Glenn Curtiss. Swimming and boating are big on the lake, and the scenery’s spectacular. Vine-covered hillsides and 19th-century stone vaults complement modern winery operations, and many of them welcome visitors.
*The Finger Lakes Trail wends through Steuben – so do the Bristol Hills Trail, and the Crystal Hills Trail. It’s New York’s top county for deer harvest, and in the top five for turkey.
*There are hospitals in or near Bath, Corning, and Hornell, and state parks in opposite corners. Robert Moses selected the “gorge-eous” site for Stony Brook State Park, and Governor Al Smith bought it.
*Addison, Prattsburgh, Hammondsport, and Bath have lovely green town squares (some have more than one). Savona, Bath, Hornell, and Corning have breathtaking historic churches. Parts of the central and southern portions of the county are horse-and-buggy country, with substantial populations of Amish and/or Old Order Mennonites.
*A staggering view overlooks Bath from Mossy Bank Park. On the flats below the lookout, eagles frequently nest… the corridors of the Conhocton and Canisteo Rivers have been growth regions for them, and also for osprey. Bobcat, beaver, fisher, and bear have recently returned to their historic ranges here.
*Besides the wildlife, Steuben has a little over a hundred thousand people. As far as I can tell, most of them like it here.