Elmira, New York (Images of America Series) Book

Phoebe Elmira Teall, an innkeeper's daughter, is the namesake for the town of Elmira, the village, and eventually the city when it incorporated in 1864. Elmira prospered during the Civil War, becoming a rendezvous and depot for New Yorkers going to war and home to a Confederate prison camp known as "Helmira." Today, the city is the site of Woodlawn National Cemetery. Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was married in Elmira and later buried here. Two New York State governors, Lucius D. Robinson and David B. Hill; Hal Roach, the creator of The Little Rascals; and Ernie Davis, the first African American Heisman Trophy winner, called Elmira home. Elmira's rich cultural and ethnic heritage, beautiful churches, and grand Victorian homes make the name "Queen City" seem appropriate. Elmira became the place to go for education at Elmira College, health care, shopping, or just to have fun at Eldridge Park.