Chemung Canal Bank Building
building in New York, United States
The Chemung Canal Bank Building is located at 415 East Water Street in Elmira, Chemung County, New York, United States. It is thought to be the oldest commercial building in Elmira. The Chemung Canal opened in 1832 and construction on the bank building began the same year. In 1833 the bank moved into the new building and the Chemung Canal Trust Company was chartered to deposit cash and supply capitol and credit. The building continued to house the bank for seventy-six years. For the following fifty-six years it was home to various local law offices. From 1976 forward, it has been owned by the Chemung County Historical Society. The building is significant for its period architecture and its place in the history of the area. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Uses
The Chemung Canal Bank Building was chartered in July 1833, and was open for business later that year, in October.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Chemung Canal Bank Building” as building in New York, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as building in New York, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5090675. Authority coordinates are 42.088, -76.800. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1832, 1833, 1976 and 1978.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Chemung Canal Bank Building”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Chemung Canal Bank Building primary sources, Chemung Canal Bank Building archive and Chemung research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Chemung Canal Bank Building”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Chemung Canal Bank Building” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.