Glens Falls | |
|---|---|
 Centennial Circle, a five-leg roundabout in downtown Glens Falls, June 2009 | |
| Nicknames: Hometown U.S.A., Empire City | |
 Location of Glens Falls in Warren County | |
  Glens Falls Location in New York (state) Show map of New York Glens Falls Location within the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:43°18′44″N73°38′54″W / 43.31222°N 73.64833°W /43.31222; -73.64833 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Warren |
| Incorporated | 1839 (village) 1908 (city) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-Council |
| • Mayor | S. William Collins (D)[1] |
| Area | |
• City | 3.99 sq mi (10.33 km2) |
| • Land | 3.85 sq mi (9.97 km2) |
| • Water | 0.14 sq mi (0.36 km2) 2.54% |
| • Urban | 35.35 sq mi (91.55 km2) |
| Elevation | 344 ft (105 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• City | 14,830 |
| • Density | 3,851.1/sq mi (1,486.92/km2) |
| • Metro | 128,774 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes | 12801 |
| Area codes | 518, 838 |
| FIPS code | 36-29333 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0951223 |
| Website | cityofglensfalls |
Glens Falls is acity inWarren County, New York, United States and is the central city of theGlens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.[3] The population was 14,830 at the2020 census.[4] The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls referring to a large waterfall in theHudson River at the southern end of the city.[5]
Glens Falls is a city in the southeastern corner of Warren County, surrounded by thetown ofQueensbury to the north, east, and west, and by the Hudson River andSaratoga County to the south. Glens Falls is known as "Hometown U.S.A.", a titleLook magazine gave it in 1944. The city has also referred to itself as the "Empire City."[6]
The area is originally called Chepontuc ("difficult place to get around") in the Iroquoian languages of the area's Indigenous inhabitants. It also referred to as the "Great Carrying Place." Later, European-American settlers named the area "The Corners" in English.[6]
As a halfway point betweenFort Edward andFort William Henry, the falls was the site of several battles during theFrench and Indian War and theRevolutionary War. The then-hamlet was mostly destroyed by fire twice during the latter conflict, forcing theQuakers to abandon the settlement until the war ended in 1783. Fire also ravaged the village in 1864, 1884, and 1902.[6]
In 1766, it was renamed Wing's Falls for Abraham Wing – the leader of the group of Quakers who established the permanent settlement – and for the falls on the Hudson River. Wing's claim to the name of the falls and the hamlet was transferred to Colonel Johannes Glen of Schenectady in 1788, either on collection of a debt, as a result of a game of cards, or in exchange for hosting a party for mutual friends, depending on which local legend is believed.[5][6][7] Colonel Glen changed the name to "Glen's Falls," though it was often printed with varying spelling such as "Glenn's," "Glenville",[8] or "Glens". The spelling "Glens Falls" came to be the common usage.[5]
A post office was established in 1808.[6] Glens Falls became an incorporated village in 1839,[6] and was re-incorporated in 1874 and 1887,[citation needed] expanding the village to what would become the city limits[9] when the state legislature granted the city charter in 1908,[9] at which time the city became independent from the town of Queensbury.
In 2003, with permission from Queensbury,[10] Glens Falls annexed approximately 49 acres (0.20 km2) of the town. The land, known as Veterans Field[11] or the Northway Industrial Park, is on Veterans Road between Luzerne Road and Sherman Avenue[10] and is just east of I-87.[12] The land was vacant at the time.[10] A thin, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) strip of Sherman Avenue[13] was part of this annexation,[11] to comply with state law on contiguity of annexed land. As a result, the city and town share this stretch of highway.[13]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 3.9 square miles (10 km2), of which 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (2.54%) is water.
The city is on theHudson River, in the Adirondack foothills, at the border ofSaratoga County.
| Climate data for Glens Falls, New York (Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport), 1991–2020 normals,[a] extremes 1893–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 66 (19) | 70 (21) | 86 (30) | 92 (33) | 98 (37) | 98 (37) | 101 (38) | 101 (38) | 97 (36) | 87 (31) | 78 (26) | 69 (21) | 101 (38) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 51.3 (10.7) | 50.9 (10.5) | 63.9 (17.7) | 78.1 (25.6) | 87.0 (30.6) | 90.4 (32.4) | 91.1 (32.8) | 89.3 (31.8) | 85.6 (29.8) | 76.0 (24.4) | 65.7 (18.7) | 53.6 (12.0) | 92.9 (33.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 29.7 (−1.3) | 33.1 (0.6) | 42.5 (5.8) | 56.6 (13.7) | 69.0 (20.6) | 77.1 (25.1) | 81.5 (27.5) | 79.6 (26.4) | 71.9 (22.2) | 59.2 (15.1) | 46.7 (8.2) | 35.3 (1.8) | 56.9 (13.8) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 19.7 (−6.8) | 21.9 (−5.6) | 31.7 (−0.2) | 44.6 (7.0) | 56.5 (13.6) | 65.0 (18.3) | 69.7 (20.9) | 67.8 (19.9) | 59.7 (15.4) | 48.0 (8.9) | 37.2 (2.9) | 26.6 (−3.0) | 45.7 (7.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 9.7 (−12.4) | 10.6 (−11.9) | 20.9 (−6.2) | 32.7 (0.4) | 43.9 (6.6) | 52.9 (11.6) | 57.8 (14.3) | 55.9 (13.3) | 47.5 (8.6) | 36.8 (2.7) | 27.6 (−2.4) | 18.0 (−7.8) | 34.5 (1.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −15.8 (−26.6) | −13.1 (−25.1) | −0.1 (−17.8) | 19.3 (−7.1) | 29.9 (−1.2) | 39.4 (4.1) | 47.5 (8.6) | 44.2 (6.8) | 32.6 (0.3) | 22.8 (−5.1) | 11.8 (−11.2) | −3.6 (−19.8) | −19.6 (−28.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −36 (−38) | −32 (−36) | −24 (−31) | 3 (−16) | 20 (−7) | 32 (0) | 32 (0) | 31 (−1) | 24 (−4) | 15 (−9) | −7 (−22) | −34 (−37) | −36 (−38) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.56 (65) | 1.95 (50) | 2.79 (71) | 3.10 (79) | 3.35 (85) | 3.72 (94) | 4.26 (108) | 3.48 (88) | 3.30 (84) | 3.68 (93) | 3.01 (76) | 3.01 (76) | 38.21 (971) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 11.3 | 9.1 | 10.5 | 11.7 | 12.5 | 12.0 | 11.8 | 10.7 | 9.5 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 11.5 | 132.7 |
| Source: NOAA[14][15] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 2,717 | — | |
| 1860 | 3,780 | 39.1% | |
| 1870 | 4,500 | 19.0% | |
| 1880 | 4,900 | 8.9% | |
| 1890 | 9,509 | 94.1% | |
| 1900 | 12,613 | 32.6% | |
| 1910 | 15,243 | 20.9% | |
| 1920 | 16,638 | 9.2% | |
| 1930 | 18,531 | 11.4% | |
| 1940 | 18,836 | 1.6% | |
| 1950 | 19,610 | 4.1% | |
| 1960 | 18,580 | −5.3% | |
| 1970 | 17,222 | −7.3% | |
| 1980 | 15,897 | −7.7% | |
| 1990 | 15,023 | −5.5% | |
| 2000 | 14,354 | −4.5% | |
| 2010 | 14,700 | 2.4% | |
| 2020 | 14,830 | 0.9% | |
| sources:[16][17] | |||
As of the census of 2010, there were 14,707 people, 6,548 households, and 3,529 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,685.97 inhabitants per square mile (1,423.16/km2). There were 7,112 housing units at an average density of 1,782.46 per square mile (688.21/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 94.7%White, 1.8%African American, 0.3%Native American, 0.6%Asian, 0.4% fromother races, and 2.3% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino people of any race were 2.3% of the population.[4]
There were 6,548 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.91.[4]
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 20, 6.8% from 20 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 20 and over, there were 90.9 males.[4]
The median income for a household in the city was estimated for 2016 at $46,305, and the median income for a family at $60,545. Males had a median income of $41,993 versus $37,988 for females. About 12.6% of families and 16% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 8% of those age 65 or over.[4]
The Glens Falls region is a major producer of medical devices. Glens Falls is home toNavilyst Medical, a medical device maker, previously a regional office ofPfizer andBoston Scientific Corporation.[18][19] Glens Falls is also a principal provider of medical services for a vast 2,600-square-mile (6,700 km2) region from Saratoga County to the south, extending northward to the central Adirondacks. These services are centered around theGlens Falls Hospital, a 410-bed facility downtown.[20] Founded in the summer of 1897 by a group of twelve local physicians, the Glens Falls Hospital was meant to serve the entireUpper Hudson River Valley. Solomon A. Parks donated his home in Glens Falls for the original hospital. The present structure has been extensively modified, enlarged, and modernized several times to better serve the needs of the community, and it is the region's fast-response trauma center.[21] The hospital is now the area's biggest employer.[22] A VA outpatient facility serves veterans' medical needs.[23]
Danfloss Flomatic Corporation is headquartered on Pruyn's Island in Glens Falls. The company is a leading manufacturer of industrial and municipal valves. Also on Pruyn's Island is Umicore, a Belgium-based company manufacturing silver-based contact materials.[24]
Finch Paper LLC, headquartered at the base of Glen Street hill, is a major regional employer and a manufacturer of specialty paper and forest products. It is by far the largest taxpayer in the City of Glens Falls, owning property assessed at $60-million in 2006, according to city records. In mid-June 2007, Finch Pruyn & Company announced it had sold all of its assets, including 161,000 acres (652 km2) of forestland in the Adirondacks, toAtlas Holdings of Greenwich, Conn. The Company name was then changed to Finch Paper LLC. Atlas then sold all of the forestland to The Nature Conservancy.
The Glens Falls Cement company, established 1893,[25] is now a part of Lehigh Northeast, itself a division ofHeidelbergCement, one of the world's largest cement producers.
Glens Falls has an old and prevalent history in the region's finance sector. Arrow Financial Corporation, headquartered downtown, is a publicly traded multi-bank holding company forGlens Falls National Bank & Trust Company (1851) and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company. Evergreen Bank, N.A., formerly the First National Bank of Glens Falls, originated in 1853, and is now owned by banking conglomerateTD Banknorth. Advantage Capital Partners, a venture capital firm, has its New York offices downtown.[26]
The 300-seat Charles R. Wood Theater is home to the Adirondack Theater Festival, a professional non-profit summer theatre.[27]
The Wood Theater provides artistic and cultural presentations throughout the year. Opened in 2003, the theater is named forMr. Wood, a local entrepreneur and founder ofThe Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom.[citation needed]
The Glens Falls Community Theatre has produced theatrical productions in Glens Falls for nearly 75 years.[28]
The Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council promotes the arts, hosts an annual arts festival, and maintains a gallery.[29]
The Glens Falls Symphony began as a community orchestra at Adirondack Community College, nowSUNY Adirondack, in 1977, initially named the Adirondack Concert Orchestra and later becoming the Adirondack Philharmonia. In 1986, the Symphony became a fully professional orchestra, making Glens Falls one of the smallest cities in the United States with a fully professional orchestra. In 1990, the Board and musicians voted to join the nationalAmerican Federation of Musicians (AFM), the professional musicians’ union.[30][31]
Museums include:
Art in the Public Eye is a local non-profit arts organization.[32]
The Shirt Factory Arts and Healing Center is a historic shirt factory that now houses artists' studios, shops, galleries, healing arts and services. More than 50 artists and 13 shops and galleries are in this building.[33]
The Glens Falls September 11 Memorial is a tribute to the lives lost on that day, and the first responders. The memorial consists of 12 foot, solid granite towers resembling the trade center encompassed by granite walls to resemble the Pentagon. It also incorporates a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.[citation needed]
Glens Falls has two historic districts listed on theNational Register of Historic Places and the equivalent New York State Register of Historic places. The Fredella Avenue historic district includes a series of concrete block structures, and the Three Squares Historic District makes up most of the Central Business District.[34]
Historic sites:
Events include:
Glens Falls has a tradition of minor league hockey. The highly successfulAdirondack Red Wings, four-timeCalder Cup champions of theAmerican Hockey League, played in the city from 1979 to 1999. When the parentDetroit Red Wings disbanded the franchise, it was replaced by theAdirondack IceHawks of theUnited Hockey League, which was renamed "Frostbite" in 2004 before it folded in 2006. From 2009 to 2014, the city was the home to the AHL'sAdirondack Phantoms, the principal farm team of thePhiladelphia Flyers. On May 16, 2014, theCalgary Flames announced theAdirondack Flames would be their AHL affiliate. The Flames played one season before the AHL underwent a large realignment before the2015–16 season and the Calgary Flames moved their AHL team toStockton, California (renamed toStockton Heat) and moved theirECHL team to Glens Falls, called theAdirondack Thunder who are currently a minor league affiliate of theNew Jersey Devils.
Glens Falls' East Field is home to theGlens Falls Greenjackets of the Empire Football League. The Greenjackets started in 1928 and is the second oldest-active semi-pro football team in the country. The Greenjackets are 2008 & 2009 NAFL Empire Division Champions (10–0) and the 2009 NAFL North Atlantic Region Champions (14–0), and finished the season at 14–1 as the NAFL Eastern Conference Runners-up, 2009 NAFL Elite 8.[47]
The city is also home to the Glens Falls Dragons, a baseball team playing in thePerfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, acollegiate summer baseball league.[48] Since the team's inception in 2003[49] it has played atEast Field.[50]
City Park is located in the city's business district and contains the public library.
Crandall Park has a lowland pond, war monuments and recreation facilities bordering the city's Coles' Woods International Ski Trail system
Glens Falls Civic Center[51] opened in 1979 and hosts sports and entertainment events in downtown Glens Falls; it includes an arena for sporting events, concerts, family activities, dance, theater and trade shows as well as banquet facilities. TheAdirondack Thunder andAdirondack Junior Thunder play here. The facility was renamedCool Insuring Arena in 2017 andHarding Mazzotti Arena in 2025.[52][53] Past teams include theAdirondack Wildcats basketball team of theUSBL, and the one year (1994)roller hockey franchiseEmpire State Cobras, as well as the ice hockey teamsAdirondack Flames,Adirondack Frostbite,Adirondack Phantoms, and theAdirondack Red Wings.
East Field is home to the Glens Falls Dragons, of thePerfect Game Collegiate Baseball League; the Greenjackets semi-pro football team, the second oldest football team in America formed in 1928; and the Glens Falls High School Indians. It was home to theGlens Falls White Sox andGlens Falls Tigers of theEastern League, the Glens Falls Redbirds of theNew York–Penn League and theAdirondack Lumberjacks of the Northeast League/Northern League East.[citation needed]
Glens Falls, since incorporation as a city in 1908, has had a strong mayor charter. The city's Common Council has six members; one is elected to represent the city at large while the other five are elected from wards. The city is represented on the Warren County Board of Supervisors by five supervisors; one supervisor is elected from each Common Council ward. Such "city ward supervisors" do not have any duties in city government but have all the rights and privileges as any other member of the County Board.
Departments of the City include: Cemetery, Community, Fire, Police, Public Works, Purchasing, Recreation, Controller, Assessment, Civil Service, Clerk, Water & Sewer, and Buildings and Codes.[54]
The city falls within twoschool districts, both of which are independent of the city government.[60] The majority of the city falls within the Glens Falls City School District,[citation needed] which includes parts of the town of Queensbury.[61]
The Glens Falls City School District operatesGlens Falls High School, a middle school and four neighborhood elementary schools (Sanford Street School, Big Cross School, Jackson Heights School and Kensington Road Elementary School).[62] Sanford Street School was closed at the end of the 2010–2011 school year.[63]
The Glens Falls Common School District operates an independent public elementary school, Abraham Wing Elementary School, named for a founder of Glens Falls.[64]Saint Mary's–Saint Alphonsus Regional Catholic School serves children in pre-kindergarten through grade eight as a regionalparochial school.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2022) |
The Post-Star is a daily newspaper printed in Glens Falls with a daily circulation of approximately 27,000.[65] The paper covers Glens Falls and Saratoga as well as the surrounding towns and counties ofWarren,Saratoga andWashington. Established in 1895, it has been published since 1909.[66] Writer Mark Mahoney won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism (Editorial Writing) for his editorials on local government secrecy.[67][68]
The Chronicle is a free weekly newspaper with a summer distribution up to 37,000.[citation needed] It was founded in 1980.[69]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(April 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Glens Falls is part of the Albany/Schenectady/Troy television market. One low-powered station originates from Glens Falls, WNCE-CD (TV-31).
.jpg)
Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport is public-use airport northeast of the city.
Capital District Transportation Authority provides bus service for the city and surrounding communities.
Glens Falls has a radial street pattern originating from its colonial settlement.[citation needed]
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(November 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(April 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
–Saga, Japan
Municipalities and communities ofWarren County, New York,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Village | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other hamlets | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albany (capital) | |||||
| Topics | |||||
| Politics | |||||
| Regions |
| ||||
| Largestmetros | |||||
| Counties |
| ||||
| Places | |||||
| History | |||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
