Hornellsville Still Carries the Older Hornell Name Story

Hornellsville is the town name that keeps the older Hornell story visible. The town’s official history says the name comes from early settler George Hornell Jr., who built the early gristmill.

The same history says the town was settled around 1790 near modern Hornell, was created in 1820 from Canisteo, and later lost territory to Hartsville and part of Fremont. It also explains the civic split that can confuse newcomers.

The community became the Village of Hornellsville in 1852, the City of Hornellsville in 1888, and changed the city name to Hornell in 1906. Today the City of Hornell is surrounded by the Town of Hornellsville.

That makes Hornellsville a good Southern Tier example of old names and current borders not lining up in the simple way you might expect. Hornell, Arkport, and the town all share the story, but they do not mean the same thing on a map.

That helps when local directions sound layered. Someone may say Hornell, Hornellsville, or Arkport and be talking about related places with different governments, histories, and edges.