You can tell just from the number of large, stone churches that Elmira used to be a thriving town in south central New York. It seems to be most known as the hometown of Mark Twain's wife, his summer retreat, and his final resting place. A few other famous folk came from Elmira as well—Hal Roach, Brian Williams, and Eileen Collins. What we liked was the great architecture we saw in the churches and civic buildings downtown. With its parks and location on the Chemung River, Elmira seems like a neat town.