Situated in what the local's like to call the Southern Tier of the state, Hornell, New York has a storied transportation history that started with the railroads in the Mid-1800’s, and continues today with Wilkins RV, a family owned and operated full-service RV dealer that was established in 1936.

Hornell became the focal point of our early railroad transportation system when a group of local investors from Jamestown received a charter in 1832 and the New York & Erie Railroad was born. Railroads were being built to join the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, and the stretch through the Southern Tier of New York was 483 miles, making it the longest railroad in the United States at the time.

The railroads brought prosperity and success to the Village of Hornellsville, that later became the City of Hornellsville in 1888 and the name was shortened to the City of Hornell in 1906. Hornell’s fortunes grew along with the railroad, until they hit upon hard times and the eventual bankruptcy of the Erie Railroad in 1972.

Today, the city has less than 10,000 residents and one very large RV dealer. Founded in 1936 as a used car dealership by Charles Wilkins, the company moved into RVs in the early 60’s. The first products introduced to the local community were Fan, Frolic and Shasta travel trailers.

In 1965, Charles’ son Ronald purchased the business and oversaw Wilkins growth into a full-line RV dealer. Ron was a Coachmen dealer in the 70’s and 80’s and had sold the original Mallard line until their demise.

Today, the dealership is into their third generation of the Wilkins family. Ron is still active in the company but has turned over the day-to-day operations to his son Brian, the General Manager of the complex located just outside the center of the city on Route 21.

Brian said, "Although we are from a smaller community, we are within two hours of most of the major cities in Western, Central and Southern New York and just over the line from Pennsylvania. We have built up a loyal following of customers who are very willing to travel the extra miles to do business with our family-owned company. Fifty-percent of our business is from repeat customers. That says a lot about our company"