Binghamton

History

The first known people of European descent to come to the area were the troops of the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, who destroyed local villages of the Onondaga and Oneida tribes. Joshua Whitney Jr., Bingham's land agent, chose land at the junction of the Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers to develop a settlement, then named Chenango Point. After being officially conveyed the land by Bingham on July 4, 1800, Whitney arranged for the construction of the settlement's first two streets, Court Street and Water Street, and the first residence was built later that year. Whitney continued to expand Chenango Point and sell plots to new settlers, and helped erect the first bridge in 1808. This growth accelerated with the completion of the Erie Railroad between Binghamton and Jersey City, NJ in 1849. With the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad arriving soon afterward, the village became an important regional transportation center. Several buildings of importance were built at this time, including the New York State Inebriate Asylum, opened in 1858 as the first center in the United States to treat alcoholism as a disease. Binghamton incorporated as a city in 1867 and, due to the presence of several stately homes, was nicknamed the Parlor City. An even larger influx of Europeans immigrated to Binghamton, and the working class prosperity resulted in the area being called the Valley of Opportunity. Major floods in 1935 and 1936 resulted in a number of deaths and washed out the Ferry Street Bridge (now the Clinton Street Bridge). The floods led the city to build flood walls along the length of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers. During the Second World War, growth continued as IBM, which was founded in greater Binghamton, emerged as a…

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and (5.83%) is water. The Downtown area sits at the confluence of the Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers, in the middle of a long but relatively narrow valley. Eleven bridges span the rivers inside city limits. Broome County has 17.5 miles of levees, many of which are in Binghamton. Major floods have occurred in 1865, 1935, 1936, 2006, and 2011. The incorporation of Binghamton united various communities on both shores of the two rivers. The majority of the city's population and development lies along the rolling terrain nearest the riverbanks with sparse development in the hills that define the city limits. The old city was laid out on a grid system by Joshua Whitney Jr., Over 1,000 properties on the West Side contribute to the Abel Bennett Tract Historic District, mainly made up of residential properties along Riverside Drive. Downtown's State Street-Henry Street Historic District consists of several older low-rise buildings. The Court Street Historic District has some of the city's most notable architecture, including the Press Building and Security Mutual Building, early 20th century high rises, and the Broome County Courthouse. The Press Building was the tallest building in Binghamton until the completion of the State Office Building in Government Plaza, which remains the tallest in the city. Away from downtown, most of the buildings are single- and multi-family dwellings, along with low-rise business buildings lining commercial arteries. Along the railroad corridors, several factories, mostly abandoned, rise above the otherwise-uniform landscape. Main Street runs through the West Side, and continues west to serve as Main Street in the villages of Johnson City and Endicott. On the…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  15,301
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,099
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,884
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  13,722
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  12,294
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,725
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  10,304
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,234

Largest nearby schools

• BINGHAMTON HIGH SCHOOL
  High · BINGHAMTON · 1,341 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• BROOME-DELAWARE-TIOGA BOCES
  Other · BINGHAMTON · 1,028 students · 5.2:1 ratio
• VESTAL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · VESTAL · 1,000 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• UNION-ENDICOTT HIGH SCHOOL
  High · ENDICOTT · 999 students · 11:1 ratio
• JENNIE F SNAPP MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · ENDICOTT · 822 students · 10.3:1 ratio
• VESTAL MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · VESTAL · 781 students · 11:1 ratio
• HOMER BRINK SCHOOL
  Elementary · ENDWELL · 731 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• JOHNSON CITY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · JOHNSON CITY · 729 students · 13.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2025-06-10
  10 km NW of Forksville, Pennsylvania