Broome County, New York
Broome County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 200,536. It was named in honor of John Broome, who was lieutenant governor in 1806 when Broome County was established. Its county seat is Binghamton, which is also its major city. The current county executive is Barbara J. Fiala. It is one of only four counties in New York state to currently have a woman county executive. Broome County is also home to Binghamton University, one of four university centers in the SUNY system.Broome County is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
When counties were established in the Province of New York in 1683, the present Broome County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York.In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in honor of the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor.In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Ontario County. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties.In 1791, Tioga County split off from Montgomery County, along with Herkimer and Otsego Counties. Tioga County was at this time much larger than the present county and included the present Broome and Chemung Counties and parts of Chenango and Schuyler Counties.In 1798, Tioga County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Chemung County (which also included part of the present Schuyler County and by the combination of a portion with a portion of Herkimer County to create Chenango County.In 1806, the present-day Broome County was split off from Tioga County.
Geography
Broome County is located in south-central New York State, directly north of the border with Pennsylvania in a section of the state called the Southern Tier. The Chenango River joins the Susquehanna River, which flows through the county.The western half of the county is hilly but has wide valleys that accommodate Binghamton and its suburbs. In the northern portion Interstate 81 takes advantage of another glacial valley. To the east, however, the terrain becomes much more rugged as the land tilts up to the Catskills.The highest elevation is a U.S. National Geodetic Survey benchmark known as Slawson atop an unnamed hill in the Town of Sanford. It is approximately 2,080 feet (634 m) above sea level. An area due east on the Delaware County line in Oquaga Creek State Park also lies within the same elevation contour line. The lowest point is 864 feet (263 m) above sea level, along the Susquehanna at the Pennsylvania state line.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 715 square miles (1,851.8 km2), of which 707 square miles (1,831.1 km2) is land and 9 square miles (23.3 km2) (1.21%) is water.
Adjacent Counties
Chenango County, New York- north
Delaware County, New York- east
Wayne County, Pennsylvania- southeast
Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania- south
Tioga County, New York- west
Cortland County, New York- northwest
Major Highways
Interstate 81
Interstate 88(Senator Warren M. Anderson Expressway / Susquehanna Expressway)
U.S. Route 11
New York State Route 17(Southern Tier Expressway)
New York State Route 17C
New York State Route 12
New York State Route 26
New York State Route 41
New York State Route 79
New York State Route 434
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 200,536 people, 80,749 households, and 50,225 families residing in the county. The population density was 284 people per square mile (110/km²). There were 88,817 housing units at an average density of 126 per square mile (49/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.33% White, 3.28% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 2.79% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. 1.99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.1% were of Irish, 13.3% Italian, 12.3% German, 11.6% English, 6.4% American and 5.7% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000 . 91.4% spoke English, 2.0% Spanish and 1.1% Italian as their first language.There were 80,749 households out of which 28.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.60% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.80% were non-families. 31.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.97.In the county the population was spread out with 23.00% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males.The median income for a household in the county was $35,347, and the median income for a family was $45,422. Males had a median income of $34,426 versus $24,542 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,168. About 8.80% of families and 12.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 7.20% of those age 65 or over.
Government and politics
Broome County's offices are housed in the Edwin L. Crawford County Office Building of Government Plaza located at 60 Hawley Street in Downtown Binghamton.
Legislature
The Broome County Legislature consists of 19 members. All nineteen members of the legislature are elected from individual districts.
Cities, towns, and villages
Barker(town)
Binghamton(city)
Binghamton(town)
Chenango(town)
Colesville(town)
Conklin(town)
Deposit(village)
Dickinson(town)
Endicott(village)
Endwell(hamlet)
Fenton(town)
Johnson City(village)
Kirkwood(town)
Lisle(village)
Lisle(town)
Maine(town)
Nanticoke(town)
Port Dickinson(village)
Sanford(town)
Triangle(town)
Union(town)
Vestal(town)
West Corners{hamlet)
Westover{hamlet}
Whitney Point(village)
Windsor(village)
Windsor(town)
Education
The three primary institutes of higher education in Broome County include:Binghamton UniversityWith a student population of 14.000, it is responsible for a large portion of the population in and around Broome's largest city,Binghamton, NY.
Broome Community College, also known as BCC. The school serves as a two year associate-granting institution for local residents.
Davis College, a small, private,Christiancollege inJohnson City, NY.
Notable natives, residents, and past residents
John Allen, noted dentist and inventor of new denture method
Percival Borde, modern dancer, choreographer[citation needed]
Norman F. Cantor, world historian, author, editor, lecturer
Jean Casadesus, classical pianist[citation needed]
Cynthia Clarey, opera soprano,Deutsche Opera Berlin[citation needed]
Richard Deacon, actor, 'Dick Van Dyke Show', 'Leave it to Beaver', 'Hello, Dolly!'[citation needed]
Daniel S. Dickinson, mid-19th century U.S. Senator, historic 'Defender of the Constitution' prior to Civil War
Mike Dunham, former NHL goaltender and now currentNew York Islandersgoalie coach
Henry B. Vestal, industrialist, co-founder ofVestal-Johnson Co.
Exterminator, 'Old Bones', thoroughbred race horse, Kentucky Derby winner 1918, horse of the year 1922, #27 inTop 100 U.S. race horses of the 20th century, in ancestral line ofSecretariatandSeattle Slew
Jake Gardner, opera tenor,Cologne Opera,Vienna State Opera[citation needed]
John Gardner, modern American novelist, essayist, critic, lecturer,October Light,Sunlight Dialogues,Grendel[citation needed]
The Guarnieri Quartet, classical string ensemble[citation needed]
Robert Harpur, colonial teacher, politician, pioneer, for whomHarpur Collegewas named
Johnny Hart, cartoonist, creator ofB.C.and co-creator ofThe Wizard of Id
George F. Johnson, industrialist, philanthropist, co-founder ofEndicott-Johnson Co.
Bill T. Jones, modern dancer, dance company founder, choreographer, Tony Award winner: 'Spring Awakening'
Jack Keely, illustrator, cartoonist, author, 'Grossology'
Alfred Joyce Kilmer, poet: 'Trees and Other Poems'[citation needed]
Willis Sharpe Kilmer, early 20th-century industrialist and entrepreneurHistory of the City of Binghamton,Life & Times Part 1,Life & Times Part 2,
Richard Leach, opera tenor,Metropolitan Opera,La Scala[citation needed]
Edwin A. Link, inventor, visionary, entrepreneur, industrialist,Link Aviation,Harbor Branch Foundation
David Ross Locke,journalistand early political commentator during theAmerican Civil War
Ron Luciano,American Leaguebaseball umpire, author
Billy Martin,New York Yankeessecond baseman and manager
Leonard Melfi, poet, screenwriter, author, playwright:Oh! Calcutta![citation needed]
Loften Mitchell, playwright: Broadway hitBubbling Brown Sugar, 1999Paul Robeson Awardwinner[citation needed]
Pat Monforte,Tony Monforte,Vic Fontaine, jazz musicians[citation needed]
Hidy Ochiai, karate and judo grand master, author, actor
Elmar Oliveira, classical violinist, only American violinist winner Moscow'sTchaikovsky International Competition[citation needed]
Camille Paglia, philosopher, author, editor, lecturer, intellectual provocateur
Anthony J. Milasi and Roger D. Brooks, famous identical twins separated at birth, then reunited after 25 years.
Paul Reiser, actor, comedian,Aliens,Mad About You
Amy Sedaris, actress, author, playwright
David Sedaris, comedian, essayist, playwright
Rod Serling,screenwriter, playwright, most famous for hisscience fictionanthologytelevision seriesThe Twilight Zone
Jack Sharkey, born Joseph Paul Cukoschay, world heavyweight boxing champion, 1931-33
Richard Stack, founderDick's Sporting Goods, world's largest sporting goods chain[citation needed]
Thomas J. Watson, industrialist, founder,IBMCorp.
Scott Coolbaugh, professional baseball player:Texas Rangers,San Diego Padres
Mike Coolbaugh, professional baseball player:Milwaukee Brewers,St. Louis Cardinals, Minor League baseball coach