Broome County, New York

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There is also a Town of Broome.
Broome County, New York
Map
Map of New York highlighting Broome County
Location in the state of New York
Map of the U.S. highlighting New York
New York's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded 1806
Seat Binghamton
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
715 sq mi (1,852 km²)
707 sq mi (1,831 km²)
9 sq mi (23 km²), 1.21%
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density
200,536
285/sq mi (110/km²)
Website: www.gobroomecounty.com

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.

Contents

[edit] History

When counties were established in New York State 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.

Tioga County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery County (the others being Herkimer and Otsego Counties) in 1791. Tioga County was at this time much larger than the present county, also including the present Broome and Chemung Counties and parts of Chenango and Schuyler Counties.

Tioga County was reduced in size in 1798 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.

Broome County was split off from Tioga County in 1806.

[edit] 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 (1,853 km²), of which, 707 square miles (1,831 km²) of it is land and 9 square miles (22 km²) of it (1.21%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent Counties

[edit] Major Highways