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New York Counties

There are 62 counties in the State of New York. The first twelve counties in New York were created immediately after the British annexation of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, although two of these counties have since been abolished. The most recent county formation in New York was in 1912, when Bronx County was created from the portions of New York City that had been annexed from Westchester County. New York's counties are named for a variety of Native American words, British provinces, cities, and royalty, early American statesmen and generals, and state politicians.

Broome County, New York

Broome County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Binghamton
Year Organized: 1806
Square Miles: 707

Court House:

P.O. Box 1766
Edwin L. Crawford County Office Building, 6th floor
Binghamton, NY 13902-1766

Etymology - Origin of County Name

in honor of Joseph Bronck, first settler of the region north of the Harlem River (a peace treaty with the Indians was signed at his home in 1642)

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Broome County, named after Lieut. Gov. Broome, was taken from Tioga in 1806. Length on the Pennsylvania line, 37 miles; breadth on the Tioga boundary 28, on the Delaware 13, and midway 17 miles. Centrally distant from New York, northwest 252, and from Albany, southwest, 145 miles. The surface of the country is broken and mountainous. Among its principal elevations are the Cookquago, the Oquago, and the Randolph mountains. The valleys bordering on its numerous streams are extensive and fertile, producing large quantities of wheat. The soil is generally better adapted to grazing than the culture of grain. Fruit succeeds well. The inhabitants are principally farmers, and it's agriculture is respectable. The Chenango canal enters the county on the north, follows down the vally of the Chenango river, and enters the Susquehannnah river at Binghamtion. The line of the Erie railroad passes throught he county. The county is divided into 11 towns. (Historical Collections of the State of New York, Past and Present, Barber, John, Warner, Clark Albien & Co. 1851)

Broome County is defined by the valleys and hills surrounding the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers and the rich contrast between urban living in the Greater Binghamton area and the surrounding rural environment.

Native Americans inhabited this area until the end of the American Revolution. Two main settlements were Onaquaga, near present-day Windsor, and Otseningo, located along the Chenango River, north of present-day Binghamton. Part of the Iroquois Confederacy, it was considered a threat to the revolutionists. The Sullivan-Clinton campaign removed the Native American population. After the Revolution, land was divided among many land speculators, including William Bingham, who obtained over ten thousand acres at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers. More History

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.

Neighboring 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

Cities and Towns:

- Binghamton (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Chenango	town
- Colesville	town
- Conklin	town
- Deposit	village	Incorporated Area
- Dickinson	town
- Endicott	village	Incorporated Area
- Fenton	town
- Johnson City	village	Incorporated Area
- Kirkwood	town
- Lisle	village	Incorporated Area
- Maine	town
- Nanticoke	town
- Port Dickinson	village	Incorporated Area
- Sanford	town
- Tompkins	town
- Union	town
- Vestal	town
- Whitney Point	village	Incorporated Area
- Windsor	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

Online High Schools

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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