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Binghamton is a city in, and the county seat of, Broome County, New York, United States. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers. Binghamton is the principal city and cultural center of the Binghamton metropolitan area (also known as Greater Binghamton, or historically the Triple Cities, including Endicott and Johnson City), home to a quarter million people. The city's population, according to the 2020 census, is 47,969.[1] From the days of the railroad, Binghamton was a transportation crossroads and a manufacturing center, and has been known at different times for the production of cigars, shoes, and computers. IBM was founded nearby, and the flight simulator was invented in the city, leading to a notable concentration of electronics- and defense-oriented firms. This sustained economic prosperity earned Binghamton the moniker of the Valley of Opportunity. However, starting with job cuts made by defense firms towards the end of the Cold War, the region lost a large part of its manufacturing industry. Today, while there is a continued concentration of high-tech firms, Binghamton is emerging as a healthcare- and education-focused city, with Binghamton University acting as much of the driving force behind this revitalization.
[edit] History
[edit] Early settlementThe 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.[2] The city was named after William Bingham, a wealthy Philadelphian who bought the 10,000 acre patent for the land in 1786, then consisting of parts of the towns of Union and Chenango.[2] 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, and helped build its roads and erect the first bridge.[2] Significant agricultural growth led to the incorporation of the village of Binghamton in 1834.[3][2]
[edit] Valley of Opportunity: growth as a manufacturing hubBinghamton incorporated as a city in 1867 and, due to the presence of several stately homes, was nicknamed the Parlor City.[3] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many immigrants moved to the area, finding an abundance of jobs. During the 1880s, Binghamton became the second-largest manufacturer of cigars in the United States.[2] By the early 1920s, Endicott Johnson, a shoe manufacturer whose development of welfare capitalism resulted in many amenities for local residents, became the region's largest employer. An even larger influx of Europeans immigrated to Binghamton, and the working class prosperity resulted in the area being called the Valley of Opportunity.[2][4]
In 1913, 31 people perished in the Binghamton Clothing Company fire, which resulted in reforms to the New York fire code. 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.[2] During the Second World War, growth and corporate generosity continued as IBM, which was founded in greater Binghamton, emerged as a global technology leader. Along with Edwin Link's invention of the flight simulator in Binghamton, IBM's growth helped transition the region to a high-tech economy. Other major manufacturers included Ansco and General Electric.[3] Until the Cold War ended, the area never experienced an economic downfall, due in part to its defense-oriented industries.[2] The city's population peaked at around 85,000 in the mid-1950s. [edit] Decline and recoveryPost-war suburban development led to a decline in the city's population and the rapid growth of the towns of Vestal and Union.[2] Like many other Rust Belt cities, traditional manufacturers saw steep declines, though Binghamton's technology industry limited this impact. Urban renewal efforts to reverse these trends dominated construction in the city during the 1960s and early 1970s and led to the destruction of many ornate city buildings.[2] The construction included the creation of Government Plaza, the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, and the Brandywine Highway. While these projects failed to stem most of the losses, they established Binghamton as the region's government and cultural center.[2] The city's population declined from approximately 64,000 in 1969 to 56,000 by the early 1980s. As the Cold War ended in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, defense-related industries in the Binghamton area began to falter, resulting in several closures and widespread layoffs These were most notable at IBM, which sold its Federal Systems division and laid off several thousands of workers.[5] The local economy went into a deep recession, and the long-prevalent manufacturing jobs dropped by 64% from 1990 to 2013. In the 21st century, the city has tried to diversify its economic base to spur revitalization. The local economy has slowly transitioned toward services and healthcare.[6] Major emphasis has been placed on Binghamton University, which built a downtown campus in 2007 and several student housing complexes. The increased downtown residential population and the university's plans to build additional student housing have spurred development of supporting businesses and a renewed focus on the riverfront. Unfortunately, two severe floods have stymied the recovery: while most of the impact of the Mid-Atlantic United States flood of 2006 was in the surrounding metropolitan area, the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee topped city flood walls in September 2011, causing $1 billion of damage in greater Binghamton. On April 3, 2009, a man shot 13 people dead, then himself, at the American Civic Association's offices in Binghamton. [edit] Research Tips[edit] External Links
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