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is a city located in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. "The Parlor City" and the "Home of the Square Deal," it is the county seat of Broome County and the principal city and cultural center of the Greater Binghamton region. The population of the City, according to the 2000 census, is 47,380.
is located at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers. The city is at the crossroads of Interstates 81 and 88, as well as New York State Route 17 (also known as The Southern Tier Expressway and the future Interstate 86).
The Binghamton Metropolitan Area includes approximately 252,000 residents in all of Broome and Tioga (NY) counties. Binghamton is part of the "Triple Cities," along with Endicott and Johnson City (which are actually villages). The region is collectively referred to as Greater Binghamton.
In 2007, Binghamton was named the 9th greenest city in the U.S. by Country Home magazine.
Greater Binghamton is home to Binghamton University, a driving force in the community as an academic, athletic, and arts center. Binghamton has the largest public observatory, the Kopernik Space Center, in the northeastern United States. The region is further recognized as the birthplace of the IBM Corporation, Dick's Sporting Goods, Endicott Johnson Corporation, Raymond Corporation and the Link Trainer flight simulator. The city's American Civic Association is the location of the April 3rd, 2009 shootings, known as the Binghamton shootings, which left 14 dead.
The city was named after William Bingham, a wealthy Philadelphian who bought the surrounding land in 1792. Before that, the first known people of European descent to come to the area were the troops of Gen. John Sullivan in 1779, during the American Revolutionary War.
The community was first settled around 1802 and was known as "Chenango Point." Binghamton was first incorporated in 1834 as a village of the Town of Binghamton. Binghamton became a city in 1867.
Abel Bennett, who made a fortune as owner of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, was the city's first mayor. His farm property on the city's west side (in an area bordered by Riverside Drive on the south, Beethoven Street on the west, Seminary Avenue on the north, and portions of Chestnut Street and St. John Avenue to the east) is known as the Abel Bennett Tract. On Feb. 19, 2008, this historic district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.