Historic Downtown Binghamton

The Downtown Walking Tour focuses on the archaeology and history of the 19th century urban core of Binghamton. Since 2005, the Public Archaeology Facility has conducted archaeological research on several blocks in downtown Binghamton. This research was done in conjunction with development projects, including the construction of the Downtown Academic Center and Broome County's new Transportation Terminal. Our primary goal was to preserve Binghamton's heritage through excavation, interpretation, and conservation of the materials recovered. The tour begins at the Downtown Academic Center building where we discovered 5,000 years of history under a 20th century parking lot and recovered approximately a quarter of a million artifacts, including prehistoric projectile points and pottery and ceramic dishes, glass bottles, nails, lamp glass, toys, bone tooth brushes, and many other items from the 19th Euro-American houses located on this block. The next stop considers the importance of the Chenango Canal in Binghamton's history and some of the changes that have occurred around its former route. Finally, the tour stops at Broome County's new Transportation Terminal, which was also a residential neighborhood during the 19th century. Our research here has given us further insight into the development of neighborhoods in Binghamton and how they changed through time, as well as the daily life of individual 19th century households on this block. Explore our tour and enjoy Binghamton's past as seen through its archaeology!

Stops for this tour

  1. Downtown Academic Center
  2. Student Housing Block
  3. Confluence Park
  4. State Street
  5. Broome County Transportation Terminal