Vestal, New York | ||
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Town | ||
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Location within state of New York | ||
Coordinates: 42°05′04″N 76°03′12″W / 42.08444°N 76.05333°WCoordinates: 42°05′04″N 76°03′12″W / 42.08444°N 76.05333°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | New York | |
County | Broome | |
Established | 1823 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Town Council | |
• Town Supervisor | John Shaffer | |
• Town Council |
Members' List
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Area | ||
• Total | 52.6 sq mi (136.2 km2) | |
• Land | 51.7 sq mi (134.0 km2) | |
• Water | 0.8 sq mi (2.2 km2) 1.62% | |
Elevation | 1,010 ft (308 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 28,043 | |
• Density | 542/sq mi (209.3/km2) | |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
ZIP codes | 13850-13851 | |
Area code(s) | 607 | |
FIPS code | 36-77255 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0979582 | |
Website | www |
Vestal is a town within Broome County in the Southern Tier of New York, and lies between the Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania border. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,043.
Vestal is on the south border of the county and is west and southwest of Binghamton.
Vestal is home to Binghamton University which draws visitors to the town through its entertainment and sporting events. The university adds thousands of students to the town and employs more than 3,000 faculty and staff.
The first European settlers arrived in Vestal around 1785.
The central area of Vestal, near Route 26 at Choconut Creek, was the site of an indigenous village of the Ochugnut tribe of the Tuscarora people. During the American Revolution, a squad of soldiers from the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, under the command of Lt. William McKendry were sent to engage the tribes, when possible, and destroy their homes and crops. During the summer of 1779, the squad did burn at least two villages without encountering resistance, including one situated in what is now nearby downtown Binghamton (the Chenango, at the confluence of the Chenango and Susquehanna rivers), and the Ochugnut (Choconut) at the site of Choconut Creek near present-day Vestal High School.
This campaign during the American Revolution was initiated following Indigenous predations against settlers, presumed to have been carried out by tribes forming part of the Iroqouis alliance. This hostile activity against settlers was encouraged by the British. However, some evidence indicates that at least some of the indigenous people were actually Tuscarora - descendants of the Cherokee who fled from North Carolina after wars in 1711 and the War of 1763. This community was actually sympathetic to the American cause, siding against the rest of the Iroquois confederation. See Sullivan Expedition or external links for more information on the role of Upstate New York in this conflict.