Historic Boston Purchase map now on display

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – A map that details how European settlers first divvied up a large section of Broome and Tioga Counties has been refurbished and put on display after going missing for several decades.

Broome County Clerk Joe Mihalko unveiled the historic Boston Purchase map dating back to 1793.

It’s a double-sided map that shows the region north of the Susquehanna River between Owego Creek and the Chenango River. It shows land parceled out among 60 would-be settlers at a time when the region was still part of a much larger Tioga County.

Mihalko says he was first alerted that the map existed by an article in a Broome Historical Society publication from the 1950’s, but it couldn’t initially be located.

He credits Valerie Falzarano of his staff with making the ultimate discovery amongst the hundreds of boxes of documents that the clerk’s office has in storage.

“There was always this one piece of cardboard that got in the way. Valerie, one day, was pulling a file for one of the departments and curiosity got her. She opened it up and called me and said, ‘I think I found the map.’ It had apparently gotten moved from a previous warehouse in Vestal to one in Binghamton and kind of forgotten about for almost 31 years,” said Mihalko.

The discovery was made in 2019 and Mihalko sought funding for the restoration.

The map is now on display in the Broome County Clerk’s Office on the third floor of the county office building.

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