The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

region of

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, consisting of counties west of the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

in Delaware County and geographically situated along or very near the northern border of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Definitions of the region vary widely, but generally encompass localities in counties surrounding the

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

and Elmira- Corning

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

s. This region is bordered to the south by the Northern Tier of

and both these regions together are known as the

Twin Tiers The Twin Tiers are the collective counties that lie on the New York-Pennsylvania border on either side of the 42nd parallel north. The region is predominantly rural and contains many small towns. Separately, the two halves of the Twin Tiers regi ...

Constituent counties

The eight counties almost always included in the Southern Tier are: Less frequently included in the "Southern Tier" designation are Schuyler County, Yates County (the regional sentiment is stronger throughout the southern portions of Yates, such as the village of Dundee),

Cortland County Cortland County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Cortland County was 46,809. The county seat is Cortland, New York, C ...

and

Tompkins County Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President ...

; even more rarely,

Chenango County Chenango County is a county located in the south-central section U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,220. Its county seat is Norwich. The county's name originates from an Oneida word meaning 'large bull-thistle ...

; and far more rarely,

Schoharie County Schoharie County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is Schoharie. "Schoharie" comes from a Mohawk word meaning "f ...

and Otsego County. (The last three of these plus Broome County are commonly considered part of the tourist designation " Central Leatherstocking Region", while Schoharie County is also listed as part of the

Capital District A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politica ...

.) At least one definition used by the state Department of Transportation includes Sullivan County, which usually isn't included in other definitions. The

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

office in Buffalo occasionally includes Wyoming County and Southern Erie County in its definition; the

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection ...

also includes those two regions as well as

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

Counties in the "Southern Tier" region for the purpose of fire monitoring (the last three counties are almost never included in other definitions). The Encyclopedia of New York State lists only Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, and Steuben Counties as part of the Southern Tier, with anything east of that being considered

Central New York Central New York is the central region of New York State, including the following counties and cities: With a population of about 773,606 (2009) and an area of , the region includes the Syracuse metropolitan area. Definitions The New York ...

. Other definitions define it as comprising the combined Corning-Elmira-Binghamton

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

s, which includes Steuben, Chemung, Tioga and Broome Counties but not Chautauqua, Cattaraugus or Allegany, which are considered

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...

. The New York State Division of Local Government Services presently classifies the following fourteen counties as members of the Southern Tier: Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins. This definition corresponds to the same 14 counties in New York State that are members of the

Appalachian Regional Commission The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a United States federal–state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. Congress established A ...

formed in 1963. Much of the Southern Tier is in

area code 607 North American area code 607 is a state of New York telephone area code servicing parts of its Southern Tier (which borders Pennsylvania). It was created in 1954 by combining the southern portion of 315 and the eastern portion of 716. Initially, ...

, with the exception of Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties, which are in

area code 716 Area code 716 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and four surrounding counties in western New York. It was one of the original North American area codes established in 1947. Histor ...

area code 585 Area code 585 is the area code for Rochester and eight surrounding counties in Western New York. It was created on November 15, 2001 in a split from area code 716. Previously, Rochester had shared 716 with Buffalo. Aside from new area codes crea ...

. As of 2013, the westernmost portion of the Southern Tier is located in

New York's 23rd congressional district The 23rd congressional district of New York is located in Upstate, and covers much of the Southern Tier. It extends along New York's border with Pennsylvania from the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County to the suburbs of Binghamton in ...

; the easternmost portion is composed mostly of the lower half of

New York's 22nd congressional district The 22nd congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives. Significant cities in the district include Utica, Rome, Cortland, and Binghamton. It is home to several colleges and unive ...

along with a very small lower portion of

New York's 24th congressional district The 24th congressional district of New York is located in Upstate New York, stretching alongside Lake Ontario from near Buffalo in the west to Watertown in the east, whilst not including Rochester which is instead in the 25th district. Since ...

The

ZIP code prefixes Each cell in this table contains a three-digit ZIP code prefix, the state where that ZIP code prefix is located, and the name of the United States Postal Service (USPS) Sectional Center Facility (SCF) that serves that ZIP code prefix, which may be ...

147 (Jamestown region), 148 – 149 (Elmira region), and 137 – 139 (Binghamton region) are set aside for the Southern Tier.

Geography

The Southern Tier is generally hilly without being mountainous (with the exception of the Catskill mountains). This can range from low rolling hills to more steep and rugged cliffs and valleys. Both the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and Susquehanna rivers flow through the Southern Tier in their upper reaches, as does the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...

in the western Southern Tier. The Southern Tier makes up the northernmost portion of

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

and lies on the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divide ...

. It is defined on its western boundary by the Chautauqua Ridge in Chautauqua County, and including this ridge and extending eastward across the northern bounds of the region, the continental divide between the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

watersheds exists. The

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly span ...

runs directly through the region, in Steuben County.

History

The Southern Tier has long been home to the people of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

Confederacy. There were major settlements along the Allegheny River in Cattaraugus County (which the Senecas acquired by defeating the

Wenrohronon The Wenrohronon or Wenro people were an Iroquoian indigenous nation of North America, originally residing in present-day western New York (and possibly fringe portions of northern & northwestern Pennsylvania), who were conquered by the Confeder ...

during the

Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...

in 1638) and at Painted Post in Steuben County, at what is today the northeast side of Corning, New York. The

Seneca Nation The Seneca Nation of Indians is a federally recognized Seneca tribe based in western New York. They are one of three federally recognized Seneca entities in the United States, the others being the Tonawanda Band of Seneca (also in western New Y ...

has a reservation today along the Allegheny River and a headquarters at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

. There are also Indian lands (with no current Indian residents) on

Cuba Lake Cuba Lake is a reservoir in Allegany and Cattaraugus counties, New York. Originally known as the Oil Creek Reservoir, Cuba Lake was created in 1858 to help maintain water levels on the Genesee Valley Canal. Cuba Lake and its surrounding land ...

in Allegany County. The colonies that eventually became the states of New York,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and

all laid claim to the Southern Tier at various points in the 17th and 18th Centuries, while not making any significant attempt to settle the territory. The region was quickly settled by whites after the Revolutionary War, when settlers were again allowed west of the Appalachian divide. The Southern Tier shared in the economic growth of the early 19th century, but its hilly terrain made it less suitable to canal-building, and later, railroading, than the more-level corridor to the north between Albany and Buffalo. There was an attempt at a

Genesee Valley Canal The Genesee Valley Canal is a former canal that operated in central New York between 1840 and 1878. It ran for a length of 124 miles, passing through 106 locks. Its course was later used by the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad and today comprises po ...

in the western half, and in the eastern half, the Chemung and Chenango Canals did connect the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

to Elmira and Binghamton respectively. Beset by financial and technical difficulties, the latter two canals nonetheless were important catalysts for economic growth, and indeed for the construction of the railroads that would supplant them. Plans to connect these canals to the

Pennsylvania Canal The Pennsylvania Canal (or sometimes Pennsylvania Canal system) was a complex system of transportation infrastructure improvements including canals, dams, locks, tow paths, aqueducts, and viaducts. The Canal and Works were constructed and assemb ...

system, thus making them much more than feeders to the Erie Canal, never came to fruition. Railroads did arrive and the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

, which followed the water-level of the Allegheny, Susquehanna and Delaware watersheds, accelerated industrial progress in the region about the time of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The railroad and available fuel from the region's dense forests attracted Corning Glass Works to Steuben County in 1868. The region became home to prosperous farms and small factory towns (with the exception of larger Binghamton) during the first half of the 20th century. But declines in U.S. manufacturing hit the region hard and it suffered even more than other parts of upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and northern

. The region's addition to the

, often credited to the influence of U.S. Sen.

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

, provided economic stimulus over the last 40 years. Government funds built the Southern Tier Expressway, highway links to the

New York State Thruway {{Infobox road , state = NY , type = NYST , alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway , maint = NYSTA , map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...

, encouraged the growth of state colleges at Wellsville, Alfred and Binghamton and sought with mixed success to attract business interests relocating from the

New York Metropolitan Area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

and urban Western New York. For two decades, the region has tried to remake itself as a tourist destination and relocation area for retirees from big Northeastern cities. Meanwhile, agriculture and manufacturing struggle to compete regionally and globally.

Education

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

(the State University of New York-Binghamton) is one of the SUNY system's four University Centers. Other 4-year and graduate institutions within the core counties include St. Bonaventure University,

Alfred University Alfred University is a private university in Alfred (village), New York, Alfred, New York. It has a total undergraduate population of approximately 1,600 students. The university hosts the New York State College of Ceramics, which includes The ...

Elmira College Elmira College is a private college in Elmira, New York. Founded as a college for women in 1855, it is the oldest existing college granting degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men. Elmira College became coeducational in a ...

, and

Houghton College Houghton University is a private Christian liberal arts college in Houghton, New York. Houghton was founded in 1883 by Willard J. Houghton and is affiliated with the Wesleyan Church.

. Technical and community colleges include

Alfred State College Alfred State College (ASC, SUNY Alfred, SUNY Alfred State) is a public college in Alfred (village), New York, Alfred, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The college, formerly the Technical College at Alf ...

Broome Community College SUNY Broome Community College (SUNY Broome) is a public community college in Broome County, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). The college was founded in 1946 and has gone through several name changes. The school is ...

Corning Community College Corning Community College is a Public college, public community college in Corning (town), New York, Corning, New York. It was initiated in 1957 and moved to its Spencer Hill campus in 1963. This two-year college serves three counties: Steuben C ...

, and the

State University of New York at Delhi The State University of New York at Delhi (SUNY Delhi or Delhi State College) is a public college in Delhi, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Over 3,000 students attend the institution. SUNY Delhi offers ...

. The region is also home to E.B.I. Career College, a

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

. Institutions of higher learning outside the core counties include

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into a ...

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

, SUNY Colleges in Cortland and Oneonta,

Jamestown Community College Jamestown Community College is a public community college with campuses in Jamestown and Olean, New York. It is part of the State University of New York system. JCC also has extension centers in Dunkirk, New York and Warren, Pennsylvania. The ...

, Fredonia, and

Tompkins Cortland Community College Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) is a public community college in Dryden, New York. It is supported by Cortland and Tompkins Counties and has extension sites that are located in Ithaca and Cortland. It is part of the State University ...

Transportation

The

Southern Tier Expressway New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and follows the Souther ...

– Interstate 86 and

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and follows the Souther ...

– serves the Southern Tier. The highway is the region's major corridor and connects to U.S. Route 219 in Salamanca,

Interstate 390 Interstate 390 (I-390) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway located entirely within New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the Southern Tier Expressway (I-86 and New York State Route 17 Y 17 ...

in Bath,

Interstate 99 Interstate 99 (I-99) is an Interstate Highway in the United States with two segments: one located in central Pennsylvania, and the other in southern New York. The southern terminus of the route is near exit 146 of the Pennsylvania Turn ...

in Corning,

U.S. Route 220 U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways which run east-west. US 220 extends for f ...

in Waverly, and Interstates 81 and 88 in Binghamton. The region is served by three regional airports.

Elmira-Corning Regional Airport Elmira Corning Regional Airport is in Chemung County, New York, seven miles northwest of Elmira and eight miles east of Corning. It is in the town of Big Flats but its mailing address is Horseheads, New York. The airport was formerly Elmira ...

has routes to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, and several destinations in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The

Greater Binghamton Airport Greater Binghamton Airport is a county-owned American airport eight miles north of Binghamton, in Broome County, New York. It is in East Maine, New York and serves the Southern Tier of New York. The airport was named Broome County Airport t ...

offers

Delta Airlines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wit ...

flights to Detroit.

Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport at Robert H. Jackson Field is a county-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) north of the central business district of Jamestown, in Chautauqua County, New York, Unit ...

connects to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

via

Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...

. Bus service is provided along the entire I-86/NY 17 corridor by

Coach USA Coach USA, LLC is a holding company for various American transportation service providers providing scheduled intercity bus service, local and commuter bus transit, city sightseeing, tour, yellow school bus, and charter bus service across the Un ...

's Shortline/Erie services from Jamestown to New York City and Buffalo, and

Trailways The Trailways Transportation System is an American network of approximately 70 independent bus companies that have entered into a brand licensing agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. History The predecessor to Trailwa ...

connects the Southern Tier with Buffalo, Dubois (at the western end in Salamanca), Sunbury/

Lock Haven Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area, ...

(at Elmira), and

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, Albany and

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

(at Binghamton). A somewhat-unorganized network of municipally-operated public transportation services operate local and limited intercity bus services between Salamanca and Elmira. Until the demise of long-distance passenger rail service in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, the

operated passenger trains in the region, with

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as the western terminus and

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

connections to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The last Erie Lackawanna passenger train, the "Lake Cities", ran on January 6, 1970.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

currently does not serve the area. Proposals for high-speed rail in New York have included a route from Binghamton to New York City through

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

: a route that could at least partially be upgraded for high-speed rail. As of 2011, the highest priority for high-speed rail projects in New York is in the

Empire Corridor The Empire Corridor is a passenger rail corridor in New York State running between Penn Station in New York City and . Major cities on the route include Poughkeepsie, Albany, Schenectady, Amsterdam, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo ...

, of which no part crosses the Southern Tier. The hilly terrain of the Southern Tier's I-86 corridor is not ideal for high-speed rail service, especially compared to the relatively-flat and straight land in the Empire Corridor.

Economy

Government services are the largest employer in the area. Of second and declining importance is manufacturing. The region's manufacturing economy has suffered for decades, but factories are found in the region's larger communities. Fortune 500 materials maker

Corning Inc. Corning Incorporated is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company that specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, and related materials and technologies including advanced optics, primarily for industrial and scien ...

is headquartered in Steuben County. Broome County has a large high-tech industry, and is the birthplace of IBM and

flight simulation A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

. In addition, other factories in the region make military aircraft, televisions, furniture, metal forgings and machine tools. The area includes the northern extent of the

Marcellus Formation The Marcellus Formation or the Marcellus Shale is a Middle Devonian age unit of sedimentary rock found in eastern North America. Named for a distinctive outcrop near the village of Marcellus, New York, in the United States, it extends throughou ...

and natural gas. Crude oil and oil sands continue to be extracted from Southern Tier wells as they have for over a century. There is significant debate about allowing

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

of the Marcellus Shale in the Southern Tier, which is currently banned in New York. Cummins engine company has a large production facility located in Jamestown, NY. The Jamestown Engine Plant, established in 1974, is one of the top five heavy-duty diesel engine producers worldwide with production in recent years typically exceeding 100,000 engines annually. The JEP also remains one of the company's largest manufacturing facilities, as it accounts for 12 percent of Cummins' total engine production in 2012.

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

is also a major part of the economy. Leading products are dairy, vegetables, orchard fruit and wine grapes (the last of which typically grows only on the fringes of the Southern Tier, as the inland areas tend to not have a long enough growing season to support it). In addition, two prominent

microbreweries Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

, the

Southern Tier Brewing Company Southern Tier Brewing Company is a craft brewing company in Lakewood, NY, in the southwestern section of NY state known as the Southern Tier. History The company was founded in 2001 by Phineas DeMink and Allen "Skip" Yahn. They purchased old equi ...

Lakewood, New York Lakewood is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 2,993 at the 2020 census. The village is in the northern part of the town of Busti. Geography Lakewood is located at (42.100929, -79.321919), at the south ...

and the Ellicottville Brewing Company in Ellicottville, operate in the western Southern Tier. The western and northern edges of the Southern Tier are known as

ski country Ski country is the hilly, snowy portions of the boundary between the Niagara Frontier and the Southern Tier of the western part of New York. Weather The area is a largely hilly terrain, mostly downwind from Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the F ...

, and the hilly terrain (that forms a

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

known as the Chautauqua Ridge) is notorious for frequent and heavy

lake effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through ...

. As a result, Ellicottville has become a "ski town" with both the Holimont and Holiday Valley resorts in the vicinity; the two resorts draw numerous tourists, particularly from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, for which U.S. Route 219 provides easy access. At its peak in the 1960s, over a dozen ski resorts resided in the Southern Tier, many in Cattaraugus County, before most of them closed due to various assorted causes by the 1980s.

Culture

The Southern Tier is home to two professional symphony orchestras: the Binghamton Philharmonic in Binghamton and the

Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes The Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes (OSFL) is an orchestra based in Corning (city), New York, Corning, New York in New York State, New York's Finger Lakes region and is part of the larger group known as the Corning-Elmira Musical Arts, Inc. ...

in Corning. Binghamton also has the Binghamton Youth Symphony and the Binghamton Community Orchestra. The

Tri-Cities Opera Company The Tri-Cities Opera Company (commonly known as "TCO"), founded in 1949 by Peyton Hibbitt and Carmen Savoca in Binghamton, NY, annually stages four full-scale operas per season, which typically runs from October until May each year. Tri-Cities Opera ...

present full-scale operas in Binghamton.

Media and entertainment

Most of the Southern Tier is either served by the Elmira-Corning television market or the Binghamton television market. Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties are out of these stations' ranges, however, and are instead served by the Buffalo and Erie television markets. Two stations (more-or-less independent

WVTT-CD WVTT-CD, virtual channel 34 ( VHF digital channel 11), is a low-powered, Class A television station serving the Twin Tiers that is licensed to Olean, New York. The station is owned by HC2 Holdings. The station's transmitter is located on Warne ...

and

Retro Television Network Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through th ...

owned-and-operated translator WBUO-LD) are licensed to Olean but serve Buffalo in practice. The Olean, Elmira-Corning, and Binghamton radio markets directly serve the Southern Tier, and the Ithaca market indirectly serves some of the area. Seven Mountains Media is the dominant broadcaster in Olean and Elmira-Corning.

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

and

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

own station clusters only in Binghamton. Notable newspapers include The Leader of Corning, the Elmira

Star-Gazette The ''Star-Gazette'' is the major newspaper for Elmira, New York. Based in Elmira, the publication is owned by Gannett. History The ''Star-Gazette'' was the first newspaper of the now massive Gannett conglomerate. It was founded as the weekly ' ...

, the Binghamton

Press & Sun-Bulletin The ''Press & Sun-Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper serving the area around Binghamton, New York. It was formed by the 1985 merger of ''The Evening Press'' (which was known as ''The Binghamton Press'' prior to 1960) and ''The Sun-Bulletin''. It ...

, Hornell Evening Tribune, the Wellsville Daily Reporter, the

Olean Times Herald The ''Olean Times Herald'' is a daily newspaper serving the western Twin Tiers region, based in Olean, New York. The afternoon newspaper, one of the few remaining afternoon papers in the nation, is published by Bradford Publishing and is publis ...

, the

Salamanca Press The ''Salamanca Press'' is a newspaper serving Cattaraugus County, New York. Based in the city of Salamanca, the paper is owned by Bradford Publishing, which also publishes the Bradford Era and the Olean Times Herald. The newspaper focuses on the ...

The Post-Journal The '' Post-Journal'' is a daily newspaper, serving the area around Jamestown, New York. The current editor of the paper is John Whittaker. It is owned by Ogden Newspapers Inc. and is billed as "southwestern New York's leading newspaper" with a c ...

of Jamestown, and

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

of Dunkirk. The Tribune, Reporter and Leader are all owned by GateHouse Media;

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.LPGA Corning Classic The LPGA Corning Classic was an annual golf tournament for professional female golfers on the LPGA Tour. It took place every year from 1979 through 2009 at the Corning Country Club in Corning, New York. It was one of the longest running tourname ...

was held at the Corning Country Club. Endicott's En-Joie Golf Course hosted a PGA Tour event, the

B.C. Open The B.C. Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament in New York, held annually from 1971 to 2006. In 1971, it was called the Broome County Open, and the next year it switched to the B.C. Open. In 1973, it became a PGA Tour regular 72-hole money event. F ...

, from 1971 until 2006. It then became the

Dick's Sporting Goods Open The Dick's Sporting Goods Open is a PGA Tour Champions event in Endicott, New York. It debuted in July 2007, supplanting the B.C. Open, a former PGA Tour event from 1971 through 2006. It is sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods, founded in adjacent B ...

which is a

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

event still played each summer. Binghamton has a AA baseball team, the

Binghamton Rumble Ponies The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

, and a

Federal Prospects Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Do ...

franchise, the

Binghamton Black Bears The Binghamton Black Bears are a minor professional hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) based in Binghamton, New York, with home games at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena. History A new Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL ...

. Depending on the boundary definition,

Watkins Glen International Speedway Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home ...

, a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

and

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

sanctioned

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

track, is located in the Southern Tier region. From 2000 to 2017, Elmira had a professional ice hockey team in the

Elmira Jackals The Elmira Jackals were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Elmira, New York. They were members of the United Hockey League from 2000 to 2007 and the ECHL from 2007 to 2017. The Jackals played their home games at First Arena. On ...

. They played in the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

from 2000 to 2007 and the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

for the franchise's remaining years. The Jackals were replaced by a new

Federal Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. D ...

franchise called the

Elmira Enforcers The Elmira Enforcers were a minor professional ice hockey team located in Elmira, New York, and a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. Their home games were played at First Arena. The team folded in 2021 after an arena contract dispu ...

from 2018 to 2021. The last minor league baseball team in the Southern Tier west of Binghamton, the

Jamestown Jammers The Jamestown Jammers were a minor league baseball team based in Jamestown, New York from 1994 until 2014. The team was the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in the New York–Penn League. The team playe ...

, relocated out of the area in 2016, ending an era in which the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

featured pro teams in Jamestown, Olean, Wellsville, Hornell, Corning, Elmira and Oneonta over the course of its history;

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

still thrives in the region in the form of the

New York Collegiate Baseball League The New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league founded in 1978 and sanctioned by the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball. Each NYCB ...

and

Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) is a 16-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 2010. As of 2022, all teams are within New York (state). All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to pa ...

, both with multiple teams in the region, and

Town Team Baseball Town Team Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played in the United States. In Town Team baseball, sometimes also called townball, the teams represent either a given city or town, or a commercial enterprise which sponsors the team. Usually a ...

also operated in the form of the Southwestern New York Men's Baseball League from 2014 to 2016. Only one major league franchise has ever resided in the Southern Tier: the professional basketball team

Elmira Colonels The Elmira Colonels (also known as the ''Rosies'') were an American basketball team based in Elmira, New York that was a member of the American Basketball League (1925-1955), American Basketball League. It is, to date, the only major league sports ...

, which played from 1952 to 1953.

Notes

External links

*
Southern Tier Business Information
Information on Southern Tier companies, industries and industry clusters.

A photographic project devoted to chronicling the decline of the Southern Tier. {{coord missing, New York (state) Regions of New York (state) Upstate New York