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 ...

region of

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a U.S. state, 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 List of U.S. ...

, consisting of counties west of the Catskill Mountains 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, Ma ...

. 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 confluenc ...

and

Elmira Elmira may refer to: Places Canada * Elmira, Ontario * Elmira, Prince Edward Island United States * Elmira, California * Elmira, Idaho * Elmira, Indiana * Elmira, Michigan * Elmira, Missouri * Elmira, New York ** Elmira Correctional Facility ...

- Corning metropolitan areas. This region is bordered to the south by the Northern Tier of

and both these regions together are known as the Twin Tiers.

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 Yates County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 24,774, making it the third-least populous county in New York. The county seat is Penn Yan. The name is in honor of Joseph C. Yates, who as Govern ...

(the regional sentiment is stronger throughout the southern portions of Yates, such as the village of Dundee), Cortland County 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; and far more rarely, Schoharie County and Otsego County. (The last three of these plus Broome County are commonly considered part of the tourist designation "

Central Leatherstocking Region The Central New York Region (formerly the Central-Leatherstocking Region, also known as Leatherstocking Country) is a term used by the New York State Department of Economic Development to broadly describe the central region of New York for tour ...

", while Schoharie County is also listed as part of the Capital District.) 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 agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

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,

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 C ...

and Seneca 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 Yor ...

. 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. Histo ...

or area code 585. As of 2013, the westernmost portion of the Southern Tier is located in New York's 23rd congressional district; the easternmost portion is composed mostly of the lower half of New York's 22nd congressional district 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. Sin ...

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 adjacen ...

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. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into New York then i ...

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, ...

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 divided ...

. 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 la ...

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 ...

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 Painted Post is a village in Steuben County, New York. The village is in the town of Erwin, west of the city of Corning. The population was 1,809 at the 2010 census. The name comes from a Seneca carved post found by explorers at the junction o ...

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 ...

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 Her ...

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

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 redu ...

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 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 ...

, 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 state ...

. 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, 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 landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...

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 research university with campuses in Binghamton, Vestal, and Johnson City, New York. It is one of the four university centers in the State ...

(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 St. Bonaventure University is a private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,381 undergraduate and graduate students. The Franciscan Brothers established the university in 1858. In athletics, the St. Bonaventure Bonn ...

Alfred University Alfred University is a private university in 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 Inamori School of Engineerin ...

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. Technical and community colleges include Alfred State College, Broome Community College, Corning Community College, 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 task ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

, SUNY Colleges in Cortland and Oneonta, Jamestown Community College, Fredonia, and Tompkins Cortland Community College.

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 Southern ...

– 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 Southern ...

– serves the Southern Tier. The highway is the region's major corridor and connects to

U.S. Route 219 U.S. Route 219 (US 219) is a spur of US 19. It runs for from West Seneca, New York, at an interchange with Interstate 90 (I-90) to Rich Creek, Virginia, intersecting at US 460. US 219 is found (from north to south) in New York, Pennsylvania, ...

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 1 ...

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 Tu ...

in Corning, U.S. Route 220 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 R ...

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 498,71 ...

, Washington D.C.,

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 ...

, 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, a ...

. The Greater Binghamton Airport offers Delta Airlines flights to Detroit. Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport 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. Bus service is provided along the entire I-86/NY 17 corridor by Coach USA's Shortline/Erie services from Jamestown to New York City and Buffalo, and Trailways 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, M ...

, Albany and

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

(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 = List of sovereign states, Count ...

as the western terminus and Jersey City, New Jersey as the eastern terminus, with ferry connections to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

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

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

currently does not serve the area. Proposals for

high-speed rail in New York High-speed rail in New York has been a topic that is consistently discussed among legislators, political leaders and in particular, several past governors since the 1990s, but thus far little progress has been made. In his campaign speeches prio ...

have included a route from Binghamton to New York City through

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

: 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 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 "frac ...

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 peop ...

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 ...

, the Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York 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, 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, no ...

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 throug ...

. 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 tota ...

, for which

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 The Binghamton Philharmonic, officially named the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, is an American symphony orchestra located in Binghamton, New York. Its primary performing venue is the Broome County Forum Theatre. Its regular season consists of ...

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 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 t ...

owned-and-operated translator

WBUO-LD Get After It Media, formerly known as Luken Communications and Reach High Media Group, is a privately owned American broadcast holding company, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which owns or operates around 80 television stations in the United St ...

) 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 8 ...

own station clusters only in Binghamton. Notable newspapers include The Leader of Corning, the Elmira Star-Gazette, 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''. I ...

, Hornell Evening Tribune, the Wellsville Daily Reporter, the Olean Times Herald, 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 The Bradford Era is a newspaper published Monday - Satur ...

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 ...

of Jamestown, and

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

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 was held at the Corning Country Club. Endicott's En-Joie Golf Course hosted a PGA Tour event, the B.C. Open, from 1971 until 2006. It then became the Dick's Sporting Goods Open 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 yea ...

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 M ...

, and a Federal Prospects Hockey League franchise, the Binghamton Black Bears. Depending on the boundary definition, Watkins Glen International Speedway, 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 h ...

and

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsor (commercial), sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American American open-wheel car racing, open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United S ...

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 p ...

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. ...

. 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 league, minor professional ice hockey league, with teams ...

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). Th ...

for the franchise's remaining years. The Jackals were replaced by a new Federal Hockey League 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 disput ...

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 operate ...

still thrives in the region in the form of the New York Collegiate Baseball League 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 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