Editing Binghamton, New York (section)

===Growth as a manufacturing hub===
Binghamton incorporated as a [[city (New York)|city]] in 1867 and, due to the presence of several stately homes, was nicknamed the '''Parlor City'''.<ref name="bingcityhist"/> In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many immigrants moved to the area, finding an abundance of jobs. During the 1880s, Binghamton became the second-largest manufacturer of [[cigar]]s in the United States.<ref name="broomehist" /> By the early 1920s, [[Endicott Johnson Corporation|Endicott Johnson]], a shoe manufacturer whose development of [[welfare capitalism]] resulted in many amenities for local residents, became the region's largest employer.<ref name="ejhist">{{cite book |last=McGuire |first=Randall |editor-first=Julian |editor-last=Thomas |title=Interpretive Archaeology: A Reader |publisher=Continuum |year=2000 |pages=228–245 |chapter=Chapter 13: Building Power in the Cultural Landscape of Broome County, New York, 1880–1940 |isbn=978-1-441-17929-6}}</ref> An even larger influx of Europeans immigrated to Binghamton, and the working class prosperity resulted in the area being called the Valley of Opportunity.<ref name="broomehist" /><ref name="ejhist" />

[[File:Bird's-eye View, Binghamton, NY.jpg|thumb|[[Court Street Historic District (Binghamton, New York)|Court Street]], c. 1910]]

In 1913, 31 people perished in the [[1913 Binghamton Factory Fire|Binghamton Clothing Company fire]], which resulted in reforms to the New York fire code.<ref>{{cite news |title=The fire at Binghamton |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 24, 1913 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/07/24/100636950.pdf |access-date=August 31, 2013 |archive-date=December 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207023626/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/07/24/100636950.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Simonson |first=Mark |title=Binghamton fire spurred improved safety laws |work=The Daily Star |location=Oneonta, NY |date=July 19, 2008 |url=http://thedailystar.com/columns/x112901097/Binghamton-fire-spurred-improved-safety-laws |access-date=August 31, 2013 |archive-date=June 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628044329/http://www.thedailystar.com/columns/x112901097/Binghamton-fire-spurred-improved-safety-laws |url-status=live }}</ref> Major floods in 1935 and 1936 resulted in a number of deaths and washed out the Ferry Street Bridge (now the Clinton Street Bridge). The floods led the city to build flood walls along the length of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers.<ref name="broomehist" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Coates |first=Donald |title=Geomorphology in legal affairs of the Binghamton, New York, metropolitan area |journal=GSA Special Papers |year=1976 |volume=174 |pages=111–148 |doi=10.1130/SPE174-p111 |series=Geological Society of America Special Papers |isbn=0-8137-2174-1}}</ref>

During the [[Second World War]], growth continued as [[IBM]], which was founded in greater Binghamton, emerged as a global technology leader.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=IBM |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of New York State |editor1-last=Eisenstadt |editor1-first=Peter |editor2-last=Moss |editor2-first=Laura-Eve |publisher=Syracuse University Press |location=Syracuse, NY |isbn=978-0-815-60808-0 |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmHEm5ohoCUC&pg=PA756 |access-date=August 31, 2013 |archive-date=April 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403021131/https://books.google.com/books?id=tmHEm5ohoCUC&pg=PA756#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Along with [[Edwin Link]]'s invention of the [[Link Trainer|flight simulator]] in Binghamton, IBM's growth helped transition the region to a [[high-tech]] economy. Other major manufacturers included [[Ansco]] and [[General Electric]].<ref name="bingcityhist" /> Until the [[Cold War]] ended, the area never experienced an economic downfall, due in part to its [[defense contractor|defense-oriented]] industries.<ref name="broomehist" /> The city's population peaked at around 85,000 in the mid-1950s.<ref name="bingtimeline">{{cite book |title=A Brief History of Binghamton, NY, The Parlor City |year=1984 |publisher=Binghamton Public Library |location=Binghamton, NY}}</ref>