Originally called the “Chenango Triangle,” the Town of Triangle derives its name from its geographical location – the confluence of the Tioughnioga and Otselic Rivers form the angle of the “Triangle.”  The Towns of Triangle, Barker, and Nanticoke were originally part of the Town of Lisle.  On April 18, 1831, the three towns were separated from the Town of Lisle.  The Town of Triangle includes the Village of Whitney Point, the Hamlet of Triangle, Hazard’s Corners, and Upper Lisle.

The Village of Whitney Point is the principal village and the site of the first settlement in the Town of Triangle.  It is situated near the southwest corner of the Town of Triangle at the confluence of the Otselic and Tioughnioga Rivers.  The “Point” refers to the point of land between the Otselic and Tioughnioga Rivers, the two thoroughfares by which produce and lumber were transported to southern and eastern markets.  The Village was was settled in 1791 by General John Paterson of Massachusetts, who built a log house on the shore of the confluence of the Ostselic and Tioughnioga Rivers.  Paterson had obtained the land for free from the Federal government which was offering land to the men who had fought in the Revolutionary War.

The Village of Whitney Point was originally called Paterson Point.  In 1824 it was renamed Whitneys Point after early settlers Thomas and William Whitney.  The Village was incorporated in 1871 and renamed Whitney Point in the 1940’s.  The Village became a prominent station on the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad.  The Village of Whitney Point was a stop on the Underground Railroad.

The Hamlet of Triangle is a small village situated near the southeast corner of the Town of Triangle, on a branch of Halfway Brook.  The hamlet was located on the Catskill-Ithaca Turnpike, which is present-day State Route 206.  The turnpike contributed to the growth of the hamlet.  By the Civil War, Triangle was a thriving hamlet with a tannery, a cooper shop, two cobbler shops, a hotel, three blacksmiths, a wagon manufacturer, a cheese factory, creamery, a tailor shop, three stores, and three churches – the Congregational, Methodist, and Baptist.  The stagecoaches going over the Catskill-Ithaca Turnpike stopped at the hotel that was located at the corner of State Rte 206 and North Street in the Hamlet of Triangle.  The tollgate was located a short distance east of the hamlet.

Other early settlements include Hazard’s Corners and Upper Lisle.  Hazard’s Corners took its name from Edmund Hazard, a town supervisor, who settled at the site.  It is located in the northeast corner of the Town of Triangle.  Upper Lisle is a small village situated on the Otselic River, near the north line of the Town.  Upper Lisle was first settled in 1794.  Many homes, stores and farms were moved or vacated during the Flood of 1935.  Later the houses and businesses located on the western side of the Otselic River were removed for the construction of the Whitney Point Dam

The Town of Triangle was once covered with dense forest.  There were large quantities of pine, in addition to hardwoods, that were valuable for lumber, providing an early source of income for the settlers.  Trees were cut and rafted down the rivers.  High quality white pine from the Triangle State Forest was used in the reconstruction of some of our national buildings following the War of 1812.

By 1835, as the supply of lumber declined, agriculture became important to the local economy.  At one time, Triangle was one of the leading farming towns in Broome County with many farms devoted to dairy farming.

The Town of Triangle had no railroad until 1848 when the Erie Railroad opened in Binghamton and no railroad connections to distant points until Syracuse and Binghamton Railroad opened in 1854.  The Village of Whitney Point and the surrounding farming districts benefited from the opening of the railroad.  The Village became an important station on the railroad and the commercial center for this once large and prosperous farming community.

Other historic events include the establishment of the Broome County Fairgrounds in the Village of Whitney Point.  The first fair was held in 1858 near Lisle.  After a few years the fair was moved to Binghamton and then returned to its present location (former Collins Farm) off State Rte 11 in the Village of Whitney Point.  The first school district was started in 1793 in the Village of Whitney Point.  The present-day Whitney Point High School was built in 1936.  In the 1920’s a road was built along the east bank of the Tioughnioga River from the Village of Whitney Point through Itaska to Chenango Forks.  This road later became State Route 79.

Two events that had a profound effect on the Town of Triangle were the Great Fire of 1897 and the Flood of 1935.  The Great Fire of 1897 burned most buildings in the Main Street Business district in the Village of Whitney Point.  The Flood of 1935 inundated the Village of Whitney Point.  The bridge on State Route 206 in Triangle washed away and several people drowned.

After the 1935 Flood, the United States Army Corps of Engineers decided to construct the Whitney Point Dam on the Otselic River.  The Flood Control Act of 1936 authorized construction of the dam as a unit of the flood control plan for the southern New York and eastern Pennsylvania communities in the Susquehanna River basin.  The Whitney Point Dam forms the Whitney Point Reservoir.  In 1937 the Army Corps of Engineers held a public meeting to discuss plans to build the dam.  Project construction began in September 1938, with the initial diversion of the Otselic River through the outlet tunnel occurring in June 1941.  The dam was completed in 1942.  The dike was built around the Village of Whitney Point after World War II and the last of the dam’s originally planned facilities was completed in 1953.

By 1977 there were 4, 485 acres of public land and two parks located along the Whitney Point Reservoir.  Dorchester Park is located at the southern end and Upper Lisle Park (now closed) is located at the northern end.  The Broome County Parks department in cooperation with the Army Corp of Engineers and the New York State Conservation Department built Dorchester Park around 1962.  The park includes a boat launching area.  The Whitney Point Reservoir is used during the summer for fishing, swimming and boating.