The 90 acres (36 ha) of land was donated by Erastus Ross, a wealthy businessman whose only instructions were to build a park that all the community could enjoy.

Other features of the park included roller coasters, swings, a miniature train, and a carousel.

Increased use of automobiles let people easily travel outside the city for recreation, this plus the two World Wars and the Great Depression led to the decline of the park.

In 1966, concerned citizens formed the Southern Tier Zoological Society in an attempt to upgrade the facilities.

[4] The zoo currently contains a growing number of animal exhibits, including red pandas, red wolves, a snow leopard, lemurs, an aviary, penguins, Pallas’s cats, howler monkeys, binturongs (also known as bearcats, the mascot of the nearby Binghamton University),[5] and many other animals.