Broome County, New York, is represented by two distinct visual identities: the official county seal used for government purposes, and the logo of BC Transit, the county’s public transportation system. The two marks have separate histories and should not be confused.
Design and History
The Broome County seal dates to the county’s creation in 1806, when Tioga County was split to form Broome County. The county was named for John Broome, then Lieutenant Governor of New York, who was asked to create the seal. According to Broome County Historian Roger Luther, the seal depicts Lady Justice on one side and the Broome family coat of arms on the other. The coat of arms includes three slips of broom on a chevron and an eagle on the crest, with another piece of broom in the eagle’s beak. Luther noted that only a few changes have been made to the original seal over its more than two-century history: clothing was added to Lady Justice and hills and valleys were added to better reflect the local landscape.[1]
BC Transit, operated by the Broome County Department of Public Transportation, has used a different mark. The system originally used a logo designed by Swiss-Canadian designer Fritz Gottschalk. At a later date, the system rebranded as “B.C. Transit” and adopted the character Thor from the comic strip B.C., drawn by Endicott, New York native Johnny Hart.[2] The county’s official transit website confirms that the BC Transit logo is copyrighted and owned by Johnny Hart Studios and is used by BC Transit with permission.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The county seal’s symbolism is directly tied to the Broome family heritage. The coat of arms features three slips of broom, a plant that shares its name with the county, and an eagle whose beak holds another piece of broom. Lady Justice represents the judicial function of county government. The later additions of hills and valleys were intended to depict the region’s topography.[1]
For BC Transit, the rebranding to “B.C. Transit” created a deliberate visual and verbal link to the comic strip B.C., whose creator Johnny Hart was a native of Endicott, within Broome County. The use of the character Thor as the transit logo tied the local transit system to a nationally syndicated comic strip with local roots.[2]
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