Broome was one of the six original towns in Schoharie County and was established in 1797. The first settlements there were made before the American Revolution. First known as Bristol, it was renamed in 1808 in honor of Lieutenant Governor John Broome, who was known for his honesty, integrity, and political ability. During the Revolution, Tories of the Hudson River region and Indians of the Susquehanna Valley kept in communication through this territory, and scouts from the Middle and Upper Forts farther north in the Schoharie Valley often came there to intercept loyalists as they passed through the region. In the mid-1800s, Broome was home to more than 2,000 people and had several centers of commerce, including Livingstonville, which had a hotel, two stores, a post office, two blacksmith shops, a grist mill, and many other shops. One of the town's more noted buildings was the Stone Store, built around 1841 in Livingstonville, which operated as a store and hotel until the 1930s, when it and an adjoining Brad building were connected to make a large dance hall. Broome's terrain is hilly upland with soils of gravel and clay loam, the Catskill Creek flows south and east from the town, and branches of the northerly flowing Schoharie Creek drain portions of it. Bald eagles are often sighted along its waterways, and Franklinton Vlaie along Route 145 is a scenic freshwater wetland that is an invaluable resource for wildlife habitat and flood protection. The first town meeting in Broome, then Bristol, was held at the Richtmyer Tavern on April 4, 1797; through later land divisions from Broome, the tavern now lies in the Town of Conesville.