The first Morrisville-area settlers traveled from the east by way of Old State Road, where Eaton and Maple street now crosses.

In 1796, Thomas Morris came here, and one year later, he built a log cabin on the corner of Main and Cedar Streets.

As more settlers moved in, the small town started to take shape. It was initially named "Morris Flats," after the founder, Thomas Morris. Morris would latter donate a quarter acre of his land to be used as the cemetery, which was established in 1810. In 1819 Morris Flats was renamed Morrisville.

In a swamp near Morrisville in Madison County, a 119-mile waterway called the Chenango River comes to life. 'Chenango' means "pleasant river flowing through the land of the bull thistle".

The river slowly runs south, as it weaves around through pastures and woodlands, until it joins the Susquehanna River that runs through downtown Binghamton.

Now, the river is used for canoeing, while fishermen line its banks looking for brown trout, walleyes and smallmouth bass.

However, in the early years of Morrisville, the river was used for much more economical reasons. The river’s water supplied power through pioneer mills alongside its banks.

Business in Morrisville was booming. An ashery, silk factory, creamery, cheese factory, comb factory, saw mill, distillery, woolen mill, machine and wood burning stove manufactures were among the growing factories. The First National Bank of Morrisville was established in December 26, 1863.

Just behind a local town bar known as "The Fort" sat a tannery that was built in 1830. The tannery ran until all of the hemlock bark was depleted.

Hemlock, a finely-textured bark, was refined into tannin and used to tan animal hides into leather. Now tannin is most commonly used in tea, beer and fine wines.

During this time, Morrisville was a popular tourist attraction, but it wouldn’t stay that way.