History of Syracuse

The story of Syracuse begins with the land - land covered with swamps and bogs, and with a large forest surrounding a clear, freshwater lake. The first people to live in this area were the Haudensaunee - the people of the Longhouse. The Haudensaunee, or the Onondaga Nation, as we know them today, was part of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy, whose territory included the Syracuse area.

Traders, missionaries and others from Europe began to visit the Syracuse area. These visitors included the French, who established a mission in the 1600's along the shores of Syracuse's lake, which was named Onondaga in recognition of the Onondaga Nation. Others came too. Large pieces of land in the Syracuse area had been given to Revolutionary War officers by the Federal government. An ex-soldier and adventurer from New Hampshire named Ephraim Webster came to this area to trade with the Onondaga nation. He came by water because there were no roads and the land was very swampy. At that time the best way to travel was by canoe, raft, or small boat. From Albany, he traveled the Mohawk River to Oneida Lake and then traveled south to Onondaga Lake and the shores of nearby Onondaga Creek, where he built a trading post. That spot is still known today as "Webster's Landing." 

Towns were springing up all along New York's inland rivers. Everywhere forests were being cut down and fields were being planted, everywhere, that is, but in the swamps around Onondaga Creek. But if the swampland was not worth much, the water was, because much of it was salty. Before refrigerators, salt was very important as a way to "cure" meat so it would not spoil. Everyone needed salt. In some places in the world, salt was dug or mined from deep in the earth. But here in Syracuse, all anyone had to do was boil the water from the area's salt springs. When the water was boiled away, salt was left.

Before Syracuse was known as Syracuse, it was called Bogardus Corners because the first building in the area was an inn owned by Mr. Bogardus. The inn was sold to Mr. Cossit, and the name of the area was changed to Cossit's Corners. The community was growing and wanted a post office and a new name. John Wilkinson, the man who was to become the Village of Syracuse's first postmaster, suggested the name "Syracuse". He had read about a city in Sicily called "Siracusa" that sounded a lot like Cossit's Corners. So Cossit's Corners became Syracuse, and Syracuse became a village, just in time for opening of the Erie Canal.

Syracuse's low, swampy land was ideal for canal construction. The Erie Canal opened in 1825 and quickly established Syracuse's dominance over nearby settlements, including the Village of Salina. As a result of the boom of the early canal years, the villages of Salina and Syracuse merged to become the city of Syracuse in 1848. Syracuse's first mayor was Harvey Baldwin. Syracuse's nickname is the "salt city." Some people say that Syracuse was a city that salt built. But in reality, the city was built because of the Erie Canal, which continued to run through the heart of the city until the mid- 1920's.

The present appearance of Syracuse was shaped in the years after the Civil War, a time when salt manufacturing began to decline. But Syracuse's many businesses and diversified industries assured the city's continued economic prosperity. Candle makers, beer brewers, steel producers and manufacturers of furniture, caskets, bicycles and cars helped the city to flourish. All sorts of goods - gears, typewriters, electrical devices, shoes, glass and china, to name just a few - were made in Syracuse by companies who took advantage of Syracuse's good transportation system, its central location and its ready, skilled labor force. Syracuse was founded in 1805, and it provided most of the salt to the United States for many years. Today it is home to numerous cultural and recreational activities.

Tourist Attractions in Syracuse

Everson Museum of Art
The Everson Museum of Art began in 1968 as the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts. American paintings and sculpture from Colonial times to present day are on display as well as a large collection of ceramic art.

Landmark Theatre
Landmark Theatre was designed by Thomas W. Lamb and built in 1928. It was named Loew's State Theatre and offered stage acts and moving pictures. It remained popular through to the 1950's when attendance began dropping, it was saved from the wrecking ball in 1977 and continues to thrive today.