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Place Name
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Syracuse
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Place Status (Type)
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city
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Capital Of
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Onondaga County
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Population
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163,860 (1990)
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Location
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Onondaga County, New York (NY), United States, North America
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Latitude
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43°02'N
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Longitude
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76°08'W
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Syracuse
, city (
25 sq mi/65 sq km; 1990 pop.
163,860),  Onondaga co., central N.Y., on Onondaga L. and the
Barge Canal; 43°02'N 76°08'W. A port of entry, its mfg. includes
air conditioners, electrical and electronic equip., motor vehicle and
aircraft parts, chinaware, shoes, machinery, and pharmaceuticals. Salt
springs were discovered in what is now Syracuse in 1654. Saltmaking,
the city's chief industry from its settlement until after the Civil
War, declined due to competition. However, its favorable location on
the Erie Canal (opened here in 1819) and on RR stimulated industrial
development. The city is the seat of Syracuse Univ., Le Moyne Col., the
State Univ. of N.Y. Upstate Medical Center, and 2 community cols.
Cultural facilities include the Everson Mus. of Fine Arts. Syracuse is
also the capital of the Iroquois (or, more properly, the
Hondinonshonni, or People of the Longhouse) Nation, and the city
continues its 18th-cent. tradition as Keeper of the Council Fire. It
was here, on the E shore of Onondaga L., that the Five (later Six)
Nations ended their internecine warfare and territorial disputes with
the planting of the Tree of Peace and the burial of war weapons beneath
it. The arrival of the French and British soon after, however, quickly
pitted the tribes against one another again. Of interest are a salt
mus. and reconstructed 1856 salt factory on E side of Onondaga L., as
well as an Erie Canal mus. A hugely successful annual state fair has
been held here since 1841. Nearby is Hancock Internatl. Airport and the
Onondaga Reservation. Recreational lakes and streams are abundant in
the area. Settled c.1788, inc. as a city 1848.
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