The city of Syracuse is located in Central New York. It is the economic and educational hub of Central New York, a region with over a million inhabitants. The city has served as a major crossroads over the last two centuries, first between the Erie Canal and its branch canals, then of the railway network.

Syracuse is the economic and educational center of Central New York, a region with over a million residents. It is home to Syracuse University, a major research university, along with other several smaller colleges and professional schools.

History

The Syracuse region was first witnessed by Europeans when French missionaries came to the area in the 1600s. A group of Jesuit priests, soldiers, and coureurs des bois established a mission, known as Saint Marie Among the Iroquois or Ste. Marie de Gannentaha, on the northeast shore of Onondaga Lake, at the invitation of the Onondaga Nation, one of the five constituent members of the Iroquois confederacy.

After the Revolutionary War, more settlers moved to the area, mostly to trade with the Onondaga Nation. Salt was discovered in several swamps in Syracuse, which further brought more settlers to the area, and hence the nickname "Salt City."

Due to the similarities such as a salt industry and a neighboring village named Salina, the name Syracuse was chosen after Syracuse, Sicily. The Village of Syracuse was officially incorporated in 1825. Also in 1925 the the Erie Canal, which ran through the village, was completed. The Village of Syracuse and the Village of Salina were joined together to become the City of Syracuse on December 14, 1847.

Syracuse became an active center for the abolitionist movement, due in large part to the influence of Gerrit Smith and a group allied with him, mostly associated with the Unitarian Church and their pastor the Reverend Samuel May, along with Quakers in nearby Skaneateles and abolitionists in several other religious congregations. Prior to the Civil War, because of the work of Jermain Wesley Loguen and others in defiance of federal law, Syracuse was known as the "great central depot on the Underground Railroad". On October 1, 1851, William Henry, a freed slave known as "Jerry" was arrested under the Fugitive Slave Law. The anti-slavery Liberty Party was holding its state convention Syracuse, and when word of the arrest dispersed, several hundred abolitionists including Charles Augustus Wheaton broke into the city jail and freed Jerry.