IAQVEC2010 Host City: Syracuse, NY, USA

History of Syracuse

Syracuse got its name from the small town of Siracusa on the island of Sicily, a town with many of the same features as The Salt City. The city of Syracuse in New York owes its existence to two very simple things: salt and water. It was salt that built this town and abundant water that made it prosper.

Syracuse—still known today as The Salt City—was once the hub of the nation’s major salt-producing region, and salt mining was the city’s number-one industry. Later, in one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th Century, the Erie Canal was built, and Syracuse became an essential stop on the canal barges’ downstate route to the seaports of New York City.

Syracuse’s humble beginnings as a mining town are on display at The Salt Museum, a fascinating little museum in the city’s northern suburbs.  At downtown’s Erie Canal Museum, Syracuse’s role in the success of the canal is exhibited.  It was location that made Syracuse such an important part of the canal route—the city is located in the geographical center of New York State—and location continues to be a major factor in this city’s appeal. 

But no history of Syracuse’s beginnings would be complete without mention of the Iroquois, the Native Americans who first inhabited the Central New York area. At Saint Marie among the Iroquois Living History Museum, life in 17th Century Central Upstate New York is meticulously recreated for a remarkable first-hand experience of the Iroquois’ contribution to the founding of Syracuse.

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