Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York
SYRACUSE,
Onondaga County, NY
Source: Onondaga or Reminiscences of Earlier and Later Times,
Vol. II, by Joshua V. H. Clark, A.M., Published by Stoddard and Babcock,
Syracuse, N.Y., 1849, pp. 83-107
CITY OF SYRACUSE - The ground upon which the city of Syracuse
now stands, was originally a part of the Salt Springs Reservation, and
at the time the county was organized, in 1794, with all that part of the
reservation east of Onondaga Creek and Lake, was included in the town of
Manlius.
The first locality which received a name within the limits of the present
city of Syracuse, was called Webster’s Landing, from Ephraim Webster, who
kept a few goods for the Indian trade, on the bank of the creek, a little
south of its outlet. Mr. Webster was succeeded by Benjamin Newkirk, in
1793; at which time, there was quite a number of Indian cabins, ranging
along the west bank of the creek, enough to form a respectable Indian village.
The dark, gloomy and almost impenetrable swamp, now occupied by the city,
was then a favorite resort for wolves, bears, wild-cats, mud-turtles, and
swamp rattlesnakes. The western portion of the valley about Syracuse, was
originally timbered with hemlock, birch and soft maple; the eastern portion
with cedar and pine.
Near the west bank of the creek, was an extensive Indian burying-ground,
where skeletons have frequently been disinterred, and are occasionaly to
this day -- two having been exhumed during the past year. At the time the
west locks were constructed at Syracuse, in 1819, over one hundred were
taken up. In excavating the canal for the red mill, on the east bank of
the creek, several skeletons were found. In 1843, one of extraordinary
size was disinterred; one of the lower bones of the leg being set beside
the limb of a tall man, reached far above his knee. The skull was comparatively
large, and the jaws were surrounded with a full set of double teeth, all
around. They were perfectly sound, covered with a beautiful enamel of the
most perfect whiteness. Such occurrences are not uncommon, at the several
Indian burying grounds throughout the county. In one grave was found a
large skeleton, on each side of which was a gun, with flints in the locks,
having the appearance of being loaded at the time they were buried. In
this grave was also a brass kettle, two pairs of shears, three razors,
a tomahawk, and a number of bullets. A large pine tree had recently been
cut, which had grown over the grave. In 1842, Mr. Henry Young discovered
a paint box, seven inches square, around which clay and gravel had firmly
cemented, some four inches in thickness; with it was a brush. The box contained
a red pigment, which from the description, must have been vermilion. The
gravel had become firmly attached, and a portion of the box petrified.
In 1808, while Mr. Young and others were cutting a large hemlock tree,
over four feet in diameter, for hewing-timber, after cutting in about a
foot and a half, they found near a hundred bullets, which had been deposited
in a box, cut in the tree. The number of concentric circles from the bark
to the bullets, was one hundred and fifty two; which, taken from 1808,
leaves the time at which they were deposited, 1656, at which time the French
had established colonies and missionaries at Onondaga.
In 1795, a feud broke out between a clan of the Onondagas and another of
the Cayugas, which raged violently for a long period, during which, at
sundry times, several individuals of both nations were killed. The last
one who fell in this deadly strife, was an Onondaga, called Handsome Harry.
He had been followed by a party of Cayugas, from Tuscarora and back, and
was overtaken at the sand bank now owned by Mr. Henry Young, not far from
the Syracuse pump house. When he found his pursuers hard upon him, he made
no effort to escape, but quietly kneeled down, bared his bosom, and was
instantly shot dead with an arrow. He was counted the handsomest man in
the nation. He was buried on the spot where he fell, and two favorite sisters
for a long time daily visited the spot, and mourned the death of their
brother with the deepest sorrow.
In 1804, an act was passed directing the sale of two hundred and fifty
acres of land, of the Salt Springs Reservation, the avails of which were
to be expended in laying out and improving a road running from lot forty-nine,
Manlius, to lot thirty-eight, Onondaga, east and west through the reservation.
Simeon De Witt, the Surveyor General, directed James Geddes, Esq., to locate
and lay out the land, and he did so. The land was advertised for sale,
with the announcement that upon it was a good mill site. Mr. Geddes having
ascertained that fact, laid out the land in reference to it. The lot was
laid out in rather an irregular form,* and the reason assigned for
so doing, was that as much dry land might be secured as possible. But notwithstanding
all the precaution of Mr. Geddes, he found it impossible to locate the
ground in such a manner as to avoid entirely the swamp, some considerable
portion of which was covered with water most of the year; a doleful place
indeed, for the site of a future city.
While the subject of this land sale was under discussion, certain persons
at Onondaga Hollow, and at Salina, denied the possibility of a water power,
and so influenced the Surveyor General, that he put a spirit level into
his gig and came out from Albany, expressly to examine the premises. He,
assisted by Mr. Geddes, took a level of the creek, and found the power
even better than had been represented, as made by the imperfect instrument
Mr. G. had used in taking the first level.
It is sometimes curious to see how simple circumstances and events, trifling
in themselves, will operate to direct a man’s whole life. The knowledge
acquired by Mr. Geddes, in the use of this instrument in leveling this
mill power, was the inciting cause by which he became qualified to make
the survey and levels on the Erie Canal.
The two hundred and fifty acres laid out and advertised, were sold at auction
in June 1804, and bid off by Mr. Abraham Walton, for the sum of six thousand
five hundred and fifty dollars, or about twenty-six dollars twenty cents
per acre,* and the lot was thereafter called the Walton Tract.
The commissioners to receive and disburse the money arising from the sale
of this tract, were James Geddes, Moses Carpenter and John Young. Mr. Geddes
was appointed treasurer, and being absent from home during the construction
of the road, Mrs. Geddes became the acting treasurer, and paid out the
money, upon the order of the individual who built it. Although the avails
of this sale were to be appropriated towards the laying out and improving
a road, there was a stipulation in the terms of sale, that the purchaser
should, within a specified time, erect or cause to be erected a suitable
building for a tavern, or house of entertainment, for the accommodation
of travelers. The same season, Mr. Walton laid out lots for a village,
and, agreeably to the stipulation, sold to Henry Bogardus, for the consideration
of three hundred dollars, half an acre of ground, binding him, within a
reasonable time to erect a suitable house for a tavern, and to keep or
cause one to be kept. His house was erected 1808. It was two stories high,
and thirty-five by forty-five feet on the ground, and stood on the site
of the present Empire Block. Mr. Bogardus was succeeded by Mr. Burlingham,
in 1808; Joseph Langdon, in 1810; James Ingalls, in 1812; and by Sterling
Cossit, in 1815.
At the time of this laying out of a village, it was called, “South Salina,”
and the tavern the “South Salina Hotel.” A Mr. Merrill erected a
small frame house the same year that Mr. Bogardus built his hotel, nearly
opposite, east, but there was so much sickness in the neighborhood, that
he became discouraged, pulled it down and carried it away. Before this
purchase was made by Mr. Walton, several persons had erected log cabins
in the vicinity of the spot where Mr. Bogardus put up his hotel. The names
given of some of them are, Mr. Hopkins, in 1797; Mr. Butler, in 1799. These
were located a little west of the Oswego bridge, north of General Granger’s
residence, near a spring of fresh water.
In the spring of 1800, Mr. Calvin Jackson came to this place, who lived
in a small log house a little south of where the rail-road crosses Genesee
street, and there was born Albion Jackson, on the 28th of December, 1800,
supposed to be the first white child born within the limits of the city
of Syracuse, out of that part heretofore known as Salina. Mr. Jackson is
still living, near the Indian Reservation, and is a grandson of Jeremiah
Jackson. William Lee and Aaron Cole, blacksmiths, opened a shop in 1805.
In 1805, Amos Stanton, father of Rufus Stanton, and Mrs. Wales, now residents
of Syracuse, located near the Salina Bridge. Dr. Swan put up a small frame
house in 1807. Jonathan Fay settled near the Court-House in 1808. Rufus
Stanton kept a tavern near the Salina bridge in 1811 -- building now standing,
and occupied as a public house.
The mills were erected in 1805, by Mr. Walton, James Sayles being the master
builder. The first dam was erected where the Seneca Turnpike bridge crosses
the creek, and the road at this time passed over it. The dam stood only
about a year, when it was swept away by a heavy spring freshet. It was
re-built several rods further up the stream, but has recently been torn
away on account of the supposed unhealthiness of the mill pond.
The name South Salina, was not received with general approbation, and after
a time it was changed to “Milan.” This name it bore for several
years, and marriages, deaths, and other incidents were announced in the
“Manlius Times,” then the only paper in the county, as having taken
place at Milan.
The Walton Tract, was a portion of it sold to Michael Hogan and Charles
Walton, and they, with the original proprietor, held it in common. After
some unimportant changes, it was transferred to Forman, Wilson & Co.,
in 1814, for about nine thousand dollars. From these proprietors, it passed
into the hands of Daniel Kellogg and Wm. H. Sabin, in 1818, who sold it
in 1828 to Henry Eckford, Esq., the celebrated ship-builder of New-York.
In May, 1824, the Walton Tract was transferred to the Syracuse Company,
for the consideration of thirty thousand dollars, which Company consisted
of Messrs. William James, Isaiah and John Townsend, and James McBride.
The same was deeded in trust to Messrs. Moses D. Burnet and Gideon Hawley,
since which, village lots have been extensively sold.
At the time the purchase was made by Forman, Wilson & Co., they erected
a large slaughter house in a pine grove, a little in rear of Gen. Granger’s
dwelling, north of Church street. They continued the business of packing
beef and pork on a large scale, till 1817, having had during the war a
heavy army contract.
After the transfer of the Walton estate to Messrs. Kellogg and Sabin, Judge
Forman was appointed agent for them, and had sole management of affairs.
In the spring of 1819, Mr. Owen Forman, a younger brother of the Judge,
and John Wilkinson, Esq., then a young lawyer, came down from Onondaga
Hollow, under the direction of Judge Forman, to lay out the Walton Tract
into village lots. The old survey of a village by Mr. Walton was thrown
aside and disregarded. These young men proceeded to the work in the month
of June, and such was the indefinite position of the ancient land marks,
that it was with the greatest difficulty that they could ascertain with
any degree of certainty, the starting point. Although in possession of
an excellent description, made by Judge Geddes, but for a certain wild
plumb tree therein mentioned, it is thought doubtful whether the precise
lines as originally run could have been traced. After near a fortnight
of hard labor, the village was again laid out, so far as related to the
Walton Tract; and what was not included in the village, was laid out into
farm lots of from five to ten acres each.
After the survey was completed, Judge Forman named the village “Corinth,”
the name of Milan having been relinquished in consequence of an ineffectual
attempt to obtain a Post Office, there already one of that name in the
State. For several years the place went by the name of “Cossit’s Corners,”
after Mr. Sterling Cossit, who succeeded Mr. Ingalls in the South Salina
Hotel. Mr. Cossit kept the house from 1815 to 1825, after which it was
kept for some time by Mr. Williston.
When this last survey was made, there was but a small clearing in the village
of Corinth. The extent of it was from the canal, near Clinton street, south
to Fayette street, and east to Warren street. On the north side of the
canal, the clearing extended as far back as Church street, and east to
Warren street. The rest of the dry ground was a pine grove interspersed
with oak bushes.
The first burying ground in Syracuse was on Fayette street, very near where
Clinton street crosses it, if any thing a little west. At this spot were
buried some fifteen or twenty persons, whose remains have never been removed,
and hundreds daily pass over them unconscious that in so public a place
lie the remains of individuals who were once as active in life as any now
upon the stage. The old burying ground near the west Rail-Road Depot, was
laid out by Owen Forman and John Wilkinson, at the time they laid out the
village.
Purchases were now somewhat rapidly made, and the business of clearing
went vigorously on. Very much of the present city was, however, a dreary
waste of swamp, approached only by means of “corduroy” and “gridiron” roads.
All along where now is located the beautiful park, was then a famous shooting
ground for partridges and rabits, and further back, were plenty of wood-cock,
snipe, owls and mud-turtles.
In spring, the water did not usually subside sufficiently to allow people
to pass with any degree of comfort, till late in May or June, and those
going from Onondaga to Salina, were obliged to pass around on the high
ground east of Syracuse, over by-roads, which were cut in every direction
through the reservation, for the purpose of collecting wood in winter for
the salt works. A person passing over the present improved roads, can have
no conception of their impassable condition in spring and autumn, at that
period. In fact the only time when they were endurable was in winter, when
perfectly frozen and covered with a good body of snow.
In the fall of 1819, Judge Forman removed to Syracuse with his family,
and occupied a house a little west of the Townsend Block. At this time
there but two frame houses in the village, besides the tavern. Log houses,
and plank, and slab cabins, were scattered over the dry ground, most of
which latter had been tenanted by laborers on the canal. The pasture of
the Judge ran back some fifty rods and east to Salina street; most of it
was pine grove. Another lot of twenty acres commenced where the Syracuse
House now stands, and there was a set of bars and passage-way to this lot,
where the western front door of that building opens to the street. In 1816,
Rufus Stanton raised on this ground an abundant crop of rye. It was afterwards
occupied as a pasture until 1820. So dense was the forest about Syracuse
in 1819, that two young ladies, the present Mrs. E. W. Leavenworth and
Mrs. M. D. Burnet, in taking a morning stroll over “Prospect Hill,” became
bewildered among the thick brushwood, and finally rambled about till the
day was far spent, when they found themselves in the vicinity of the Lodi
Locks, greatly fatigued with their labors, and not a little rejoiced at
the prospect of deliverance from the terrors of passing a gloomy night
in the wilderness. Here they recognized familiar ground, and returned home
in safety, after a day of much anxiety and no little inquietude of mind.
Previous to the arrival of Judge Forman, Sidney Dole and Milan C. Taylor,
owned and occupied the mill, and kept a store next west of where the late
William Malcolm first kept; this was in 1814. They were the first merchants
in Syracuse. Northrup and Dexter had a job on the Erie Canal in 1817, and
set up a store in place of Dole and Taylor, and conducted business till
1821. In 1821, General Amos P. Granger came down from Onondaga Hill, and
set up as a dry goods merchant, on the north-east corner, by the present
Salina street bridge. At the this time there was no other store in Syracuse,
except two or three small groceries. Mr. Henry Newton opened a store in
1822; Mr. Archy Kasson opened a hardware store in 1822; Kasson and Heermans,
dry goods, groceries and hardware in 1823; Mr. G. M. Towle, opened a commission
and forwarding store in April, 1823; Geo. Davis & Co., in July, 1823;
Henry W. Durnford, groceries, drugs and medicine, 1823; John Rogers &
Co., from New-York, November, 1823; William Malcolm, 1823; Haskell &
Walbridge, saddlers and furnishers for the trade, 1824. In 1824, J. Vanderheyden,
Mead & Davis, A. N. Van Patten, and H. & W. Dowd, established themselves
as merchants at Syracuse. Hiram Judson, watch maker and jeweller, 1824;
H. Hyde & Co., established themselves as forwarding merchants in 1824.
Since this period merchants have become so numerous it is impossible to
follow their history with precision.
Messrs. Buell & Safford bought the lot where the Syracuse House now
stands, and commenced the erection of the “Syracuse Hotel.” While the building
was in progress of erection, Mr. Safford fell from a scaffold, and was
killed by the fall; after which, the property passed into the hands of
Mr. Eckford, who completed the Syracuse Hotel in 1822. It was three stories
high, and the first brick building of any considerable dimensions, erected
in town. It was kept several years by Mr. James Mann. After the Syracuse
Company came in possession of the premises, the house was rebuilt, and
has since been enlarged and improved to its present ample dimensions and
style. It was at the time of rebuilding named the “Syracuse House.” after
which, it was kept by Mr. George Rust; afterwards by Daniel Comstock and
H. T. Gibson; and for a long period thereafter, it was kept by P. N. Rust,
Esq. He was succeeded by Gillett & Knickerbocker, in 1848.
In 1822, Syracuse had not more than two hundred and fifty inhabitants,
and no place of worship; the whole church-going community was only from
thirty to forty; no school-house, only two taverns, and the stores before
mentioned.
The first physician was Dr. Swan, who located at Syracuse about the year
1807.
Dr. Basset was the physician during the building of the canal, and did
a vast amount of medical business; for, almost every man engaged on the
canal was sick. Eye witnesses observe, that the scenes of suffering and
distress at that period, were beyond conception. Dr. Colvin succeeded Dr.
Basset, and still resides at Syracuse. Dr. Day came in afterwards, and
died of Cholera, in 1832. Dr. M. Williams, and other physicians, came in
soon after, and the number has become so numerous, that it would be difficult
to trace them.
John Wilkinson, Esq., in 1819, was the first lawyer who established himself
in Syracuse. He erected an office on the corner where the Globe Buildings
now stand, and was heartily ridiculed for setting his office out in the
fields. This locality at that time, was quite out of town; but circumstances,
and the advancing prosperity of the place, have brought it into the centre
of business.
Alfred Northam, Esq., established himself as a lawyer at Syracuse, in 1824.
Messrs. Harvey Baldwin and Schuyler Strong, were the next lawyers who located
in 1826, and were soon followed by Messrs. Wheaton and Davis, E. W. Leavenworth,
Esq., B. D. Noxon, Esq., James R. Lawrence, Esq., and others, some of whom
came with the removal of the Court House from the Hill.
Mr. John Durnford, established the first printing press at Syracuse. He
was induced to locate at Syracuse, from representations made to him of
the growing importance of the village. He issued the first number of the
“ONONDAGA GAZETTE,” 2d of April,
1823; it was of the Clintonian school of politics. The first number contained
but one merchant’s advertisement, viz.; Kasson & Heerman’s. Other advertisements
were of “Lee’s Billious Pills.” “Pomeroy’s Razor Strop,” “Clark’s Commentary,”
and “Morse’s Geography.” The name of the paper was changed after the first
year, to “SYRACUSE GAZETTE, AND
GENERAL ADVERTISER,” and was
continued by Mr. Durnford until 1829, when Lewis H. Redfield moved to Syracuse
from Onondaga Hollow, bought out Mr. D., and united the “ONONDAGA
REGISTER” to it, under the name of “THE
SYRACUSE GAZETTE AND ONONDAGA
REGISTER.” Mr. Redfield continued the publication
of the “Gazette and Register” until the close of 1831, when it was transferred
to Messrs. J. H. Clark and J. de Blois Sherman; Mr. R. having had charge
of the “Register” at Onondaga Hollow afterwards, “Gazette and Register,”
at Syracuse, for a period of eighteen years; during which time, D. D. Spencer
editor of the “Ithaca Chronicle,” Lewis Gaylord Clark, Editor of the Knickerbocker,
and E. Russell Webb, of New-York, served their several terms of apprenticeship
in the “Register” office; all of whom occupy distinguished positions in
their respective occupations. Messrs. Clark and Sherman, changed the name
of the paper to the “THE SYRACUSE ARGUS,”
and gave the “Jackson party” a warm support for a short time, when it was
finally discontinued.
In 1825, Messrs. ---- Barnum and John F. Wyman established the ‘SYRACUSE
ADVERTISER,’ a “Jackson” paper. Mr. Barnum, however,
soon withdrew, and was succeeded in his interest by Mr. Norman Rawson.
Messrs. Rawson & Wyman, continued the “Advertiser” until the autumn
og ‘26, when Mr. Wyman, who continued alone in the publication of it, until
the spring of 1829. The “ONONDAGA JOURNAL,”
published at Onondaga Hill, by Mr. V. W. Smith, was then united with the
Advertiser, under the name of “THE ONONDAGA
STANDARD,” and published by Wyman and Smith. The Standard
has since been continued by V. W. & T. A. Smith, Wm. L. Crandall and
A. L. Smith; A. L. Smith and Marcellus Farmer; A. L. Smith and P. Agan;
and is now published by P. Agan and Moses Summers. The “MORNING
POST,” the first daily established in Syracuse, was
issued from the Standard office, about four months in 1835.
In 1830, the “ONONDAGA REPUBLICAN,”
an Anti-Masonic paper, was established by Mr. W. S. Campbell, and was continued
about three years. “THE SYRACUSE
AMERICAN” --- National Republican --- was established
in 1831, by Mr. ----- Adams; continued through the campaign of 1832, and
then discontinued.
In 1834, Messrs. Clark & Patterson, commenced the publication of “THE
CONSTITUTIONA- LIST,” a Whig paper, which was continued
about two years. This was succeeded by “THE SYRACUSE
WHIG,” edited by John K. Barlow, who continued it
about two years, when it was merged into a new paper, the “WESTERN
STATE JOURNAL,” by V. W. &
S. F. Smith; the latter of whom, in 1846, commenced THE
SYRACUSE DAILY JOURNAL,”
in connection with it. In the spring of 1847, these papers passed into
the hands of Henry Barns, Augustus S. Smith, and Edward Cooper, by whom
they were continued until the destruction of the establishment by fire,
6th of January, 1849. The Daily and Weekly Journal are now continued by
Marcellus Farmer, Vivus W. Smith and Seth Haight.
In 1835, “THE ONONDAGA CHIEF,”
by Miller and Burdick, was commenced and continued about two years. The
Chief was succeeded by the “EMPIRE STATE
DEMOCRAT,” by Hiram Cummings; afterwards by the “FREEMAN,”
Abolition, by Tucker & Kinney. The “SYRACUSE DAILY
STAR,” neutral, succeeded the Freeman, by the same
publishers in 1845, who soon after commenced the publication of the “WEEKLY
STAR.” Both papers are now continued by Kinney &
Masters. The “RELIGIOUS RECORDER”
was established by Terry & Platt, in 1844.
On the first of January, 1849, the following entitled papers were published
in the city of Syracuse, viz: Syracuse Journal, daily and weekly; Star,
daily and weekly; Standard, weekly; Democrat, weekly; Religious Recorder,
weekly; Reveille, daily; and Onondaga Sentinel, weekly; and in March, 1849,
was established the “CENTRAL CITY,”
by an association of Printers.*
Others have at different periods, been started, but their existence has
been short.
A stereotype foundry was established by Messrs. Baker & Tiernan, from
Philadelphia, March 1849.
The first religious society organized in Syracuse, was of the Baptist denomination.
At first, a Conference was organized in the winter of 1819-20, by Elder
John G. Sternes, who officiated as minister a portion of the time. Thomas
Spencer, Braddock Dart, David Johnson, James Wilson, Alvin Walker with
their wives, and Wyllys Brown, B. G. Avery and Mrs. Wales, were the members.
Arrangements were made with the Baptist Madison Theological Seminary, to
send out every Saturday, a young man to preach. The arrangement was not
perfect, and services were not regularly held. The people of all denominations
at that time attended the Baptist meeting in a little low school house,
scarcely capable of containing sixty persons.
Elder Nathaniel J. Gilbert came to Syracuse as a missionary, 16th of February,
1821, and became the first stated preacher, in June, 1823. Rev. Mr. Gilbert,
united with the Church and became their regular pastor, in November, 1824.
He continued in the faithful and laborious performance of the duties of
his office, until July, 1832, when he was suddenly cut off by Asiatic Cholera,
deeply lamented by the whole community.
On the 29th of August, 1833, Rev. Orsamus Allen became the pastor of the
church, and so continued until October 20, 1834. In November following,
Rev. Stephen Wilkins became the pastor, and continued until December 1st,
1837. He was then succeeded by Rev. John Blain, who remained with the Church
four years.
December 1, 1841, Rev. Joseph W. Taggart was installed pastor, and remained
until August, 1847. He was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Robert
R. Raymond, who entered upon his duties on the first day of September,
1847.
Their first house of worship, (being also the first erected in Syracuse,)
was built in 1824, at a cost of two thousand three hundred dollars, and
enlarged in 1839, at a cost of two thousand three hundred dollars. In the
spring of 1848, the society made an exchange with Capt. Joel Cody, of their
house and lot, for a lot more eligible, situated a few rods east of their
old location, and erected on the new site, a brick edifice after the Roman
Ionic order of architecture. This building is one hundred and thirty-two
feet long, (including the porch in front and lecture room in rear,) by
seventy feet in width, estimated cost, about fifteen thousand dollars,
making the whole property worth about twenty thousand dollars.
“The First Presbyterian Society of Syracuse,” was organized December
14th, 1824, and the following persons elected trustees, vis: Moses D. Burnett,
Miles Seymour, Rufus Moss, Jonathon Day, Heman Walbridge, Joshua Forman
and Joseph Slocum. Their house of worship was built in the summer of 1825,
and dedicated in January, 1826. Rev. D. C. Lansing preached the dedication
sermon. The Church was organized with twenty-six members, on the 6th of
April, 1826. Elders, Frederick Phelps and Edward Chapman; Deacon, Pliny
Dickinson. On the 28th of June, 1826, Rev. John Watson Adams was ordained
and installed pastor over this church, and has continued so until the present
time, (1849) a rare instance of the true relation which should be sustained
between people and pastor. It is believed there is not another instance
of so long continuance of a minister with his congregation in Western New-York.
Previous to the erection of their house of worship, meetings were held
in the village school house.
“Park Church” (second Presbyterian) was organized 1847, building
completed 1848. Rev. W. W. Newell, pastor.
“St. Paul’s Church” was organized 22d of May, 1826, Rev. John McCarty
presiding. At this time were chosen, John Durnford and Samuel Wright, Wardens;
Amos P. Granger, Archy Kasson, James Mann, Matthew W. Davis, Mather Williams,
Barent Filkins, Othniel Williston and Jabes Hawley, Vestrymen. In 1825,
the Syracuse Company gave the Episcopal Society a lot of ground for a church,
and in September the frame was raised, and covered during the autumn of
that year, and in 1827, it was completed. It stood on the ground lately
occupied by the Granger Block, now in ruins. The church building was subsequently
sold to the Roman Catholic Society, who removed it. On the 12th of July,
1841, the corner stone of the present St. Paul’s Church was laid, and the
building completed early the following year. Previous to the erection of
the first church edifice, services were held in the school house, and occasionally
in the Baptist house. Clergymen of the Protestant Episcopal Church, who
officiated previous to the organization of the society, were Rev. Messrs.
Lucius Smith, Wm. B. Thomas, ----- Wilcox, Wm. J. Bulkley, Augustus L.
Converse, and afterwards, Rev. Messrs, John McCarty, William Barlow, Palmer
Dyer, Richard Salmon, John Grigg, Francis Todrig, Clement M. Butler, Charles
H. Halsey, William Walton, Issac Swart, John B. Gallagher and Henry Gregory.
Dr. Gregory was succeeded in St. Paul’s by the Rev. Wm. B. Ashley.
“St. James Church,” (Protestant Episcopal,) was organized August,
1848. Rector, Rev. Henry Gregory, D. D.
The “Church of the Messiah,” (First Unitarian Congregational Society
of Syracuse,) was organized 3d of September, 1838. First trustees, Hiram
Putnam, Nathan Flint and Charles F. Williston. Their first house of worship
was a little chapel on Genesee street, dedicated in December, 1838. The
new edifice was erected in 1843, and consecrated in December of that year.
Clergymen have been Rev. J. P. B. Storer, who commenced with the consecration,
and continued till within one week of his death, at which time he preached
his last sermon. He died 10th of March, 1844. Rev. Samuel J. May has officiated
since, to 1849.
First Roman Catholic Church of Syracuse, was organized Christmas
day, 1842. It was purchased from the Protestant Episcopal Society, and
fitted up for the Roman Catholics. In 1848, it was considerably enlarged
and improved. Rev. Michael Haes, the only minister.
The “First Methodist Episcopal Society” erected a substantial brick
church in 1836. Statistics from this society have not been furnished. It
is, however, one of the oldest in the city. A new society has recently
been organized.
A “Dutch Reformed Society” was organized in 1848. The Rev. J. H.
Cornell, minister.
There is an African Church, and several German societies, of different
protestent persuasions.
The Onondaga County Bank was incorporated in 1880; Salina Bank, 1832; Bank
of Syracuse, 1838, under General Banking Law. Syracuse and Utica Rail-road
went into operation 3d July, 1839; Auburn and Syracuse, 1841; Oswego and
Syracuse, October, 1848. Telegraph from Albany to Syracuse established
1846. Townsend Block was erected in 1842; The Granger Block in 1844 ---
destroyed by fire on 6th January, 1849; Empire Block erected 1845; Globe
Building, 1846-7; Malcolm Block, 1847; Market Hall, 1845.
The first packet-boat on the canal, named the Montezuma, arrived at Syracuse
on the 21st of April, 1820. It was built and fitted up by a company of
gentlemen at Montezuma, from a model furnished by Comfort Tyler. It was
seventy-six feet long, and fourteen feet wide. Its arrival created great
excitement; hundreds of anxious spectators lined the banks of the canal,
to witness this mighty wonder. This practical illustration of the benefits
of canal navigation was not without its use. It hushed the hostility of
canal opponents, and subdued the fears of the more timorous; visionary
theory yielded to simple fact, and wild speculation to the test of experiment.
The canal was now navigable from Montezuma to Utica, ninety-four miles,
and at once business received a new and vigorous impulse.
The 4th of July, 1820, was a glorious day for Syracuse. The canal was in
practical operation, the prospects of the future city began to brighten;
a most brilliant day dawned upon a land heretofore a swamp and bog. It
was hailed as a day of joy, festivity and rejoicing. Invitations had been
extended to the friends of the canal throughout the State, particular in
the Western District. Thousands of guests from the surrounding counties
came in to witness the novelty of canal navigation, and to celebrate the
day. Some of the most distinguished men in the State were present, among
whom were Gov. Clinton and suite, General Van Cortland, Myron Holley, Thomas
J. Oakley, and John C. Spencer. Judge Van Ness adjourned the circuit, then
in session at the Court-House, and the Court and Bar attended in a body.
Thaddeus M. Wood, Esq., presided on the occasion. The Declaration was read
by N. P. Randall, Esq., and the Oration delivered by Samuel Miles Hopkins,
Esq., to more than two thousand people. The numerous procession was formed
in front of Mr. Gossit’s tavern, escorted by the Salina Band. They proceeded
to a pine grove directly in rear of the Townsend Block. The platform on
which were seated the orator, reader and distinguished guests, was under
a large spreading pine, which has long ago bowed its towering head to make
way for the rapid and substantial improvements which have since been made.
This was the first celebration of our national independence at Syracuse,
and those who were present number it among her proudest days.
A Post Office was established at Syracuse in February, 1820, and was thus
announced in the Onondaga Register --- "A new Post Office has been established
at Syracuse (formerly Corinth) in the town of Salina, and John Wilkinson,
Esq., appointed Post Master. The name of this village was necessarily changed,
there being a Post Office of the name of Corinth previously established
in the State." The advertising list in 1823, at the time of the first appearance
of the Onondaga Gazette had increased to eight. The Post Office for a time
was kept in the store of Gen. Granger, but for the greater convenience
of the inhabitants of the village, it was thought advisable to move it
to the printing office of John Durnford, Esq. He at first objected on account
of the lack of room but finally consented. In due time Mr. Wilkinson came
on with the whole contents of the Post Office, mail matter, letter bags,
boxes --- the whole concern, on his shoulders, without having occasion
to go for a second load; upon which Mr. Durnford concluded he had plenty
of room to accommodate all the requisite wants of the department at Syracuse.
On the 9th of June, 1825, the Marquis de La Fayette visited Syracuse. He
was escorted from Onondaga Hill, by a large body of citizens on horseback
(by way of the Hollow) to the Mansion House, where he received the cordial
greetings of the citizens of Syracuse and the surrounding country. Judge
Forman, as President of the village, addressed the war-worn veteran in
behalf of his fellow citizens, in an appropriate address, replete with
generous affection, tendering to the illustrious guest, the heartfelt hospitalities
of a grateful people. During the delivery of Judge For- man’s address,
the illustrious hero stood with his hat in hand leaning on his cane, with
the other on his hip, giving his undivided attention to what was said.
The gallant general responded in the following words:
(Rep. Onon. Reg.)
“The names of Onondaga and Syracuse, in behalf of whose population you
are pleased so kindly to welcome me, recall to my mind at the same time,
the wilderness that, since the time I commanded on the northern frontier,
has been transformed into one of the most populous, well cultivated and
enlightened parts of the United States; and, the ancient Sicilian city,
once the seat of republican institutions, much inferior, however, to those
which in American Syracuse, are founded upon the plain investigation, the
unalloyed establishment of the rights of men, and upon the best representative
forms of government. No doubt sir, but among the co-operators of the Revolution,
the most sanguine of us could not fully anticipate the rapidity of the
improvements, which on a journey of many thousand miles (the last tour
alone, from Washington to this place, amounting to five thousand miles,)
have delighted me, and of which this part of the country offers a bright
example. Be pleased to accept my personal thanks, and in behalf of the
people of Onondaga and Syracuse, to receive the tribute of my sincere and
respectful acknowledgments."
This address was received with the most rapturous applause. Salutations
were exchanged, a bountiful repast was furnished for the guests, and all
passed off the greatest gratification of every one present.
After breakfast, the General and suite, together with the Onondaga committee
of escort, left Syracuse in the packet boat Rochester, for Utica, to which
place the committee accompanied him.
The conclusion of the great work in which the people of Onondaga had borne
so prominent a part, was undoubtedly a primary cause of the improvement
of Syracuse. The village was incor- porated by Legislature enactment, 13th
April, 1825, with the usual powers granted to like incorporations. The
charter was amended in 1829 and in 1834, increasing the powers of village
officers regulating water works, fire department, &c.
In 1835, the bounds of the original village were considerably enlarged.
(See Records.) In 1839-41, the charter was again amended so as to enable
the Trustees to hold real estate for the purposes of a village cemetery,
which was subsequently purchased, laid out and beautified. In 1842 and
in 1845, the charter was again amended for improvement of water works,
to empower the Trustees to borrow money on the credit of the corporation,
to purchase a lot for a market and other public buildings, and for other
purposes.
The first meeting for the election of officers of the village of Syracuse,
was held at the School House in said village, 3d of May, 1825, at which
Joshua Forman, Amos P. Granger, Moses D. Burnet, Herman Walbridge and John
Rogers were elected Trustees, (Joshua Forman, President;) James Webb, Alfred
Northum and Thomas Spencer, Assessors; John Wilkinson, Clerk; John Durnford,
Treasurer; Daniel Gilbert, Justice Peace, presiding.
The trustees proceeded at once to lay out road districts, to organize a
fire department, and to purchase engines and apparatus, and other things
for the welfare of the village.
The second Board of Trustees was elected 3d of May, 1826. Only fifty-six
votes were polled. The Board consisted of M. D. Burnet, H. Gifford, Alfred
Northum, Andrew Van Patten and Henry Young (M. D. Burnet, second President;)
Peter Van Olinda, Clerk. For officers in succeeding years see village records.
The city of Syracuse justly prides herself upon the superiority of her
common schools, which may be deemed the model schools of the county, and
are scarcely equalled by any in the State. Districts were formerly laid
out when the population was scanty and scholars few. Districts that once
contained only a small number of inhabitants, have recently become populous,
and where the school was attended by a score of children, it has, increased
ten fold. Within the memory of many, there was only a single square hopper-shaped
roof building, used for schools, religious meetings, town hall, and for
almost every public purpose.
Through the exertions of Messrs. Harvey Baldwin, Oliver Teall, Aaron Burt,
and some others friendly to the cause of education, a charter was obtained
for the Syracuse Academy. Mr. Baldwin gave the lot, and under many discouraging
embarrassments, the building now occupied as the Orphan Asylum was erected
and completed for an Academy, which was supplied with competent teachers,
and supported by the benefactions of the before named individuals, and
a few others. After the Academy went into operation, the enterprise of
the people began to be aroused, jealousies in reference to the Academy
being a speculation, were awakened, and district school houses sprung up
and were patronized. The cause of education profited by the efforts of
these first actors, but the founders were, and continued to be losers,
and finally the Academy was abandoned, and the house designed by its originators
to subserve the cause of education, providentially became the home of the
helpless orphan, add the abode of charity.
On the evening of Friday, the 20th of August, 1841, occurred the ever memorable
EXPLOSION, at which time twenty-six of our fellow-citizens were launched
unwarned into eternity, and ten others dangerously, and forty-three others
severely wounded. A fire originated in joiners shop, on the towing path
side of the Oswego Canal. Here had been stored some twenty-five kegs of
powder, which exploded with the most terrible consequences. A gloom was
cast over the village and the county, which betokened sorrow, and mourning
was manifest upon every countenance; sadness pervaded every dwelling, and
melancholy every heart. The effects of this explosion were felt for more
than twenty miles around. A man upon the deck of a packet boat at Fulton,
twenty- six miles distant, heard the report. At De Witt and Jamesville,
five miles off, persons were started from their sleep, supposing their
chimnies had fallen down. At Manlius, ten miles distant, the earth trembled,
and crockery upon a merchant’s shelves rattled for the space of several
seconds, like the shock from a clap of thunder. At Camillus it was compared
to the crash of falling timber. At Onondaga it was supposed to be an earthquake.
Although the concussion was tremendous at Syracuse, the report was not
so loud as might have been supposed. Glass in the windows a hundred rods
distant, were broken. Papers in the County Clerk’s Office were thrown from
their places upon the floor, and several buildings were more or less injured.
The instant the explosion took place, the air was filled with fragments
of the building, bits of lumber, &c., which lighted up the heavens
with the brightness of day; but in a twinkling it was total darkness. The
explosion had extinguished every particle of fire. The scene at this moment
was horrible beyond description; men, women and children, screaming in
horror; none knew the extent of the calamity, and all were anxious to learn
the fate of their friends. Quickly some three thousand persons were gathered,
anxiously looking for those whom they most regarded. Very soon lamps were
brought, the wounded were carried off, filling the air with sighs and groans.
The dead were sought and found, many of them so much disfigured that they
could be recognized only by their clothes or the contents of their pockets.
For a long time clumps of persons could be seen with lights in all directions,
carrying either the dead or the wounded, to their homes. The scenes of
the fatal night will long be remembered by the citizens of Syracuse and
the county of Onondaga. The next day the village was shrouded in mourning.
The stores were all closed, and business was out of the question. On Sunday
the unfortunate victims were consigned to the tomb admidst the sympathies
and tears of the afflicted community. The Clergy were most solemn and impassioned
in their addresses, and the deepest sadness prevailed, as the several processions
wended their way to the lonely tomb.
During the year 1846, Syracuse had so wonderfully increased in size and
population, that the subject of securing for it a city charter, began seriously
to be discussed. Meetings were held during that and the following year,
without coming to any definite conclusion, till the winter of 1847-8, the
matter was brought before the Legislature. There was considerable difference
of opinion among the inhabitants, as to the extent of territory which should
be embraced. Some were for including the whole original Salt Springs Reservation;
others, for only the village of Syracuse. Some for more territory, others
for less. Several spirited meetings were held in reference to the subject,
which finally resulted in the grant of a charter, including the villages
of Syracuse and Salina, with the name of Syracuse. At the first election
of city officers, in May, 1848, Harvey Baldwin, Esq., was elected Mayor;
James Lynch and Elizur Clark, Aldermen for the first ward; Alexander McKinstry
and John B. Burnet, for the second; William H. Alexander and Gardner Lawrence,
for the third; and Henry W. Durnford and Robert Furman, for the fourth.
From the returns of a census made for the city of Syracuse, first of January,
1849, it contained a small fraction short of 16,000 inhabitants.
In May, 1849, E. W. Leavenworth, Esq., was elected Mayor; Thomas Feagan,
of the first ward, Silas Titus, of the second, Amos Westcott, of the third,
and Edward B. Wicks of the fourth, Aldermen; --- Messrs. Lynch, McKinstry,
Lawrence, and Durnford, holding over.
The opening of the canal in 1820, may be set down as the real commencement
of the city of Syracuse. From this time it began to be looked upon as a
place inevitably destined to become the grand emporium of the county. There
was, however, one continual drawback. During the build- ing of the canal
from 1817 to 1820, the sickness had been terrible. No estimate can be made
of the fatality of disease at that time. To the foreseeing mind of Judge
Forman, something was to be done to improve the health of the place, or
his plans would fail; accordingly, during the winter of 1821-22, he procured
the passage of a law, in connection with one authorizing the lowering of
Onondaga Lake, by which the Commissioners of the Land Office were to draw
a map of the swamp and marsh about the villages of Salina and Syracuse.
This map was to designate the route of several ditches or drains through
the swamp and marsh lands, with an accompanying estimate of the sum necessary
to be raised to effect such object. The judges of the county courts were
authorized to appoint three discreet freeholders of the county, who should
assess the amount of money necessary to be raised on the owners of the
lands contiguous to the drains, in proportion as they were supposed to
be benefitted. In case of the non-payment of any assessment, the lands
could be sold, after being advertised four weeks for the payment, and if
not redeemed within six months, with interest at ten per cent., with all
costs, the sale was valid and unchangeable.
The citizens were allowed to build their own ditches on their own lands,
according to the prescribed rules of the commissioners, and the plan laid
down on the map. In case they would not, commissioners were authorized
themselves to build them, and charge the owners with the cost, and cost
of collection. This law at the time, was considered highly arbitrary; but,
it was the only feasible project by which the lands could be drained.
In the summer of 1822, the lands were brought under subjection by draining,
the place assumed an air of healthfulness, disease and sickness kept at
a distance, a marked difference was manifest at once, confidence was placed
in the future, and the past was quickly forgotten. Since the draining of
these lands, they have been healthy as any in the country.
The same year, a considerable portion of the Onondaga Salt Springs Reservation
was sold under the direction of the Surveyor General. It was parcelled
into small lots and sold to individuals, several of which were taken by
Messrs. Kellogg & Sabin, which eventually passed into the hands of
the Syracuse Company. A large portion of the present site of the city,
and which is now covered with costly buildings, was included in these sales.
Very much of this land brought only nominal prices. For instance, the lots
on which now stand the stately mansions of Messrs. Lester, Colvin, Woolworth,
Minard, Coggswell, Sedgewick, Wilkinson, Burnet, Davis, Forbes, Leavenworth
and others, together with a large tract, including the cemetery, brought
at the sale, only from eighteen to thirty dollars per acre. The lands east
of Fayette Park, including L. H. Redfield’s and other lots, sold for six
dollars per acre.
General Granger took several of the lots in the swamp, near Lodi, between
the canal and turnpike, at ten dollars fifty cents per acre. Citizens agreed
not to bid against him, on condition of his clearing the land immediately.
This was done at great expense, the same season, and put into a crop of
wheat. Most of this ground is now covered with fine buildings.
Another sale of State lands was made in 1828, embracing the lots in the
vicinity of the Court- House, and other portions of the reservation.
Directly after this, roads were improved and made substantial and permanent,
low places were filled up, logs and stumps were removed, durable stores
and tasteful dwellings were erected, churches with their lofty spires glanced
upwards, magnificent hotels, and massive rows of buildings appeared in
all directions, canal basins were crowded with boats, lading and unlading,
at the spacious warehouses upon the wharves, and wheel carriages loaded
with agricultural products lined the extended and well paved streets. All
these places have within a very few years, become thronged with people
full of business, life and activity. The change is like a vision, an enchantment
to the many who lived to witness in so short a time, the wonderful transition.
But a few years ago, the wild flowers grew in spontaneous profusion, all
along where are now lofty stores and hotels, and wild berries were gathered
abundantly on grounds now occupied by the older churches of the city, and
the reaper, as he bound his yellow sheaves, little thought that so soon,
his stubble land would become the great thoroughfare of steam and electricity.
The time has been so short, that it is difficult to realize that so great
a change has been wrought. In less than a quarter of a century, a city
has sprung up from a loathsome swamp, where least of all, the traveler
would dream of such an event. There has never been anything like extra
exertion to increase the size of the town --- its growth has been steady,
healthy and uniform. Through all periods of pecuniary adversity, it has
passed its onward career, with a greater demand for dwellings. Its business,
from year to year, has increased with great regularity. As new stores were
opened, customers increased, and as trade extended itself, the country
became more dependant upon Syracuse as a market. Although this has been
the course and consequent increase of business and population for near
twenty-five years, the same characteristics still exist, and it is no unreasonable
prediction to remark, that the growth may be even more rapid for the succeeding
twenty-five years, than it has been for the last twenty-five. “Westward
the star of empire lies.” The Capitol of the Empire State, will undoubtedly,
within that period, be removed to the Central City, and there may be many
now living, who will witness the inauguration of Governors, and the organization
of Legislatures, in the city of Syracuse.
1 July 1998
2 July 1998