Editing Syracuse, New York (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Syracuse, New York}}
French missionaries were the first [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]] to come to this area, arriving to work with and convert the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] in the mid-17th century. At the invitation of the [[Onondaga Nation]], one of the five nations of the [[Iroquois Confederacy]], a Jesuit priest by the name of [[Simon Le Moyne]], accompanied by soldiers and [[coureurs des bois]], including [[Pierre-Esprit Radisson|Pierre Esprit Radisson]], set up a mission, known as [[Sainte Marie among the Iroquois|''Ste. Marie de Gannentaha'']], on the northeast shore of [[Onondaga Lake]].

Jesuit missionaries reported salty brine springs around the southern end of what they referred to as "Salt Lake", known today as Onondaga Lake in honor of the historic tribe. French fur traders established trade throughout the New York area among the Iroquois. Dutch and English colonists also were traders, and the English nominally claimed the area, from their upstate base at [[Albany, New York]]. During the [[American Revolutionary War]], the highly decentralized Iroquois divided into groups and bands that supported the British, and two tribes that supported the American-born rebels, or patriots.

Settlers came into central and western New York from eastern parts of the state and New England after the American Revolutionary War and various treaties with and land sales by Native American tribes.<ref>See [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)]]</ref> The subsequent designation of this area by the state of New York as the Onondaga Salt Springs Reservation provided the basis for commercial salt production. Such production took place from the late 1700s through the early 1900s. Brine from wells that tapped into halite (common salt) beds in the Salina shale near [[Tully, New York]], 15 miles south of the city, was developed in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Crossroads in Time|last=Connors|first=Dennis J.|publisher=Onondaga Historical Association|year=2006|isbn=0-8156-8149-6|location=Syracuse|pages=17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yager|first1=Richard M.|last2=Kappel|first2=William M.|last3=Plummer|first3=L. Niel|date=May 24, 2007|title=Origin of halite brine in the Onondaga Trough near Syracuse, New York State, USA: modeling geochemistry and variable-density flow|journal=Hydrogeology Journal|language=en|volume=15|issue=7|pages=1321–1339|doi=10.1007/s10040-007-0186-9|issn=1431-2174|bibcode=2007HydJ...15.1321Y|s2cid=129699518|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1232767|access-date=November 26, 2021|archive-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418160321/https://zenodo.org/record/1232767|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the north-flowing brine from Tully that is the source of salt for the "salty springs" found along the shoreline of Onondaga Lake. The rapid development of this industry in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the nicknaming of this area as "The Salt City".
[[File:View of the Boulevard, Syracuse, NY.jpg|left|thumb|View of the Boulevard, {{Circa|1908}}]]

The original settlement of Syracuse was a conglomeration of several small towns and villages and was not recognized with a post office by the [[United States Government]]. Establishing the post office was delayed because the settlement did not have a name. Joshua Forman wanted to name the village [[Corinth (village), New York|Corinth]]. When [[John Wilkinson (Syracuse pioneer)|John Wilkinson]] applied for a post office in that name in 1820, it was denied because the same name was already in use in [[Saratoga County, New York]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shadesofoakwood.com/pages/syrhist.html|title=Early History of Syracuse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830222145/http://shadesofoakwood.com/pages/syrhist.html|archive-date=August 30, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Having read a poetic description of [[Syracuse, Sicily]] (Siracusa), Wilkinson saw similarities to the lake and salt springs of this area, which had both "salt and freshwater mingling together".<ref>{{Cite news|date=April 13, 1921|title=Syracuse Formed as Village 96 Years Ago Today|newspaper=Syracuse Herald-Journal}}</ref> On February 4, 1820, Wilkinson proposed the name "Syracuse" to a group of fellow townsmen; it became the name of the village and the new post office.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sites.rootsweb.com/~nyononda/SYRACUSE/SYRTELPC.HTM|title=Historical Sketch of the "Central City," and the Importance of the Bell System in Its Business and Social Life|last=Cleaves|first=L.L.|date=June 1912|access-date=November 26, 2021|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308113646/http://sites.rootsweb.com/~nyononda/SYRACUSE/SYRTELPC.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first [[Solvay Process Company]] plant in the United States was erected on the southwestern shore of Onondaga Lake in 1884. The village was called [[Solvay, New York|Solvay]] to commemorate the inventor [[Ernest Solvay]]. In 1861, he developed the [[ammonia-soda process]] for the manufacture of soda ash (anhydrous sodium carbonate) from brine wells dug in the southern end of [[Tully, New York|Tully]] valley (as a source of sodium chloride) and limestone (as a source of calcium carbonate). The process was an improvement over the earlier Leblanc process. The Syracuse Solvay plant was the incubator for a large chemical industry complex owned by [[AlliedSignal|Allied Signal]] in Syracuse. While this industry stimulated development and provided many jobs in Syracuse, it left Onondaga Lake as the most polluted in the nation.

The salt industry declined after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], but a new manufacturing industry arose in its place. Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, numerous businesses and stores were established, including the [[Franklin (automobile)|Franklin Automobile Company]], which produced the first air-cooled engine in the world; the [[Century Motor Vehicle Company]]; the [[Smith Corona]] company; and the Craftsman Workshops, the center of [[Gustav Stickley]]'s handmade furniture empire.

On March 24, 1870, Syracuse University was founded. The State of New York granted the new university its own charter, independent of [[Genesee College]], which had unsuccessfully tried to move to Syracuse the year before.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archives.syr.edu/history/founding_su.html|title=Syracuse University History: History of the Founding of Syracuse University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927002226/http://archives.syr.edu/history/founding_su.html|archive-date=September 27, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> The university was founded as coeducational. President Peck stated at the opening ceremonies, "The conditions of admission shall be equal to all persons.... There shall be no invidious discrimination here against woman.... Brains and heart shall have a fair chance...."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://archives.syr.edu/exhibits/women.html|title=Co-ed From the Start: Women Students at Syracuse University in the 19th Century|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609183926/http://archives.syr.edu/exhibits/women.html|archive-date=June 9, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Syracuse implemented this policy and attracted a high proportion of women students. In the College of Liberal Arts, the ratio between male and female students during the 19th century was approximately even. The College of Fine Arts was predominantly female, and a low ratio of women enrolled in the College of Medicine and the College of Law.<ref name=":1" />

The first [[Great New York State Fair|New York State Fair]] was held in Syracuse in 1841.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://nysfair.ny.gov/about/fair-history/|title=State Fair History|website=The Great New York State Fair|publisher=New York State Government|access-date=October 13, 2016|archive-date=October 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011025800/http://nysfair.ny.gov/about/fair-history/|url-status=live}}</ref> Between 1842 and 1889, the Fair was held among 11 New York cities before finding a permanent home in Syracuse. It has been an annual event since then, except between 1942 and 1947, when the grounds were used as a military base during World War II,<ref name=":0" /> and in 2020, due to the outbreak of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].

As part of the racial incidents happening all over the country during the [[Red Summer|1919 Red Summer]], on July 31, 1919, there was a [[Syracuse riot of 1919|violent riot]] between white and black workers of the Syracuse Globe Malleable Iron Works.

Syracuse is home to the only "green on top" [[traffic light]]. The "green on top" traffic light was installed in 1928 as a result of local youths throwing rocks at the "British red" light that was originally on top. These locals became known as "stonethrowers" and the neighborhood now has the [[Tipperary Hill Heritage Memorial]] on the corner of Tompkins Street and Milton Avenue to commemorate this history.<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 3, 2017|title=How the Irish changed the traffic laws in Tipperary Hill, Syracuse|url=http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/How-the-Irish-changed-the-traffic-laws-in-Tipperary-Hill-Syracuse.html|access-date=April 29, 2021|website=IrishCentral.com|language=en|archive-date=August 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811183929/http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/How-the-Irish-changed-the-traffic-laws-in-Tipperary-Hill-Syracuse.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

World War II stimulated significant industrial expansion in the area: of specialty steel, fasteners, and custom machining. After the war, two of the Big Three automobile manufacturers ([[General Motors]] and [[Chrysler]]) had major operations in the area. Syracuse was also headquarters for [[Carrier Corporation]], and [[Crouse-Hinds Company|Crouse-Hinds]] manufactured traffic signals in the city. [[General Electric]], with its headquarters in [[Schenectady, New York|Schenectady]] to the east, had its main television manufacturing plant at Electronics Parkway in Syracuse.

The manufacturing industry in Syracuse began to falter in the 1970s, as the industry restructured nationwide. Many small businesses failed during this time, which contributed to the already increasing unemployment rate. Rockwell International moved its factory outside New York state. General Electric moved its television manufacturing operations to [[Suffolk, Virginia]], and later offshore to Asia. The Carrier Corporation moved its headquarters out of Syracuse, relocated its manufacturing operations out of state, and outsourced some of its production to Asian facilities. Although the city population has declined since 1950, the Syracuse metropolitan area population has remained fairly stable, growing by 2.5% since 1970. While this growth rate is greater than much of Upstate New York, it is far below the national average during that period.

The Syracuse Community Grid project is a 2023 highway teardown project taking place in Downtown Syracuse, with the goal of improving the city.<ref>{{Cite news |title=I-81Community grid gets final approval from the feds, Construction begins this fall |work=CNYCentral |url=https://cnycentral.com/news/local/i-81-community-grid-gets-final-approval-from-feds-construction-begins-this-fall}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Evening over Clinton Square (16235164339).jpg|alt=|Historic [[Clinton Square]]
File:Erie Canal, Packet Dock, Syracuse, NY.jpg|alt=|[[Erie Canal]] in Syracuse
File:Looking South on Salina Street, Syracuse, NY.jpg|alt=|[[South Salina Street Downtown Historic District|Salina Street]]
File:Fayette Street, Looking East, Syracuse, NY.jpg|alt=|Fayette Street
</gallery>