Upcoming event
Our town historian, Natalie Williams-Dardaris, will be speaking on “The Partridge Family – 200 Years of History Finds Its’ Way Back to the Town of Onondaga”. Two years ago the museum unexpectedly received a treasure trove of documents and letters, many going back to the early 1800s. These artifacts help paint the picture of those early days and the first residents of the Town of Onondaga.
Upcoming event
“Poorhouse Night” – The Town of Onondaga Historical Society is making its’ collection of Poorhouse Books available for the community to examine. These record keeping books start in the 1830s and continue into the mid 20th century. The many volumes note the thousands of individuals who found themselves living at the Poorhouse, which later became the Onondaga County Home and Hospital. Photos of the many buildings that composed this complex will also be on display.
Most famous for its legendary ghost, “The Bride of 13 Curves,” Cedarvale also boasted the Cedarvale Flour Mills, located on Pleasant Valley Road and known for its high quality “Lily of the Valley” flour. Other grist and saw mills were situated along the waters that ran through Cedarvale. Its’ hillsides were used for motorcycle hill climbs in the 1920s and the former Oakland/Cedarvale Church was first a distillery before answering the religious call of the community. The unique 1860 “Mudville” octagon school house on Cedarvale Road and the west corner of Tanner Road still stands as a residence today.
This hamlet was named for its’ first settler, Revolutionary War Veteran Parley Howlett. Originally from Vermont, he settled here in 1797. Thomas Robinson, another Revolutionary War soldier from Massachusetts, arrived in 1801 and Giles Case came to this area in 1803. They were the patriarchs of families who became the backbone of this area of the town. The Cases and Robinsons grew up and married and it was declared that at one time dwellings along the highway for a mile were occupied only by the Cases and the Robinsons. Howlett Hill was originally known as Casetown after Giles Case until changed by the Post Office.
The Howlett Hill Church was built in 1821 to serve as the First Baptist Church though many other denominations have worshipped there over the years. The cemetery where many Revolutionary War Veterans are at rest is behind the church.
One claim to fame for the area centers around a young woman, Elizabeth “Libby” Bacon. From 1854 to 1861, Libby visited Howlett Hill often to stay with her cousins. In 1864, Libby Bacon became the wife of General George Custer. Another unique story is attributed to an “interesting character” in the form of Parley Howlett’s grandson, Alfred, who, at the age of 82 threw himself a birthday party. The unique part was he only invited 136 widows of his acquaintance to attend and no men.
Settled at the end of the eighteenth century this crossroads was originally known as Hall’s Corners, after the Hall family from Connecticut made their home here. The name change to Navarino was made in 1827 after the discovery of another Hall’s Corners in New York State. The community was renamed after the naval Battle of Navarino in the Greek War for Independence. By 1835, Navarino was a thriving, close-knit and quite self-sufficient community with a tavern, blacksmith shop, foundry, and harness maker, to name a few of this hamlet’s many businesses .
Before the hamlet acquired its current name of Nedrow, named after the Worden family only reversing the name, the area was known as Rockwell Springs and Onondaga Castle. Once renowned for its healing sulphur springs, Nedrow grew into a bustling commercial center with many small businesses vital to the surrounding areas, and was an important connection running north and south out of Syracuse. At one time there were a number of distinctive homes that dotted South Salina Street along with some small businesses. Green Hills Farms grew from a family farm stand into a large grocery store which has been a long time fixture on South Salina Street. An early school, Rockwell, educated the community’s children from grades 1 through 8. Nedrow even had its own airport, “Nedrow Air Park,” that operated into the early 1970’s.
Home to the first county courthouse and jail, Onondaga Hill remains the seat of government for the Town of Onondaga. General Marquis de Lafayette spoke at the courthouse in June 1825 as he toured the United States. In 1827, town officials chose Onondaga Hill as the site for the first area Poorhouse that would house the poor and indigent from many different counties for well over 100 years. In the 1800s and early 1900s the Hill would offer a hotel and a few taverns for travelers on the Seneca Turnpike as well as three blacksmith shops to service the community’s horses. There are several historic homes along with the Easton Storehouse which date back to the early 1800s still in existence on the Hill. When Onondaga Community College decided to relocate and expand their downtown campus in 1966, they chose Onondaga Hill for its highly visible and easily accessible hilltop location.
One of the oldest settled areas in the Town of Onondaga, it was first called “Indian Orchard” after the apple trees planted by the Onondagas. At different times this area was also referred to as East Hill and East Onondaga. It is home to the oldest cemetery in our town; the word “pioneer” is found on many of the headstones. At one time there were two schools for children to attend, District 24 or Eager School and District 25 and a church known as the East Reservation and/or the East Hill Methodist Episcopal Church. The name Sentinel Heights was adopted after a painting by Emaline Seymour who admired the wooded area and titled her painting of the majestic trees “The Sentinels.”
Settled in 1798, South Onondaga grew from a few log homes to a prosperous hamlet with many businesses. At one point in its’ history South Onondaga was home to several mills, distilleries, a harness shop, a hotel, two doctors, two general stores and a shoemaker. The famous Grant Hitchings Apple Orchards was started by the Hitchings family in the late 1800s on the family farm at Route 20 and Hitchings Road. Their reputation for excellence allowed the business to
expand their marketing to Europe, where they drew high praise as “the best apples”. Today their property is part of a larger orchard and the apple enterprise known as Beak and Skiff. Many local one room schools were consolidated into the Onondaga Central School District which is located in the village. The building of the high school was part of FDR’s New Deal/WPA project in the 1930s.
Southwood is located in the eastern part of the Town of Onondaga, straddling the Onondaga-DeWitt town line. Most of the homes were built in the 1930s and 40s which is when Southwood had its’ first growth spurt. There were a few neighborhood businesses, and some larger older
homes dotting East Seneca Turnpike. The Southwood Two-Teacher School was built in the Art Deco style in 1937 as a way to encourage families to purchase housing lots around the school. A divider was pulled across one room to separate the space into 2 classrooms, K through 2 on one side, third through fifth on the other. This building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a restaurant today. Southwood has been and is currently experiencing another growth spurt of suburban housing developments.
Originally a thriving farm community, its proximity to the city made it the popular residential area it remains today. The Fay family were early settlers to the area along with the Abbe, the Ormsby and the Wilcox families. The Fay’s had a blacksmith shop and the Wilcox’s operated a saw mill. Minnie Hobbs inherited the Wilcox Mill and the mill was purchased by the Morey Family in the mid 1920s. Shortly after the Morey purchase, patriarch Benjamin Morey passed away leaving his widow Katherine and 4 children to operate the business. “Morey’s Mill” eventually became a feed and cider mill and a very popular food establishment. Its renowned Friday fish dinners were so delicious that people were willing to wait in the long lines that formed at the door every Friday.
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