Onondaga County ( ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA.

History

The name ''Onondaga'' derives from the name of the Native American

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

who lived in this area at the time of European contact, one of the original Five Nations of the ''Haudenosaunee''. They called themselves (

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

) ''Onoda'gega'', sometimes spelled ''Onontakeka.'' The word means "People of the Hills." Sometimes the term was ''Onondagaono'' ("The People of the Hills"). The federally recognized Onondaga Nation has a reservation within the county, on which they have self-government. When counties were established in New York in 1683, the present Onondaga County was part of Albany County. This enormous county included the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and, in theory, extended westward to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. It was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation of

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberla ...

, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont. On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately west of the present city of

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, and the county included the western part of the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

and the area west of the West Branch of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for

William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...

, colonial governor of New York. In the years prior to 1776, most of the

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

in Tryon County fled to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The Onondaga were among four Iroquois tribes that allied with the British against the American colonists, as they hoped to end their encroachment. Instead, they were forced to cede most of their land in New York to the United States after the war. Many Onondaga went with

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...

and other nations to

, where they received land grants in compensation and formed the

Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, french: Réserve des Six Nations, see, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of ...

. In 1784, after a peace treaty ended the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County. It honored General Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and replaced the name of the hated British governor. In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced by the splitting off of Ontario County from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus,

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

Genesee Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to: Geographic features Canada *Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States *Genesee, California *Genesee, Colorado *Genesee County, Michigan *Genesee Co ...

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, Yates, and part of

Schuyler Schuyler may refer to: Places United States * Schuyler County, Illinois * Schuyler County, Missouri * Schuyler, Nebraska, a city * Schuyler County, New York * Schuyler, New York, a town * Schuyler Island, Lake Champlain, New York * Schuyler C ...

and Wayne Counties. In 1791, Herkimer County was one of three counties split off from Montgomery (the other two being Otsego, and Tioga County). This was much larger than the present county, however, and was reduced by a number of subsequent splits. In 1794, Onondaga County was split off from Herkimer County. This county was larger than the current Onondaga County, including the present Cayuga, Cortland, and part of Oswego Counties. In 1799,

Cayuga County Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Indian tribes in the Iroquois Confed ...

was split off from Onondaga. In 1808,

Cortland County Cortland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population of Cortland County was 46,809. The county seat is Cortland. The county is named after Pierre Van Cortlandt, president of the convention ...

was split off from Onondaga. In 1816, parts of Oneida and Onondaga Counties were taken to form the new

Oswego County Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring to the point at ...

. At the time Onondaga County was organized, it was divided into eleven towns: Homer, Pompey, Manlius, Lysander, Marcellus, Ulysses, Milton, Scipio, Ovid, Aurelius and Romulus.

Central New York Central New York is the central region of New York State, including the following counties and cities: With a population of about 773,606 (2009) and an area of , the region includes the Syracuse metropolitan area. Definitions The New York ...

developed rapidly after the New Military Tract provided land in lieu of payment to Revolutionary War veterans. Migration was largely from the east, mostly from New England states. The Genesee Road, which became the

Seneca Turnpike The Seneca Road Company was formed to improve the main road running west from Utica, New York, the Genesee Road, from Utica to Canandaigua and operate it as a toll road or turnpike. The road was originally laid out in 1794 from Baggs Square in down ...

in 1800, provided access. Generally settlers preferred higher land, since they associated lowlands with disease. Over time, as early clearing and farming eroded hillside soil, valley lands were more fertile and highly prized for agriculture as well as for water power, which was the origin of many communities. An early settler of 1823 was

James Hutchinson Woodworth James Hutchinson Woodworth (December 4, 1804 – March 26, 1869), was a member of the Illinois State Senate and the Illinois State House of Representatives, served as a Chicago Alderman, was elected to consecutive terms as Mayor of Chi ...

, a native of Washington County, NY. He helped clear land for his family's farm in this region before he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

where he became Mayor. The completion of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

across New York state in 1825 accelerated trade, development and migration. The city of Syracuse, New York developed relatively late, due to its marshy situation. It was incorporated as a village in 1825 and as a city in 1847; by contrast, the Village of Manlius, along the Cherry Valley and

s, was incorporated in 1813. The population of these rural towns was greatest in the late nineteenth century, when more people cultivated land and farms were relatively small, supporting large households. Since that time, agriculture has declined in the county. Some Onondaga County towns like Spafford were largely depopulated and many villages became veritable ghost towns. Onondaga County highlands now are more heavily reforested, with public parks and preserves providing recreation. Two

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...

in the county, Skaneateles and Otisco, also attract visitors. The village of Skaneateles on scenic Route 20 has become a major tourist destination. At the turn of the twenty-first century, population declined in the City of Syracuse while suburban communities generally grew, particularly with tract developments north of the city. Elsewhere, scattered commuter houses appeared, generally on fairly large parcels. The rapid development of the village of Skaneateles and shores of Skaneateles Lake led to increased demand for property and property values.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has an area of , of which is land and (3.4%) is water. The geographic dimensions of the county are illustrated as approximately in length and in width, and comprising of the New York State Barge Canal System, in combination with a number of lakes, streams and rivers. Onondaga County is in the central portion of New York State, west of Albany and Utica, east of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

and northeast of

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

Onondaga Lake Onondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York, immediately northwest of and adjacent to Syracuse, New York. The southeastern end of the lake and the southwestern shore abut industrial areas and expressways; the northeastern shore and northwestern e ...

is bordered by many of the larger communities in the county. The highest point in Onondaga County is at 2057 feet, along Morgan Hill located just east of Morgan Hill State Forest on private property. The second highest point in Onondaga County is at 2019 feet elevation and on the summit of Fellows Hill which is located in Morgan Hill State Forest near Fabius and Apulia south of state route 80. The northern part of the county is fairly level lake plain, extending northward to

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

Oneida Lake Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River, which flows into Lake Ontari ...

three rivers, as well as the Erie and subsequent Barge Canals are in the lake plain. The main line of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

and the

New York State Thruway {{Infobox road , state = NY , type = NYST , alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway , maint = NYSTA , map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...

extend east and west across the county through the lake plain. The southern part of the county is

Appalachian Plateau The Appalachian Plateau is a series of rugged dissected plateaus located on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains are a mountain range that run down the Eastern United States. The Appalachian Plateau is the nor ...

, with high hills rising at the southern edge of Syracuse. This is the eastern part of the

region.

Skaneateles Lake Skaneateles Lake ( , ) is one of the Finger Lakes in central New York in the United States. The name ''Skaneateles'' means ''long lake'' in one of the local Iroquoian languages. The lake is sometimes referred to as "The Roof Garden of the Lakes" ...

and

Otisco Lake Otisco Lake is the easternmost of New York's eleven Finger Lakes. The lake is located in Onondaga County, southwest of the city of Syracuse. History Otisco Lake's name may have been derived from the Iroquois name for the lake's outlet, Nine M ...

are both in Onondaga County.

US 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

extends east and west across the county, traversing dramatic hill-and-valley terrain. Between the lake plain and Appalachian highlands is a zone noted for

drumlins A drumlin, from the Irish Gaelic, Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacier, glacial ice acting on und ...

, smaller, scattered hills formed as mounds of debris left by the last glacier. Tully is geologically noted for the terminal moraine deposited there by the glacier, filling the deep Tully Valley, which might have been another Finger Lake had the moraine been left closer to Syracuse, impounding water. Tully is at the divide between two major watersheds, one flowing northward to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

and the other southward to the ocean via the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

. Oneida Lake, the Finger Lakes, and smaller bodies of water provide recreation. The Appalachian hills have several ski areas, waterfalls and historic villages as well as large parks and forest preserves.

Lakes and reservoirs

* Jamesville Reservoir *

Adjacent counties

– north * Madison County – east *

– south *

– west

Major highways

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...

Interstate 481 Interstate 481 (I-481) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that serves as an eastern bypass of Syracuse, New York, in the US. It begins at its parent, I-81, in the city's southern end and travels through the eastern Syracuse suburbs of Jame ...

(Veterans Memorial Highway) *

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

(New York State Thruway) *

Interstate 690 Interstate 690 (I-690) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for through the vicinity of Syracuse, New York, in the United States. It is a spur of I-90 (here part of the New York State Thruway) that travels southeast from Thruw ...

* U.S. Route 11 *

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

* New York State Route 5 * New York State Route 31 *

New York State Route 41 New York State Route 41 (NY 41) is a north–south state highway in Central New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 17 (Future Interstate 86) in the town of Sanford in Broo ...

* New York State Route 92 *

New York State Route 481 New York State Route 481 (NY 481) is a state highway in Central New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with Interstate 81 (I-81) in North Syracuse, where the highway continues southe ...

(Veterans Memorial Highway) *

New York State Route 690 New York State Route 690 (NY 690) is a state highway in Central New York in the United States. NY 690's southern terminus is at an interchange with the New York State Thruway ( Interstate 90 or I-90) and I-690 in Van Buren ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, the county had 458,336 people, 181,153 households, and 115,394 families. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 587 people per square mile (227/km²). There were 196,633 housing units at an average density of 252 per square mile (97/km²). The county's

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

was 84.78% White, 9.38% African American, 0.86% Native American, 2.09%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.89% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.97% from

two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.44% of the population. About 17.5% were of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, 16.2%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 12.4%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 9.4%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and 6.0%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

ancestry according to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

, and 91.4% spoke

, 2.4%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and 1.1%

as their first language. Of the 181,153 households, 31.90% had children under age 18 living with them, 46.90% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.30% were not families. About 29.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.07. 25.80% of the county's population was under age 18, 9.50% was from age 18 to 24, 28.80% was from age 25 to 44, 22.10% was from age 45 to 64, and 13.80% was age 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.70 males. The county's median household income was $40,847, and the median family income was $51,876. Males had a median income of $39,048 versus $27,154 for females. The county's

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

was $21,336. About 8.60% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 15.50% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Education

Onondaga is home to

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, a major

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

and SUNY Upstate Medical University, a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

. Upstate Medical University is the largest producer of jobs in the region with a direct workforce of 10,959 employees. Other higher educational institutions include

SUNY Oswego State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public college in the City of Oswego and Town of Oswego, New York. It has two campuses: historic lakeside campus in Oswego and Metro Center in Syracuse, New York. SUN ...

’s Syracuse Campus,

Le Moyne College Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college in DeWitt, New York.http://www.ongov.net/planning/haz/documents/Section9.7-TownofDeWitt.pdf It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946 and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. At its fo ...

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) is a public research university in Syracuse, New York focused on the environment and natural resources. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) sys ...

Onondaga Community College Onondaga Community College (OCC) is a public community college that serves Onondaga County, New York, at two campuses. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History The college was founded in 1961 and began instructi ...

, St. Joseph’s College of Nursing, and several for-profit colleges.

Government and politics

Government

Onondaga County was governed exclusively by a

board of supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

until 1961, when voters approved the creation of the

county executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

. In 1968, the board reorganized into a 24-seat county

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. In 2001, the legislature was reduced to 19 seats. In 2010, voters approved a measure to reduce the legislature to 17 seats. None of the legislative seats, nor the county executive's seat, are at-large. Currently, there are 11 Republicans and 6 Democrats. J. Ryan McMahon II ( R) is the current

County Executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

Politics

Historically, Onondaga County was a Republican stronghold, like most of Central New York. From 1856 to 1988, the GOP carried the county in all but one presidential election,

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

's landslide in 1964. As a measure of how Republican the county was at the time, native son

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

failed to win the county even once during his four successful runs for president, even in his 1936 landslide. Since 1992, the county has gone Democratic in every presidential election, much like many urban counties around the country. However, it is a swing county in congressional, state and local races. Onondaga is entirely located within

New York's 24th congressional district The 24th congressional district of New York is located in Upstate New York, stretching alongside Lake Ontario from near Buffalo in the west to Watertown in the east, whilst not including Rochester which is instead in the 25th district. Sinc ...

, currently represented by Republican

John Katko John Michael Katko (; born November 9, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 24th congressional district, based in Syracuse, since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previ ...

. Democratic strength is concentrated in Syracuse itself, while Republicans do well in the suburbs. , the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Onondaga County is Eugene J. Conway. Along with Broome County, New York, Onondaga County was sued in 2017 over placing juvenile inmates in solitary confinement.

Communities

Syracuse, the county seat, is the only city in Onondaga County. The following is a list of official towns, villages, and

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

. Available a
New York State Library Digital Image Project
.

Population ranking

† - County seat ‡ - Not entirely in Onondaga County

List of municipalities

Towns

* Camillus *

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

* DeWitt *

Elbridge Elbridge may refer to several places: Places ;In the United States * Elbridge Township, Edgar County, Illinois * Elbridge Township, Michigan * Elbridge, New York, town * Elbridge (village), New York Elbridge is a village. Located in the western pa ...

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the ''Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the country, ...

* Geddes *

LaFayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

Lysander Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an en ...

Manlius The gens Manlia () was one of the oldest and noblest patrician houses at Rome, from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus, consul in 480 BC, and for ...

* Marcellus *

Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capita ...

* Otisco *

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

* Salina * Skaneateles * Spafford * Tully * Van Buren

Hamlets

* Amber *

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napole ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Delphi Falls Delphi Falls is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in the town of Pompey, New York, Pompey, Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York (state), New York, United States. There is a current population of 992. It was a prosperous town in the early ...

* Jack's Reef * Jamesville * Kirkville * Marietta * Mattydale *

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

* Messina Springs * Mottville *

Mycenae Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...

* Navarino * Onondaga Hill *

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

* Otisco * Otisco Valley * Plainville * Pompey Center * Rose Hill * Shepard Settlement *

Skaneateles Falls Skaneateles may refer to, in the United States: * Skaneateles (village), New York, in Onondaga County * Skaneateles (town), New York, in Onondaga County * Skaneateles Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in New York State ** Skaneateles Creek, the creek t ...

* South Spafford * Spafford Valley * Split Rock *

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

* Warners

Native American reservations

Onondaga Reservation Onondaga Reservation is a Native American reservation in Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the territory of the Onondaga Nation. It lies just south of the city of Syracuse. The population was 2,244 at the 2010 census. The Onondaga ...

References

External links

Onondaga County, NY official site
*
Onondaga County, NY US GenWeb Project

Onondaga County Historical Aerial Photographs of New York
Cornell University Library & Cornell Institute for Resource Information Sciences {{authority control 1794 establishments in New York (state) Syracuse metropolitan area Populated places established in 1794