Note 200 — Chapter XXXIII · RETURN ON THE ERIE CANAL AND THE RIVER HUDSON TO NEW YORK—VOYAGE TO EUROPE

The site of Syracuse had been that of an Indian village, where Ephraim Webster, coming from New England, built a trading post in 1786. It was included in the salt reservation established in 1797 and offered for sale by the state in 1804. The first purchaser was Abraham Walton, who built a mill upon the site the following year. Walton intended to found a village, but not until the establishment of the canal did Syracuse outgrow its embryonic stage. Meanwhile several names had been in use; Milan was suggested in 1809; South Salina was used for three years (1809-12); Corinth was desired, but a Corinth post-office already existing, Syracuse was suggested, because of a certain resemblance to the site of the famous Sicilian city. Organized as a village in 1825, Syracuse finally became a city in 1847.—Ed.