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History · Syracuse

Syracuse’s post office opened in 1855, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1860.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Syracuse began

When was Syracuse founded?

1855

The Syracuse post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 720 in 18602020 census: 781171 years
Founding year: the first Syracuse post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Syracuse’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Syracuse are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,545 in 1880; 781 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Syracuse’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Syracuse’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Syracuse, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600190019502000Peak: 1,545

Peaked at 1,545 in 1880; 781 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Syracuse’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Syracuse, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Syracuse yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 826 to 781 (-5%).

Timeline

Syracuse, 1855 to 1958

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Syracuse post office opens
  3. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 1,545
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907Born hereRollie Hemsley is born here
  6. 1922Born hereNoel Martin is born here
  7. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Syracuse, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Syracuse Elementary School, 457792016Syracuse Elementary School, 45779Map of Meigs County Ohio Highlighting Syracuse Village2015Map of Meigs County Ohio Highlighting Syracuse VillageMapOHMap-doton-Syracuse2004OHMap-doton-Syracuse
On the map

Syracuse on the map, 1958 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Syracuse. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Syracuse on the 1958 USGS mapSyracuse on the 1968 USGS mapSyracuse on the 1975 USGS mapSyracuse on the 1994 USGS map1958New Haven sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Syracuse.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Syracuse

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Rollie HemsleyAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1907
N
Noel MartinAmerican artist · b. 1922
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sutton TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about Syracuse’s history

What year was Syracuse founded?

The Syracuse post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.