The Finger Lakes region is chock-full of rich history and culture.
In this series I’m sharing with you all the firsts, important historical events, notable individuals, world records, and occasional quirky roadside attractions I come across in my explorations, organized by county.
Here are some fun facts about Onondaga County. For random facts about the other 13 Finger Lakes counties:
Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, Yates.
I know I’m only scratching the surface of all the cool things to know, so please tell me interesting facts to add! You can comment below or send me a message.
And make sure you subscribe to the Finger Lakes Family Fun email list or follow on Instagram, where I’ll be sharing my latest discoveries.
Onondaga County Basic Facts
Population: 476,516
County seat: Syracuse
Origin of name: Onondaga people (“People of the Hills”), one of the original Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee. The 9.3 square-mile reservation of the Onondaga Nation is within the county.
Tourism site: visitsyracuse.com
East Syracuse
Spongebob Squarepants
Born in 1962, Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, grew up in East Syracuse and went to Bishop Grimes High School with filmmaker-comedian Bobcat Goldthwait.
North Syracuse
Richard Gere
Actor Richard Gere, born in 1949 in Philadelphia, grew up in North Syracuse and graduated from the local high school in 1967.
Syracuse
24-second shot clock
Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone came up with basketball’s 24-second shot clock in 1954. It helped speed up the game and raised fan interest.
New York State Fair
The Great New York State Fair, first held in 1841, is the longest-running and one of the largest state fairs in the country.
Reclining dental chair
The reclining dental chair was invented by Milton Waldo Hanchett in 1840.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
The famous Mary Poppins phrase “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” first appeared in print (albeit in very slightly different form) in an article in Syracuse University’s student newspaper, the Daily Orange, on March 10, 1931. It was written (and the phrase likely coined) by Helen Herman, who graduated in 1933 with a degree in speech. She reflected on the small number of male writers at the paper: “The general atmosphere puts me in mind of one of my pet phrases. Several years ago, I concocted an expression which, to me, includes all words in the category of something wonderful. ‘Supercaliflawjalisticeexpialadoshus’ is the word to which I refer.”
More famous people…
Here’s a Wikipedia list of some more famous people with Syracuse ties.
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Page header photo: Hotshotfox, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Monroe County Fun Facts
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