ONONDAGA

county, central New York state, U.S., bounded by the Oswego and Oneida rivers to the north, Oneida Lake to the northeast, De Ruyter Reservoir to the southeast, Skaneateles Lake to the southwest, and Cross Lake to the west. It comprises a marshy lowland in the north and a hilly plateau region in the south. Other waterways include Onondaga and Otisco lakes and the Seneca River. Canals of the New York State Canal System (including the Erie and Oswego canals) converge at the north-central border of the county. Forests comprise a mix of hardwoods. State parks include Green Lakes, Old Erie Canal, and Clark Reservation. A military reservation is located near Syracuse, the county seat. Onondaga Indians, now residing in a reservation south of Syracuse, have inhabited the region for many centuries. Syracuse was the leading national salt supplier in the 19th century until the industry began to decline in 1870. That same year Syracuse University was founded. Many regional historical artifacts are on display at the Erie Canal Museum, the Salt Museum, and Sainte Marie de Gannentaha, which is a re-creation of a French Jesuit mission from the 1650s. Onondaga county was created in 1794 and named for the Indian tribe. Among the principal towns are North Syracuse, Galeville, Solvay, Baldwinsville, and Manlius. The main economic activities are services, retail and wholesale trade, and manufacturing. Area 780 square miles (2,021 square km). Pop. (1990) 468,973; (1996 est.) 466,675. tribe of Iroquoian-speaking North American Indians who lived in what is now New York state. The Onondaga inhabited villages of wood and bark longhouses occupied by related families. They moved these houses periodically to plant new gardens, to seek firewood, and to be nearer fish and game. They grew corn (maize), beans, squash, sunflowers, and tobacco. A council of adult males in each community guided the village chiefs. In the 17th century the Onondaga numbered about 1,700. The Onondaga tribe, one of the original five nations of the Iroquois League (q.v.; Iroquois Confederacy), was the political and geographical centre of the league. With 14 seats in the council, the Onondaga furnished the chairman and the archivist, who kept the records of transactions in wampum belts. In the 18th century a sizable faction of Onondaga favouring the French interest migrated to Catholic mission settlements along the St. Lawrence River. Another faction remained loyal to the British, and, upon the breakup of the Iroquois League after the American Revolution, a small party followed other members of the confederacy to Grand River, Ontario. The majority, however, returned to their ancestral valley. The population of the Onondaga reservation in New York in the late 20th century was more than 1,000.