Syracuse History

Salt bags, a lakeside resort, and the gateway to Antelope Island

Syracuse’s name came off a salt bag: local salt maker William Galbraith printed “Syracuse” (after the New York salt company) on his bags, the 1887 Syracuse Bathing Resort adopted it, and the name stuck. David Cook plowed the first fields in 1876; the town board formed in 1935 and Syracuse became a city in 1950.

Worth Knowing

  • The resort era: the 1887 Syracuse Bathing Resort had its own railway link to the Ogden–Salt Lake line
  • Fruit country: by 1900, Syracuse was the largest fruit producer in Davis County
  • A WWII POW camp partially sat within Syracuse at the Naval Supply Depot
  • The causeway: built in 1969, it made Syracuse the gateway to Antelope Island State Park

Source: Syracuse history. Visit the Syracuse Regional Museum for more.

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