Syracuse Nebraska 68446

Syracuse was originally founded in 1856 near Unadilla after a local salt discovery, and named by the Syracuse Town Company for Syracuse, New York, in reference to that city's own salt-mining industry. The town relocated to its present site around 1863 and was platted there in 1869 once the coming railroad route was assured, incorporating in 1875 with about 500 residents. The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad reached Syracuse in 1871, turning it into a major shipping and agricultural service center for the county, with early industries including a wagon and carriage factory, a corn cob pipe factory, and an ice house built up by German immigrant families.

Syracuse, one of Otoe County's two cities, grew into a major regional shipping and agricultural center after the railroad arrived in 1871.