Exploring the rich Irish heritage in Syracuse and the invention of the salt potato
Updated Mar 16, 2021;
Posted Mar 16, 2021
- The interior of a salt block, circa 1880. This is where the magic happened. Courtesy of the Onondaga Historical AssociationCourtesy of the Onondaga Histori
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By Robert Searing | Curator of history, Onondaga Historical Association
With St. Patrick’s Day and Spring right around the corner, I find myself thinking about a few things in no particular order: my Irish ancestry, beer, and cookouts. Central New York, of course, has a rich history and proud traditions tied to each one of these subjects. Syracuse is home to one of the country’s richest Irish heritage communities, Tipperary Hill, and it hosts one of the largest Irish Festival’s in the United States every fall. The Irish tradition here stretches back more than two centuries, as Irish immigrants were one of the first groups to settle this area in large numbers.