Village of Marcellus, New York History

Like most communities, Marcellus developed at the crossroads of two major transportation
routes, Nine Mile Creek and Seneca Turnpike, at one time called the Great Genesee Road.
The water power provided by Nine Mile Creek, an outlet of Otisco Lake, attracted a variety
of individuals who built a number of mills (grist, saw, barley and woolen) on the creek and
the products of these mills attracted even more individuals to the valley to work in the mills,
as well as provide other services for neighboring farmers.
Seneca Turnpike, an outgrowth of the Great Native American Trail that stretched across the
State of New York, was a major highway in New York for people and products moving west.
The original trail was practically a straight line through what would become Marcellus Village,
but in 1802, when the (Seneca) Turnpike was laid out by New York State for improvement,
the road-bed was changed to its present location on its way west out of the Village in order
to avoid the steep climb.

Marcellus Village History

The original corporation of the village
consisted of a little over 282 acres of
land, about 2/3's the present size of the
Village. The eastern and western
boundaries of the Village have changed
little since 1853. Nine Mile Creek is
basically the eastern boundary of the
village, and the hills called the northern
boundary of the Village including what is
commonly referred to today as Scotch
Hill.

Stagecoach lines operating on the turnpike
would help the area, particularly the valley
of the Nine Mile, to develop as a trading and
manufacturing center. There were a number
of business establishments on the Turnpike,
including the famous Alvord House, built in
1815 and located strategically in the valley
for servicing those who traveled the highway.

During its first thirty years of existence,
Marcellus would continue to attract people
and industries at a rather steady pace, and
as these numbers increased, more people
tended to concentrate in the valley that
would become the Village of Marcellus.

The population of the area tended to decline
during the 1830s and 1840s, but then,
beginning about 1850, new businesses
came to town, churches were built or rebuilt,
new homes constructed and factories offered
employment to local residents. As this
expansion increased, inhabitants of the
valley increased in number, living closer and
closer together, in contrast to their rural
neighbors, and they began to realize the
need for some sort of organization. It was
out of this urgency that the Village would
be incorporated in 1853.

The Village of Marcellus, located in
a picturesque valley in the Town of
Marcellus, is one of 15 villages in
Onondaga County. Situated between
the cities of Syracuse and Auburn
and a few miles from Otisco and
Skaneateles Lakes, Marcellus was
incorporated as a Village on June 4,
1853 and celebrated its 150th
anniversary in 2003. The Village is
part of the Town of Marcellus, one
of the original five towns of
Onondaga County, with its history
dating back over 200 years, to 1794.

On the south, an annexation in
1978 added about 6 acres of land
to that boundary. In front of the
Methodist Church, across from
the Village Office, a space of green
marks the village commons and its
history.

It was a gathering place for pioneers,
many moving west on this very road,
and it remains the heart of the village
today.

The Marcellus Village Hall as it appeared
when it housed the Marcellus Volunteer Fire
Department.

Fire hoses were dried by hanging them from
the tower. Renovations were made to the
building in 1957, including the removal of the
tower and an addition to the back of the
building.

The Village was incorporated in 1853 and
Village Board meetings were held in this
building after it was built in 1889.

The Village Board continues to meet in this
building today. Village offices including the
Clerk and Treasurer, Highway and Police
Departments are housed here. The Marcellus
Historical Society also has a museum on the
second floor.