The presence of salt in the Syracuse region was known to Europeans as early as the 16th century, but commercial production did not begin until after the American Revolution. By the mid-1800s, rising costs of wood and coal forced many companies to shift from boiling the area�s brine water to evaporating it in the sun. Though the process was slower, the region still produced a majority of the salt consumed in the United States, earning Syracuse the nickname �Salt City.�
