Before the first white settlers traveled along the Tioughnioga River to what is now known as Cortland County, the land was the traditional homeland of the Onondaga Nation (People of the Hills). The Onondaga Nation is a member of the Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) Confederacy. The Confederacy consists of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations. The Haudenosaunee are sometimes referred to as the Iroquois Confederacy or Six Nations. The land was heavily forested and animals were plentiful which made it an important hunting ground for the members of the Six Nations.
Sources of information on the Haudenosaunee and Onondaga Nation. https://www.onondaganation.org/
1781-1789
CENTRAL NEW YORK MILITARY TRACT established
1789-1791
First white Settlers in Cortland County: James and Rohde Beebe and Amos Todd (Homer, NY)
1791 –
Formation of towns and villages: Early settlers, transportation, beginnings of industry (grist and sawmills, etc), BEGINNING OF INDUSTRIAL HISTORY – 1789 FIRST GRIST MILL IN HOMER, FOLLOWED BY SAWMILLS, ASHERIES, AND TANNERIES social life, education, agriculture
1808
Formation of Cortland County: Cortland County was created from the southern half of Onondaga County and part of the Boston Ten Towns on April 8, 1808, and was named in honor of the Pierre Van Cortlandt family
1828-1865
The abolitionist movement in Cortland County
1840-1920
Women’s Suffrage movement
1850-1910
The Wagon Industry in Cortland County
1854-1872
Railroads come to Cortland
1861-1865
Cortland soldiers served in the Civil War – 76th NY Volunteer Infantry, 157th Regiment NY Infantry, 185th NY Volunteer Infantry
1873
Start of new industries/factories – inspiring new immigration (Germans, Irish, Italians, and Slavs seeking a better life).
Including rising and fall of major industries
- Wickwire Company 1873-1971
- Brockway Truck Company 1912-1977
- Smith Corona 1886-1994