The forming of Onondaga District, like all great things, is shrouded
in the mist of time and lost memories. It is fact, however, that a portion
of the current district, the City of Syracuse, was the original Syracuse
Council.
I'm not sure if in the early days of Scouting there actually were formal
districts or just geographic areas. It is known that as early as 1942
the Syracuse District was formed from the merger of Lincoln, Burnet, Central,
Bellvue, Lemoyne, and University Districts (or areas). These districts
and the Eastern and Southern Districts (which merged in 1946 to form the
Limestone District) are our roots.
In 1947 the Syracuse District, at the suggestion of National HQ, was split
into the Central-Burnet, University-Bellvue, and Lincoln-Lemoyne districts
and in 1948 those districts were all renamed and became:
|
Old Name
|
New Name
|
| Central-Burnet | Daniel Boone |
| University-Bellvue | Buffalo-Bill |
| Lincoln-Lemoyne | Kit Carson |
In 1948 the Lyncourt units were transferred to the Kit Carson District.
These names held until 1964 when for a three month period in 1964 all the districts in the council were numbered. In August 1964 they were:
| Name |
Number
|
| Buffalo Bill |
1
|
| Daniel Boone |
2
|
| Kit Carson |
3
|
| Interlakes |
4
|
| Limestone |
5
|
| Three Rivers |
6
|
In October of 1964 the numbered districts were renamed:
|
Number
|
Name
|
|
1
|
Iroquois
|
|
2
|
Seneca
|
|
3
|
Mohawk
|
|
4
|
Interlakes
|
|
5
|
Limestone
|
|
6
|
Oneida
|
In 1974 the decision was made to have the Mohawk District absorbed by the Limestone District with the Limestone name retained.
April 1965 saw the creation of the "Old Goats" They put on their first "Old Goat" district camporee in 1970.
Old Goat II was in May of 1980 and Old Goat III in May of 2000.
November 1980 saw the most recent change in the district when the Iroquois District and the Limestone District merged to form the Onondaga District boundaries we have today.
All these mergers have combined to bring into Onondaga District the area and talent that we are blessed with today.
Where do we go from here?