| The presence of the Erie Canal through the heart of downtown Syracuse during the 1800's and 1900's turned a quiet town into a busy and active commercial center. The Canal banks were perfect locations for a business. Usually small and specialized in their products, many businesses started appearing beside the Canal on Water and Canal Streets. Salt was prevalent in Syracuse and the salt producers were able to ship it easily and cheaply to Albany, Buffalo and beyond. Likewise, other companies that dealt in coal, building materials and crystal found greater markets for their goods because of the Canal. |
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F.B. Scott, founder of Syracuse Supply Company, saw the benefits the Erie Canal could provide to any company located by its banks. For Jacob Amos, the Erie Canal also provided the perfect location for his C.L. Amos Coal Company and Paragon Plaster (today known as Paragon Supply). As more businesses located in Syracuse and near the Canal, companies dealing in coal, machinery, printing, and banking found more customers in need of their services. |
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| Today, many of the small businesses which operated next to the Canal have become large companies. Solvay Process Co. is now part of Allied Chemical and although companies like Syracuse Glass and Syracuse Cold Storage have retained their names, they have changed their locations. Anyone who frequents Syracuse Lithographing Co., Niagara Mohawk, Empire Wallpaper and Paint Company, Continental Can, National Casket Co., or International Harvester Co. is doing business with a company that once operated next to the Erie Canal. These companies owe part of their existence to the Canal. |
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