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Clay, New York · Sunday, September 20, 2026· Sep 20, 2026

History of Clay, New York

From Haudenosaunee homeland at the meeting of three rivers to Syracuse's most populous suburb — and now the site of the largest private investment in New York State history. Everything here is built on primary sources you can search yourself.

5Articles
40Timeline Entries
33Source Documents
2,720,544Words Indexed

The Story of Clay, in Five Reads

The Story in Six Chapters

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c. 1142
The Great Peacemaker, Hiawatha, and Jigonhsasee establish the Great Law of Peace, uniting the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations. A solar eclipse during Seneca deliberations is dated to approximately 1142 AD.
Source: Wikipedia, Onondaga people; oral tradition eclipse dating
1654
French Jesuit missionaries discover salt springs around Onondaga Lake, beginning European awareness of the resource that would define the region's economy for two centuries.
Source: Wikipedia, Onondaga Lake
1696
French Count Frontenac leads a military expedition through the Three Rivers confluence into Onondaga territory, demonstrating the strategic importance of Clay's waterways.
Source: Dorothy Heller, Three Rivers Point, Town of Clay website
2022 Nov 20
The Great Northern Mall closes after 34 years. The Hart Lyman Company announces plans to transform the 895,000 sq ft site into a lifestyle center with apartments, shops, and restaurants.
Source: Wikipedia, Great Northern Mall (New York)
2026 Jan
Micron Technology breaks ground on its semiconductor megafab at White Pine Commerce Park, beginning construction of the facility that will produce leading-edge DRAM chips for AI, automotive, and computing applications.
Source: NIST CHIPS; news sources
2026 Feb
Great Northern Mall Comes Down
Demolition crews begin tearing down the shuttered Great Northern Mall in February 2026. Owner Hart Lyman Companies plans a phased mixed-use redevelopment of the 215-acre site with housing, hotels, retail and a proposed Upstate Medical University campus.
Source: WSYR/localsyr.com; Wikipedia, Great Northern Mall (New York)
Search the primary sources. Every article and timeline entry is backed by indexed documents. Search the archive, or browse what has been digitized. For the week-by-week record of the Micron project since 1991, see the development timeline.