All are invited to join author and popular speaker John Taibi and co-author Jim Georges on Thursday, July 16th at 7:00 pm in the Cazenovia Public Library Community Room for a discussion and book signing of their new book A Ride through the Countryside on the Syracuse & Chenango Valley Railroad.
The successful building of the Syracuse & Chenango Valley Railroad during the post-Civil War era followed a previously failed attempt to bring rail transportation to the upland regions of central New York between Syracuse and Earlville.
The inspiration and need for this railroad was provided by its lineside communities of Fayetteville, Manlius, Oran, Cazenovia, Rippleton, Ballina, Erieville, Georgetown, and Lebanon to enhance their prosperity by becoming directly connected to the larger railroad systems at Syracuse (New York Central Railroad) and Earlville (New York, Ontario & Western Railway). By being so connected, these villages could trade and receive manufactured goods and agricultural products with more distant markets and residents could travel about the region and distant places in a manner previously inconceivable.
Because of the fragile financial climate of fledgling railroads of the time, several failures brought about a series of name changes to the line, which was eventually acquired by the New York Central in an unconventional manner bringing about the designation of this Syracuse to Earlville line as the Central
