Pompey

Rural town in Onondaga County, central New York State, USA, 19 km/12 mi southeast of Syracuse; population (1990) 5,300. Established on a high ridge, it was one of the first settlements of the enormous Military Tract given to Revolutionary War veterans in 1789, an area of 610,000 ha/1.5 million ac east of Seneca Lake; the town was once the western terminus of the Great Western Turnpike from Albany.

In the early 19th century Pompey was the birthplace of many prominent Americans, including two governors and the pioneer of long-distance transport William Fargo. It was also the site of the Pompey Stone hoax, the ‘discovery’ of a supposed Spanish relic from 1589.