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Solon is located right in the heart of Cortland County in New York State, approximately 4 miles east of the City of Cortland. The town covers 29.7 square miles of picturesque hills and valleys with State Route 41, Trout Brook and Cheningo Creek running through it. Solon is predominantly a residential and agricultural community. Over 2500 acres of state forest lands fall within the town offering an abundance of recreational opportunities such as hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.
Solon is named after the Greek lawmaker, Solon, who was an important statesman and poet in Ancient Athens.
The Town was originally part of the Central New York Military Tract created by the State to pay soldiers for their service in the American Revolution.
Solon was first settled in 1794 and organized as a town on March 9, 1798.
Most of the early settlers of Solon came from New England, with the first permanent settlements attributed to Roderick Beebe (from Massachusetts) and Johnson Bingham (from Connecticut). Johnson Bingham was Solon’s first Supervisor.
Solon was home to the notable Major-General Samuel G. Hathaway who in 1810 was appointed Justice of the Peace and held the office for 48 successive years. He represented Cortland County in the Legislature in 1814 and 1818. He was elected to State Senate in 1822, elected to Congress in 1832 and was chosen presidential elector in 1852. His home in Solon, known as the Hathaway Homestead, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The mansion looks much as it did back then and is now Tinelli's Hathaway House a reception and banquet hall under the management of the Tinelli Family for some 48 + years.
Since 1952, Solon has been home to 4-H Camp Owahta, a resident environmental and outdoor education center owned and operated by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cortland County.
Residents in the Town of Solon number 1,063 as of the 2020 census.
Learn more about the history of the Town of Solon on the History Page.
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