Syracuse’s only remnant of the War of 1812 – we’re now observing its 200th anniversary – lies hidden in a grove of trees off of the East Seneca Turnpike hill in the Valley neighborhood.

The Onondaga Arsenal is a neglected relic of a forgotten war in a patch of woods behind a row of homes on Arsenal Drive, just off the turnpike. It’s been there since 1812, crumbling away. Only one section of limestone wall, the northeast corner, remains. The rest fell down or was pulled down over time....