The first general store in town, which also adopted the name Syracuse, was built by Isaac Barton in 1888. In 1891 he sold his store to the Walker brothers. At one time the community also had a post office, which was commissioned on 10 November 1891. John Coles was the first postmaster, and the post office was set up in a room at the front of his home. Thomas and Clara Schofield later bought his farm, and Mrs. Schofield became postmistress until 15 May 1905 when the post office was discontinued. The general store and post office were located a mile east of the bathing resort.

In 1882 the LDS Church created the Kaysville-South Hooper Branch, with William Beazer as presiding elder. Meetings were held in a one-room school built below the bluff in 1885, and later in 1892 in a red-brick school built in 1892 on the bench. On 1 December 1895 the Syracuse LDS Ward was created. David Cook served as bishop, with James G. Wood and James T. Walker as counselors. Three years later an elegant meeting house was built where the center of town is today. A central school, an amusement hall, and several businesses sprang up, including Syracuse Mercantile, Rampton's Blacksmith, Homer's Barbershop, Kaysville Canning Factory, and the Bountiful Lumber Yard. These helped unify the community, and the population growth shifted from lower Syracuse to the bench.