Oneida County History
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Home to trails, trappers’ routes and early military routes
Situated in the geographical center of New York State, Oneida County us a county of contrasts. Comprised of productive farmland, and forested areas, and of industrialized urban areas and suburban communities. The principal geographical feature, the Mohawk River Valley, bisects the county in an east-west direction. It was through this historic valley that early Native American trails, trappers’ routes and early military routes were located. When permanent settlement by the Europeans began, the Mohawk River Valley was a primary route of westward travel.
For several decades before 1798, when Oneida County was officially chartered, settlement of this region of the state had begun. The earliest white settlements in the county erected Fort Bull near present-day Rome, and in 1758 the British built Fort Stanwix to insure that their control of a vital location in the primary water route that linked the Hudson River with Lake Ontario.
During the Revolutionary war, Fort Stanwix was occupied by American Patriots and in 1777 was besieged by British forces. The Stars and Stripes, the newly adopted flag of the American Colonies, flew in battle for the first time over Fort Stanwix in August 1777.
The first settlement after the Revolution in Oneida County was established by Hugh White of Middletown, Connecticut. White established Whitestown in 1784. In 1791, the Holland Land Company purchased a large tract of northern Oneida County wilderness for speculation. That Dutch Company established settlements at Barneveld and Boonville. In 1970, Baron von Steuben settled on the 16,000 acre tract in Oneida County, north of Utica, that he was awarded by New York State for his service to the American cause during the Revolution.
On July 4, 1817, the Erie Canal began at Rome in the heart of Oneida County. The Erie crossed the county and had a profound effect on the development of the county. Farmers and manufacturers now had a cheap, fast means to ship their produce and wares to large eastern markets. The canal provided easy accessibility to upstate New York and New Englanders and immigrants quickly moved into the central New York region and provided a labor force for industrialists who saw in this new frontier an abundance of water power and natural resources.
Even before the construction of the Erie, textile plants were constructed along the creeks and waterways which rushed down the valleys into the Mohawk River. At Oriskany and at New York Mills cotton and woolen factories were built and throughout the 19th century produced fabrics that were sold to major eastern markets. The Chenango Canal afforded central New York the opportunity of importing coal from Pennsylvania.
Oneida County has been a leader in the field of education. In 1812 Hamilton College was granted a charter. During the 19th century, numerous private schools were located in Clinton, and among those who studied there were Grover Cleveland, Leland Stanford, and Clara Barton. More recently, in 1946 Utica Collage of Syracuse University was established at Utica; Mohawk Valley Community College was founded, Kirkland College was founded at Clinton, and in 1969, the State University of New York founded the Upper Division College, based in Utica presently.
Much of the rich farmland of the county has, throughout the years, supported a large dairy farming industry. It was within the county, near Rome, that Jesse Williams established the first cheese factory in the United States in 1851. During the latter part of the 19th century, much of the cheese produced in the country was shipped to England. For a brief period hops were raised on large farms in the southern part of the county around the village of Waterville. For a time, this area was known as the hop center of the nation.
In 1970 the county dedicated a contemporary style ten-story office building in downtown Utica. Built adjacent to the older County Courthouse and to the State Office Building, the County Office Building is a convenient center of activity for the government of the county. In Rome, the other County Courthouse, erected in 1851 is, in a classic style, a landmark of which all the county can be proud.