Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Situated on the important Mohawk Valley route between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes. Utica has long been a travel crossroads. Indian trails converged there, and fort Schuyler was built on the site in 1758. The community which grew around the fort's ruins became the village of Utica in 1798.

During the American Revolution, patriot militias under General Nicholas Herkimer at Oriskany on August 6, 1777, halted an invasion by the British Compelling them to raise the siege of Fort Stanwix (Rome). Tories and Indians raided Mohawk Valley communities until 1781. With peace, land speculators reopened the area to settlement.

Governor De Witt Clinton at Rome 1817, started the construction of the Erie Canal, completed in 1825. The Erie Canal, its Chenango branch to Binghamton (1836) and railroad service (1837) increased Utica's importance as a transportation center, and the area prospered, industrial production started early with textile mills along Sauquoit and Oriskany Creeks. At Ilion, Eiiphalet Remington pioneered in manufacturing firearms. Rome became famous for its iron and brass works.

Makers of electrical and electronic equipment have replaced textile factories. While fertile farmlands continue to provide dairy products.

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