Fort Bull

March, 1756: The Destruction of Fort Bull

March 5, 2026 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

On March 27, 1756, the quiet snow-covered peace on the Oneida Carrying Place in what is now Rome, New York, was shattered with an attack on Fort Bull. The French and Indian War (1754-1763) had begun to invade the Mohawk Valley.

On the westerly side of the carry (now Rome) the small fort, garrisoned by 35 men of the British 51st Regiment of Foot, one of the two American Regiments raised in 1755, was over run and destroyed by a 346 man French-Canadian-Indian Force from Fort La Presentation (at modern day Ogdensburg, NY). The fort was destroyed in a violent explosion. [Read more…] about March, 1756: The Destruction of Fort Bull

Fort Rickey: On The Edge of Empires at Oneida Carry

August 28, 2025 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Fort Rickey was a small palisaded fortification that was initially constructed in ca. 1759 to support the British occupation of the Oneida Carry.

This strategic location at the confluence of the Mohawk River and Wood Creek was an important British military outpost that guarded the western end of the carry to Oneida Lake. It was the northern point of the Fort Stanwix Treaty Line of 1768. [Read more…] about Fort Rickey: On The Edge of Empires at Oneida Carry

Early Settlers Near Rome, NY

December 30, 2024 by Richard Williams Leave a Comment

Johannis Rueff (later anglicized as John Roof) was born in Durlach, a district in what is now Karlsruhe, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, on January 9, 1730. He married Annie Mira Leonardo of Heildelberg on January 13, 1759. They migrated to the American colonies and landed in Philadelphia in October 1759 and moved north to Fort Stanwix on the New York frontier.

There he traded with Indigenous People, most likely the Oneida and other Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) he encountered, and the few traders moving over the portage known as the Great Carry or Carrying Place, which connected Wood Creek with Oneida Lake, at what is now Rome, NY. [Read more…] about Early Settlers Near Rome, NY

Fort Bull – Oneida Carrying Place Archaeology Funded

September 14, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Fort Bull and the Oneida Carrying Place were important parts of the military and Indigenous landscape that shaped the development of the Upper Mohawk Valley region.

The Oneida Carrying Place, a four-mile overland route that connected the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, was vital to British military campaign strategies beginning with the French and Indian War. The Carry also saw significant action during St. Leger’s American Revolution Campaign (1777), which included the Siege of Fort Stanwix/Schuyler and the Battle of Oriskany. [Read more…] about Fort Bull – Oneida Carrying Place Archaeology Funded

Rome Historical Raises Concerns Over Fort Bull Construction Project

October 14, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

What follows is a message sent to the media by Arthur L. Simmons III, Executive Director of the Rome Historical Society regarding construction at the site of Fort Bull.

Fort Bull was one of several British forts that secured the portage between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek. In 1756, French troops, supported by allied Native Americans, marched overland from Fort La Presentation (present day Ogdensburg) and attacked the British fort on the Oneida Carry. The French destroyed Fort Bull and killed or captured nearly 60 of the British garrison. [Read more…] about Rome Historical Raises Concerns Over Fort Bull Construction Project

Fort Bull

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