Oneida County History Center

While phrenology often merits only a footnote in modern examinations of social and medical history, it played an important role in how people regarded themselves and others during the formative years of the 1840s.

Influencing topics as varied as courtship, employment, criminal justice, abolition, medicine, and suffrage, phrenology was intertwined throughout the everyday lives of many. [Read more…] about Phrenology in New York State: Manifestations of the Mind

Utica, New York once had a thriving shoe manufacturing industry, producing as many as two thousand pairs of shoes a day. The factories were located within a few blocks of each other near the current train station.

The first shoe factory in Utica is believed to have been started in 1837 by John Cantwell. He had a shop at 3 Catharine Street, where he employed over a dozen employees making “the finest shoes and boots in Central New York.”

Shoe manufacturing became mechanized when steam engines began to be used in factories and large-scale operations flourished in the 1870s and 80s when Utica made 1,500 – 2,000 pairs of shoes each day. [Read more…] about A Walking Tour of Utica’s Historic Shoe District

When the John Phillip Sousa Band made a concert stop in Utica 125 years ago, Sousa conducted the Knights of Columbus March and Two-Step, composed by Utican Professor George H. Fischer. Fischer, who was then the Music Director at Saint John’s Church in Utica, sat in at the piano with the Sousa Band.

Fischer’s career spanned 67 years and played a major role in the music scene in the Mohawk Valley. His music was published by J. Fischer & Brothers Music of New York City, played all over the world, and was even performed by the John Phillip Sousa Band. [Read more…] about Rev. George Fisher: Utica’s John Phillip Sousa Connection

Labor unions in the late 1800s, and early 1900s were powerful in solidarity and activism and included songs to motivate and give hope.  The Oneida County History Center will host musicians Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle to sing songs of the labor unions on Saturday, April 30th.

This program presents a variety of songs and historical narratives about the development and progress of the Labor Movement. [Read more…] about Labor Union Songs Concert in Utica on Saturday

Savage Arms played an integral role in weapons production for the First and Second World Wars. The local company sent its arms business to Massachusetts after the Allies defeated the Axis Powers in WWII, and began to manufacture ice cream coolers and washing machines.

By the 1960s, this once-prominent company that employed thousands in the Utica area closed its local operation. [Read more…] about A Brief History of Savage Arms

The Oneida County History Center has announced the 17th Annual Telethon presented by the Bank of Utica.

The telethon is the History Center’s signature fundraising event of the year and will be broadcast live on WUTR-TV and stream on CNYHomepage.com on Wednesday, May 18th, from 5 to 8 pm. [Read more…] about Oneida County History Center Announces 2022 Telethon