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37-471: The aqueduct is a stone masonry structure with a waterway of 19 feet at the bottom and 20 feet at the top. The towpath parapet wall is 8 feet wide and the upstream wall is 6 feet wide. Benjamin Wright , the project's chief engineer, drew the plans with 6 piers, 2 abutments and 7 arches, each with a span of 54 feet. The piers are 10 feet thick with a pilaster at each end. The aqueduct is 438 feet in length. Much of

74-536: A granary was built here, having three storage bays, two passageways for the boats, and only one story. The remains of the granary are next to the parking lot. The aqueduct is part of the C&;O Canal National Historic Park and is administered by the National Park Service . Following damage caused to several canal structures caused by Hurricane Agnes and other flooding incidents in the early 1970s,

111-560: A religious and Utopian community, the Oneida Community , near Oneida. Its unconventional views on religion and relations between the sexes generated much controversy. The community lasted until 1881. The Oneida Silver Company was founded here to manufacture sterling silver, silverplate holloware and, later, stainless steel flatware. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 1,258 square miles (3,260 km ), of which 1,212 square miles (3,140 km )

148-768: Is buried in the New York Marble Cemetery in Manhattan . Oneida County, New York Oneida County ( / oʊ ˈ n aɪ d ə / oh- NYE -də ) is a county in the state of New York , United States. As of February 26, 2024, the population was 226,654. The county seat is Utica . The name is in honor of the Oneida , one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or Haudenosaunee , which had long occupied this territory at

185-538: Is land and 45 square miles (120 km ) (3.6%) is water. Oneida County is in the central portion of New York State , east of Syracuse , and west of Albany . Oneida Lake is on the northwestern corner of the county, and the Adirondack Park is on the northeast. Part of the Tug Hill Plateau is in the northern part of the county. Oneida County's highest point lies neither on the plateau nor in

222-907: The American Revolutionary War , Americans changed the name of Tryon County to Montgomery County to honor the general, Richard Montgomery , who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec . They replaced the name of the British governor. In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced by the splitting off of Ontario County from Montgomery. The area taken from Montgomery County contained all of present-day Allegany , Cattaraugus , Chautauqua , Erie , Genesee , Livingston , Monroe , Niagara , Orleans , Steuben , Wyoming , Yates , and part of Schuyler and Wayne counties, as well as Ontario County. After continued new settlement, in 1791 Herkimer County

259-534: The American Society of Civil Engineers declared him the "Father of American Civil Engineering". Wright was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut , to Ebenezer Wright and Grace Butler. In 1789, at age 19, he moved with his family to Fort Stanwix, New York, which is now Rome, New York , where he became a land surveyor. Over the next decade, Wright worked as a land surveyor and engineer, especially on

296-609: The Antietam campaign in September 1862, Walter convinced Hill that draining the canal would achieve the same end. Walter saved the Monocacy Aqueduct, only for it to be threatened once again a few days later when another Confederate party attempted to blow up the aqueduct. However, the soldiers were unable to drill enough holes into the hard stone to place enough explosives to breach the structure. Like at Whites Ferry ,

333-457: The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Company to be the canal's chief engineer. While holding that position, he caused John Randel Jr. – who had surveyed the route taken by the canal, and who had been hired as an engineer to build its difficult eastern section – to be fired by the company. Randel sued the company for breach of contract, and tried to sue Wright as well, but that case

370-914: The Hudson River . Wright initially surveyed the Mohawk River from Rome to the Hudson River on behalf of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, but that company lacked the resources to build the canal. Wright surveyed the same route of the Mohawk River from Rome to the Hudson River again for the New York State Canal Commission in 1811, and by 1816 funding for the Erie Canal was in place. Its construction began in 1817. The ASCE (1996) explained: The following year Wright

407-540: The National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration designed a steel banding system to stabilize the structure and installed a steel rod reinforcing system. The National Park Service and park supporters were concerned about the structural stability of the aqueduct and a major engineering evaluation was undertaken to determine stabilization needs and associated cost. The C&O Canal National Historical Park and its partners restored

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444-863: The United States Military Academy at West Point , where he graduated as part of the Class of 1822. As a civil engineer, the younger Wright promoted the establishment of railroads in Cuba , including the survey of the Havana-Guines railroad in 1834. He was also involved with the engineering of the Cardenas and Bemba Railroad in Cuba in 1836 and the Nuevitas and Puerto Principe Railroad, built between 1837 and 1842. The elder Benjamin Wright

481-473: The Adirondack Park, but in the county's southern extremity. The peak's name is Tassel Hill. It is located slightly southeast of Hardscrabble Road (Tassel Hill Road), between the villages of Waterville and Cassville. The Erie Canal , completed in 1825, runs east–west along the Mohawk River through the county. It stimulated considerable trade and settlement. Oneida Lake and Oneida Creek form part of

518-486: The Oneida County Legislature was reduced to 23 seats. All 23 members are elected from single-member districts. Currently, there are 17 Republicans and 6 Democrats . Oneida County also leans Republican in major statewide and national elections. The last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Oneida County was Bill Clinton in 1996 , by plurality. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county

555-429: The age of 18 living with them, 49.10% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.60% were non-families. 29.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.90% under

592-467: The age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 35,909, and the median income for a family was $ 45,341. Males had a median income of $ 32,194 versus $ 24,295 for females. The per capita income for

629-490: The aqueduct to its original appearance in 2004-2005. The aqueduct was formally rededicated in May 2005. 39°13′25″N 77°27′7″W  /  39.22361°N 77.45194°W  / 39.22361; -77.45194 Benjamin Wright (civil engineer) Benjamin Wright (October 10, 1770 – August 24, 1842) was an American civil engineer who was chief engineer of the Erie Canal and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal . In 1969,

666-488: The border between Maryland , Virginia , and points west. For this reason, the canal and the aqueducts were often under Confederate attack. There were many Confederate sympathizers among the canal employees, including Thomas Walter, keeper of Lock 27. Walter loved the South, but he loved the Monocacy Aqueduct more. When he learned that Confederate General D. H. Hill had orders to destroy it in order to halt boat traffic during

703-607: The building material was large quartzite stone blocks quarried at the base of nearby Sugarloaf Mountain . The first contract for the aqueduct was awarded in August 1828 to Hovey and Legg, which began work in 1829. The contract was next awarded to Asher Osbourn, but by the end of 1830, it was in the hands of Byrne and Lebaron. During the American Civil War the Union used the canal to transport war materials and troops along

740-579: The company. Wright was approached in 1825 by the Wurts brothers of Philadelphia to survey a possible route from the coalfields of Northeastern Pennsylvania to the Hudson, where anthracite could be shipped by boat downriver to New York City. Wright consented, and served as chief engineer on the Delaware and Hudson Canal for about a year. At that point, he stepped down and became a consulting engineer;

777-490: The construction of the Erie Canal and later on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal . In addition to his engineering work, Wright was also elected to the New York State Legislature in 1794 and was appointed a New York county judge. Wright returned to New York in about 1833. He continued to work primarily as a consultant on a number of canal projects, but also began doing surveys for railroads, which were in

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814-409: The county was $ 18,516. About 9.80% of families and 13.00% of the population were below the poverty line , including 18.90% of those under age 18 and 8.50% of those age 65 or over. A board of supervisors governed Oneida County until 1962, when the county charter was changed to create a county executive and a 29-seat county legislature. The entire county elects the county executive. On January 1, 2014,

851-679: The county was 90.21% White , 5.74% African American , 0.23% Native American , 1.16% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 1.11% from other races , and 1.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.20% of the population. 21.7% were of Italian , 13.1% Irish , 12.1% German , 9.9% Polish , 8.5% English and 5.6% American ancestry according to self-identification of ethnic background in Census 2000 . 90.6% spoke English , 2.7% Spanish , 1.3% Italian , 1.2% Serbo-Croatian and 1.1% Polish as their first language. There were 90,496 households, out of which 30.40% had children under

888-515: The early stages of development at the time. Wright began his career surveying the frontier areas of Oneida and Oswego counties. In 1794 Wright was hired as a surveyor and planner by the noted English canal designer William Weston . Working for Weston, he helped lay out canals and locks on the Mohawk River . After Weston returned to England in 1801, Wright was commissioned to survey the Mohawk River between Schenectady and Rome, and then to

925-778: The job of chief was taken by John B. Jervis , who had worked under Wright on the Erie Canal. In 1828, Wright was made Chief Engineer of the newly organized Chesapeake and Ohio Canal , which operated on a route along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. , and Cumberland, Maryland . Within a year, Wright had let contracts for a massive construction effort that encompassed about 6,000 men and 700 horses. Wright married Philomela Waterman on September 27, 1798; they had nine children, five of whom became civil engineers. One of them, Benjamin Hall Wright (1801-1881), attended

962-616: The territory of present Oneida County was included in a very large, mostly undeveloped Albany County . This county included the northern part of present-day New York State as well as all of the present state of Vermont and, in theory, extended westward to the Pacific Ocean . This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, to create Cumberland County , and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation of Gloucester County , both containing territory now in Vermont. On March 12, 1772, what

999-596: The time of European encounter and colonization. The federally recognized Oneida Indian Nation has had a reservation in the region since the late 18th century, after the American Revolutionary War . The county is part of the Mohawk Valley region of the state. Oneida County is part of the Utica–Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area . When England established colonial counties in the Province of New York in 1683,

1036-543: The western boundary. In the early 21st century, Oneida is the only county in New York state documented as having Chronic wasting disease among its wild White-tailed deer . As of the census of 2000, there were 235,469 people, 90,496 households, and 59,184 families residing in the county. The population density was 194 inhabitants per square mile (75/km ). There were 102,803 housing units at an average density of 85 units per square mile (33/km ). The racial makeup of

1073-773: The western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River . Tryon County was later divided to organize 37 distinct counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon , colonial governor of New York. During and after the Revolution, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada . In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended

1110-487: Was Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide. In 2008 , Republican John McCain won the county by 6,000 votes out of 90,000 cast. He won all municipalities in the county except the city of Utica and the town of Kirkland . In 2012 , Republican Mitt Romney won the county by even fewer votes, by around 4,000 plus votes. Republican Donald Trump returned the county to its reliably red roots, posting strong victories in both 2016 and 2020 . The main product of Oneida County

1147-470: Was appointed senior engineer in charge of construction of the middle section of the Erie Canal , and later, he was placed in charge of the eastern section as well. He led thousands of unskilled laborers as they built the canal with wheelbarrows, hand tools, horses, and mules. In Wright's honor, the first boat to traverse the canal system was named the Chief Engineer . In 1822 Wright was engaged by

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1184-425: Was created from another part of Herkimer County. This county was larger than the current Oneida County, as it included the present-day Jefferson (which extends along Lake Ontario), Lewis , and part of Oswego counties. In 1805, Jefferson and Lewis counties were split off from Oneida. In 1816, parts of Oneida and Onondaga counties were taken to form the new Oswego County . Together with Utica , Oneida county

1221-531: Was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. Tryon County contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady in the Mohawk River Valley, and the county included

1258-558: Was once silverware, chiefly manufactured at Oneida Ltd.'s headquarters in Sherrill . In January 2005, the company ceased manufacturing their product, closing its main plant and selling its assets. The factory, under new ownership, continues to produce American-made silverware under the Liberty Tabletop brand. Currently the largest non-governmental, non-healthcare product of Oneida County is gambling. Turning Stone Casino Resort

1295-453: Was one of three counties taken from Montgomery (the other two being Otsego , and Tioga County ). It was much larger than the present Herkimer County, however, and was reduced by a number of subsequent splits. In 1794, Herkimer County was reduced in size by the creation of Onondaga County . This county was larger than the current Onondaga County, including the present Cayuga , Cortland , and part of Oswego counties. In 1798, Oneida County

1332-575: Was the cultural centre of Welsh settlement in New York state . By the mid-nineteenth century, the lexicorapher John Russell Bartlett noted that the area had a number of Welsh language newspapers and magazines, as well as Welsh churches. Indeed Bartlett noted in his Dictionary of Americanisms that "one may travel for miles and hear nothing but the Welsh language". By 1855, there were four thousand Welshmen in Oneida. In 1848, John Humphrey Noyes founded

1369-557: Was thrown out. In 1834 a jury returned an award to Randel of $ 226,885.84 (equivalent to $ 6,924,556 in 2023), a tremendous amount for the time. The canal company's appeals went as high as the United States Supreme Court , which affirmed the award. The company attempted to avoid paying the judgment, but the state legislatures of both Maryland and Delaware passed bills requiring the canal company to pay off its debts within five years. The huge award almost bankrupted

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