city, Madison county, central New York, U.S. It lies on Oneida Creek, 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Oneida Lake and 26 miles (42 km) east of Syracuse. Founded in 1834 by Sands Higinbotham and named for the Oneida people who had inhabited the area, it developed as a depot and supply point for the Utica and Syracuse (later New York Central (New York Central Railroad Company)) Railroad. Growth was influenced by the Oneida Community, an experiment in communal living founded in 1848 by John Humphrey Noyes (Noyes, John Humphrey); in 1881 it was reorganized as a stock company that produced leading lines of silverware (still a major industry). Oneida Limited, which retains some cooperative features, has its headquarters at Oneida and a large flatware factory at nearby Sherrill. Local manufactures also include wood furniture, plastics, paper products, and furnaces. Guided tours are offered of the Oneida Community's Mansion House (begun 1860), which has more than 300 rooms. Colgate University (founded 1819) is in Hamilton, 18 miles (29 km) south of the city. The Oneida Indian Nation's Turning Stone Casino Resort, New York's only casino, is also nearby. Inc. village, 1848; city, 1901. Pop. (1990) 10,850; (2000) 10,987.

county, central New York state, U.S., bounded to the west by Oneida Lake and Creek and to the east by West Canada Creek and Hinckley Reservoir. It largely consists of a plateau region that becomes hillier in the south and rises to the western edge of the Adirondack Mountains in the northeast. The principal drainage is by the Mohawk River, which originates in and flows through the county. Other waterways are the Black River, Fish Creek, Delta Reservoir, and the New York State Canal System (completed 1918), which incorporates the Erie Canal (1825). Timber, most prominent in the northern half of the county, consists mainly of such hardwoods as maple, birch, and beech. Public lands include a portion of Adirondack Park; Verona Beach, Delta Lake, and Pixley Falls state parks; Lock 20 Canal Park; and several military reservations.

Iroquoian-speaking Oneida Indians were native to the region. Landmarks from the U.S. War of Independence (American Revolution) include Fort Stanwix National Monument and Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site, which commemorates the Battle of Oriskany (Oriskany, Battle of) (Aug. 6, 1777), one of the bloodiest conflicts of the war. Oneida county was created in 1798 and named for the Indian tribe. The principal communities are the cities of Rome and Utica, the latter of which is the county seat. Erie Canal Village, located near the site where construction on the canal began in 1817, is a reconstructed mid-19th century village. Griffiss Air Force Base is located in the centre of the county.

The economy is based on services, heavy industry, retail trade, and agriculture (dairy, cattle, hay, and oats). Area 1,213 square miles (3,141 square km). Pop. (2000) 235,469; (2007 est.) 232,304.

Iroquoian-speaking North American Indian tribe living, at the time of European contact, in what is now central New York state, U.S. They are one of the original five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Like the other Iroquois tribes, the Oneida were semisedentary and practiced corn (maize) agriculture. Longhouses (longhouse) sheltered families related through maternal descent. The Oneida were divided into three clans, each having three representatives in the confederation. Each community also had a local council that guided its chief or chiefs. Their name for themselves means “people of the standing stone.”

The least populous of the Iroquois confederates during the 17th century, the Oneida had only one palisaded town of 60 to 100 longhouses; it was destroyed by a French Canadian expedition in 1696. Thereafter the community divided into Oneida (Upper Castle) and Canawaroghere. In the early 18th century a village of North Carolina Tuscarora joined the Oneida, becoming the sixth nation of the Iroquois Confederacy; their former enemies residing in the Carolinas became the targets of war parties for a generation.

The Oneida supported the colonists in the American Revolution and consequently felt the depredations of the pro-British Iroquois led by the Mohawk chief Joseph Brant (Brant, Joseph). Oneida communities took shelter within American lines, and Oneida men served the fledgling American military as scouts. Returning to their homes after the war, they were compensated by the U.S. government for their losses and took in remnants of the Mohegan nation. In the following years the Oneida divided into factions resulting from disagreements over Quaker missions, traditional religion, and the sale of lands. By 1833 those who had not settled at Oneida on the Thames River in Ontario had emigrated to Green Bay, Wis.; a few families remained at Oneida and Onondaga, N.Y.