Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oneida Castle. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1895Oneida sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Oneida Castle.
People over time
Oneida Castle, census by census
Peaked at 788 in 1970; 586 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oneida Castle’s Wikipedia page.
The village was formerly the site of a major fortified village, Kanonwalohale (written as "tkanaˀalóhaleˀ" modern Oneida orthography), of the Oneida tribe, one of the original Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. They established it in the beginning of the 18th century, moving from an area where they suffered raids by parties from the French colony of Quebec, which was trying to control their fur trade. The village was surrounded by tall wooden palisades, with a moat bordering this. Dwellings and storage structures were protected inside. Mohawk Joseph Brant led a war party which destroyed the village in July 1780.
Passages that mention Oneida Castle, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-18781878 · page 573Read the page →
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Turkey Street is a name given to a portion of the old Seneca turnpike, east of the village of Oneida Castle. This name was applied from the fact that a number of the first settlers went to the Oneida Castle in the night and stole several turkeys from the Indians. They were found out, and the locality in which they lived was given the above appropriate title. Originally its eastern boundary was a large hemlock -tree standing on the south side of the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-18781878 · page 574Read the page →
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The first framed school building in town was erected at Vernon village soon after 1798, and was used both as a school-house and church for some years. Two academies formerly existed, one at Oneida Castle and the other at Vernon village. The one at Oneida Castle was established by a Mr. Bronson, who for some time taught in it. It has been converted into a union school, with two departments in the winter and one during the summer. Miss Harriet
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Oneida Castle, 1800 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
