Some early American patriots have connections to the Mohawk Valley. Many historical sites can be found throughout the area, and places like the Oneida County History Center highlight these early heroes.
“Oneida County is, some could say pivotal in the quest for creating the United States and the role of the people in Oneida County is huge. Baron von Steuben was one of our more important people in the Revolutionary War,” Patrick Reynolds, Oneida County History Center director of public programs, said.
Von Steuben had military experience before leaving Europe and coming to what is now America. He reported to Valley Forge.
“He created the U.S. Army,” Reynolds said. “He created the first manual for instructions of how to march, how to load your gun.”
After the war, the government owed him compensation.
“They didn’t have a lot of money, but what they did have is land. So they gave him like 14,000 acres or more up in northern Oneida County.”
You can visit the Steuben Memorial State Historic Site at 9941 Starr Hill Road in Remsen.
The Mohawk Valley attracted many of our early heroes.
General William Floyd, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, had a home in Oneida County.
He is buried in Westernville.
The Oneida County History Center has many of his items.
“During the Revolutionary War, a lot of people from New York and New England came through the Valley and Oneida County and saw it was beautiful farmland,” Reynolds said.
There are many more people who helped in the founding of our country and lived in Oneida County and the surrounding areas.
More can be learned about them at the Oneida County History Center.