Travel: Oneida County, history and renewal along the Erie Canal

Located in New York’s fertile Mohawk Valley and between the Adirondacks to the east and Lake Finger to the west, Oneida County is a relatively overlooked destination.

During the colonial period, the county was part of a rugged frontier separating competing British and French colonial empires. After the British defeated the French from the continent, they bordered the Declaration Line of 1763, which was to stop the expansion of 13 colonies into the Indian country.

By the late stages of the Revolutionary War, some of the worst battles of the war took place in Central New York, with Loyalists and Indians on one side, and Americans and Indians on the other. Not only was the whole family divided, but the once powerful Iroquois coalition was destroyed under pressure from both sides, which were effectively the first civil war in America.

The complex history of the Revolutionary era is preserved in Rome, the second largest city in Oneida County. Located in the heart of downtown, in the shadow of a cathedral-like 19th-century Roman Catholic Church, is Stanwix National Fort, an original, authentic reconstruction. In 1777, the American garrison protected the fort with wooden palaces and earthen walls from the long-term British siege.

After the war, central New York was quickly settled by homestaders during the first wave of expansion west. And it was Oneida County that the Erie Canal allowed further expansion of America.

The construction of the 363-mile canal that began in Rome on July 4, 1817 – a symbolic date 41 years after the declaration of American independence in Philadelphia.

Within eight years, engineers and workers carved a waterway that stretched from the Hudson River in Albany to the Great Lakes of Buffalo. When it officially opened on October 26, 1825, the canal reduced travel time from weeks with wagons to a nonexistent road to mere days on the water.

This changed the country in a way that cannot be exaggerated.

As the first large-scale civil engineering project in US history, the Erie Canal allowed for rapid movement of goods and people, and encouraged expansion westward during the formative years of nation-building. Decades before the railroad, it was the canal that linked the ever-expanding frontiers of America’s east coast.

My hometown in Michigan is a good example. Before the canal, in 1837, the settlement of becoming the 26th state of the union was slowly and sporadic. After its opening, the waves of settlers robbed the canal westwards and were seduced by good, inexpensive land. A proper case: Many Michigan place names have been borrowed from New York.

One of the more overlooked heritage of the canal lies in the country’s religious and cultural fabrics.

The ease of travel helped to promote the spread of new ideas and beliefs that arose from the fervent revival of the second great awakening. Central and western New York were hotbeds of spiritual activity as new religious movements, including the Mormonist cult, eventually became the Church of Jesus Christ for Latter-day Saints.

This year, following New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, the driving political force behind its creation, is bicentennial of what was once ridden as the “Clinton Gutter.”

As part of the celebration, Seneca’s chief replica-period boat will follow the route from Buffalo to Albany from September 24th to October 25th.

Without a doubt, the Erie Canal is a little known gem in New York. In fact, it is a destination in itself.

It has spread over 200 years, deep, slightly altered, but originally 4 feet deep, the canal is fully operational and open to sailors. Those without a boat can enjoy the canal from the land as well as well as the well maintained trails that follow the old tow pass are open to hikers and cyclists. (They couldn’t find rentals in either Rome or Utica, so visitors hoping to rent a bike should bring their own.)

Utica, the county seat of Oneida County, is like Rome and elsewhere in upstate New York. The name comes from classical antiquity.

A bustling industrial hub along the canal was once stricken by decades of decay of rust belts.

Utica’s decades-long recession has been upside down, at least for architecture enthusiasts. From Greek Revivals and Italian homes to Gothic Revival Churches, to Gothic Revival Churches in the name of progress, it had the effect of preserving countless old buildings.

Unsightly modern additions dot the streets, with parts of downtown retaining a rough atmosphere, but there are signs of a revival and a renaissance.

This isn’t as obvious as the Ocean Blue in the restaurant, with its spectacular rooftop terrace and nostro. I’ve eaten at many restaurants so honestly I can say it’s comparable to the facility at a more popular destination. Within walking distance is the two-year-old hospital campus and the Utica University Nexus Center, a large, multi-purpose sports arena that captivates statewide and local events.

Utica appears to be poised to enter the second stage of industry growth, with electric bike manufacturers planning to open a factory that can produce up to 15,000 bikes a year, and yogurt maker Chobani planning to invest $1.2 billion in new production facilities.

If you’re going

I’m based on Utica, which has more accommodation options than Rome. Consider booking a room at the Hilton DoubleTree at a 1912 landmark hotel. Book an Italian style Rosemont Inn Postbellum room for a more unique experience.

In addition to Nostro and Ocean Blue, try the Portofino in Utica overlooking the Erie Canal. In Rome, Vines and Figs supply many of the food and wines of the region.

Be sure to plan your visit to Fort Stanwix National Monument as it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. In Utica, one location open on Tuesdays is Manson, an art school and some museums. There is also a restaurant where you need to make a reservation and a terrace cafe.

The nearest airport with commercial services to Utica is Syracuse an hour away. By car, Utica is four hours from Boston, six and a half hours from Washington and five and a half hours from Cleveland.

Dennis Lennox is a travel column for Christian Post.