Oneida Carrying Place Sculpture

At the center of the Oneida Carry, this sculpture honors the rich history of the area.

National Park Service

Quick Facts

Location:

301 W. Dominick Street, Rome, NY

Significance:

This sculpture sits at the center of the Oneida Carry; a vital mode of transportation, trade, and commerce that connected Wood Creek to the Mohawk River before and during the Revolutionary War.

Designation:

Dedicated on May 25, 2021

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Sitting at the center point of the Oneida Carrying Place and measuring 7-feet by 27-feet, the impressive art piece commemorates the story and significance of the location: a vital mode of transportation, trade and commerce that connected Wood Creek to the Mohawk River before and during the Revolutionary War. The Oneida Carry was a 2 - 6 mile long portage where boats had to be dragged between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek. It was also the longest portage in the larger New York water way system that connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

The area was settled by the Oneida tribe of the Haudenausaunee Confederacy. In the 1600s, Europeans began traveling the area to participate in the lucrative fur trade and prostelelize to the Native population. The path became a critical strategic area during the American Revolution when the Oneidas helped defend nearby Fort Stanwix from British Siege of 1777. The attempted siege failed and the Americans, with their Oneida allies, helped change the momentum of the war.

One panel of the monument includes a bear, wolf and turtle, which represent the Oneida clans. At front of the monument stands an Oneida ancestor carrying a beaded wampum belt, whose beads would have been cut from the purple and white parts of clam shells. The shell is thought of as a living record of the Haudenosaunee, an alliance among the six Native American nations who are more commonly known as the Iroquois (or Haudenausaunee) Confederacy.
 
Another panel of the monument shows the Great Carrying Place, as Native Americans unload goods from boats for trade, which depicts a friendship and peaceful alliance with the newcomers of their land. It became such an important place, that the Europeans would build forts around to protect it, Halbritter said. It would then become a great military complex during the Revolution.

The sculpture sits 1.5 blocks walking distance from the Fort Stanwix National Monument Visitor Center on West Dominick Street in Rome, NY.