First formed in 1848 by John Humphrey Noyes, the Oneida Community was a perfectionist religious society that sought to create Heaven on Earth. In pursuit of this goal, the Oneida Community went on to become the longest and most successful utopian experiment in American History.
To practice their communal lifestyle, the Oneida Community began construction on Mansion House in 1862, which slowly expanded into the 90,000-square-foot structure that exists today. After the Community’s dissolution in 1880, the Mansion House was maintained by the joint stock company Oneida Ltd., formed by the remaining Community members. Now, the Oneida Community Mansion House (OCMH) operates as an independent non-profit National Historic Landmark whose mission is to preserve the physical Mansion House and continue the legacy of the Oneida Community and Oneida Ltd. OCMH continues to exist as a living history, and I have been grateful for the opportunity to work with OCMH this summer as an Upstate Institute Field School Fellow.
I am very lucky to have worked with Tom Guiler and Emily Stegner, assisting in OCMH’s mission and becoming connected to its history. My time was focused mainly on expanding OCMH’s oral history project and exhibit on Oneida Ltd., “More Than a Silverware Company.” Using interviews accumulated since OCMH began its oral history project in 2020, I listened to nearly 50 hours of audio interviews to find personal stories that best exemplify the unique qualities of Oneida Ltd. I then edited these stories into short-form clips that are now easily accessible to the public through OCMH’s online exhibit app (Oneida Community Exhibitions). My work on Oneida Ltd. continued when Tom Guiler and I traveled to Syracuse University’s Special Collections. While there, we added to the Mansion House’s records by documenting a series of interviews conducted in 1961 that focused on Oneida Ltd., Kenwood, and Sherrill.
After completing my initial oral history project, I was lucky to work in the Mansion House’s collections with Emily Stegner. In OCMH’s collections, I learned how to use collections software, catalog artifacts, and process received donations. Some of these artifacts included company newspapers, letters, and household objects. Working with physical artifacts made me feel much more connected to the history that I have been focused on this summer. In addition, this gave me a close look at how extensive and important the history of the Oneida Community, the Mansion House, and Oneida Ltd. truly is. The variety and volume of artifacts donated to the Mansion House are a testament to the impact it has had and continues to have on the local community. The Mansion House has been continuously lived in since its construction in 1862 and has been a fixture of the local community.
This has been an incredibly valuable experience, and I am very fortunate to have spent time both at the Mansion House and in the local community. In just 10 weeks, I have learned so much about the history of Oneida and the workings of the Mansion House. Each person at the Mansion House has been incredibly kind and welcoming, and I am very appreciative that they were willing to take time out of their summer to support me in these projects. As a history minor at Colgate, I always value the opportunity to learn more about the rich history of Upstate New York, and I am excited to take everything that I have learned this summer into my future academic and professional work. — Jack Schaeffer ’26