Oneida Community Mansion House

One of the landmark properties in upstate New York is the Oneida House. Its history is marked as once being a utopian religious and perfectionist community that lasted from 1848 to 1880. The founder, John Humphrey Noyes, contested the social mores of his day and sought to render a commune dedicated to a more cooperative living and working ethic. Having previously read about the history of this unique assemblage, it was of interest to my husband and I to visit where it all began. With learning about the organization opening up part of its building to B&B guests, we decided to take the opportunity of a brief stay. Guests are also given the ability to tour the building and grounds for free. ||||The approach to the house is sweeping with a large green lawn in contrast to the dark red brick of the expansive three-story building, which exhibits a combination of Italian and Gothic revival architecture with some Victorian details. It originally included several buildings that became interconnected, three of which were residential buildings, plus an assembly hall, totaling 93,000 square feet. In walking up to the front building one sees a sign that at once asks for donations to continue their ongoing renovations. Once inside, a table displays a range of literature, and a door to the left opens to the gift shop and where one checks in. ||||A woman greeted us and once we said that we had booked a room in their B&B, she took our credit card for the stay. She suggested that we first take a look at the exhibit across the hall to get an overview of Oneida’s history. We were familiar with the group’s views on shared ownership, marriage, the raising of their young, and also about their form of polyamory and male control of ejaculation to prevent unwanted impregnation. We found that the explanation of their early practices were well accounted, along with all the rest of their ways of living. ||||When we had completed reading that introduction, the woman escorted us down several halls to come to a part of the building where guests stayed. She showed us a large bright and airy room with a high ceiling. The walls were white, but all the wood framing and even the heating unit were painted a sky-blue, and the carpet was a dark blue. The king size bed was a type of wooden slay bed, with a Yaxley-like paneled headboard, curved sides and a low footboard. The bathroom was also large and tiled. Both rooms had very tall windows that faced a large grassy lawn and trees. A continental breakfast is included, but not full meals. One is also gifted with a hardcopy of Pierrepont B. Noye’s book, My Father’s House. ||||The next morning we went on the self-guided tour, which is allowed every day between 10:00 and 3:00, with the help of a handout to guide us. There were many rooms that served as an example of what the old Oneida house once looked like. A room showed the first industry that the Oneida workers participated in, that of making animal game traps, sewing silk clothing and canning fruit preserves. The children’s wing contains the nursery and nursery kitchen. A room showed the quilts they made, textile tapestry weavings, and their clothes, especially the pantalettes that the women wore. The community library had two rooms. One was very impressive with large dark wooden shelves, filled with several thousand books. When the Oneida community began making silverware, and then the war began, posters encouraged the support of the troops and investing in the future, with of course, silver.||||Another room held curios, which were presented in glass displays, filled with items that once belonged to the residents. When one joined the Oneida community, one gave over all their money and worldly possessions. If one left, they could take their personal items and treasures, but a percentage of their items had to remain in compensation for the person staying there. The bedrooms were small and only had a single bed. Couples were encouraged to not sleep together unless permission was approved to have children. If couples began to attach, it was frowned upon and considered “sticky”. || ||Although it was raining off and on while we were there, we were able to see some of the lawns and gardens on the property’s thirty-three acres. A trail map is available that one can use to self-guide and see the south garden with its tulip trees and the one-hundred foot tall black walnut tree, the north garden, knot garden, vineyard, orchard, summer house, pergola, cemetery, log cabin, and Sunset Lake. ||||We were told that the people who live in Oneida are a very tight-knit group, many of whom had ancestors that once were part of the Oneida community. In fact, two upper floor rooms are still occupied by inherited members. A community journal is available that offers many articles on life of the Oneida’s, which was begun in 1987. It has published thirty-three issues, the latest available is their Fall 2021, Vol 36, No. 2 issue. And if one is intrigued in the specifics of the architecture of the Oneida building, an article published by the American Communal Societies Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 1, by Kevin Coffee, may be of interest. ||||We were glad that we had stayed there and were impressed by the industriousness at which the community strove to make a living, outside the usual social norms of the time, and how the grounds and building continue to exist.