In 1756 a stone house (built in 1740 by John Jost Herkimer), a stone church, and other buildings, standing within what is now Herkimer Village, were enclosed in a stockade by Sir William Johnson. This post, at first known as Ft. Kouari (the Indian name), was subsequently called Ft. Herkimer. Another fort (Ft. Dayton) was built within the limits of the present village in 1776 by Col. Elias Dayton (1737-1807), who later became a brigadier-general and served in Congress in 1787-1788. During the French and Indian War the settlement was attacked (Nov. 12, 1757) and practically destroyed, many of the settlers being killed or taken prisoners; and it was again attacked on April 30, 1758. In the War of Independence, Gen. Herkimer assembled here the force which on Aug. 6th, 1777, was ambushed near Oriskany on its march from Ft. Dayton to the relief of Ft. Schuyler. The settlement was again attacked by Indians and "Tories" in Sept. 1778, and still again in June, 1782. The township of Herkimer was organized in 1788, and in 1807 the village was incorporated. Herkimer is situated in a rich dairying region and has manufactures with an output of $4,000,000 annually.
225 M. ILION, Pop. 10,169.
(Train 51 passes 1:10; No. 3, 2:10; No. 41, 6:29; No. 25, 7:25; No. 19, 10:51. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 4:12; No. 26, 4:46; No. 16, 10:07; No. 22, 12:05.)
This village, the main part of which is situated on the south bank of the Mohawk, owed its origin to a settlement made here in 1725 by Palatine Germans, but the village as such really dates from the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825. In 1828 Eliphalet Remington (1793-1861) established here a small factory for the manufacture of rifles. He invented, and with the assistance of his sons, Philo, Samuel and Eliphalet, improved the famous Remington rifle.
In 1856 the company added to its business the manufacture of farming tools, in 1870 of sewing machines and in 1874 of typewriters. The last-named industry was sold to another company in 1886, and soon afterwards, on the failure of the original Remington company, the fire arms factory was bought by a N.Y.C. firm, though the Remington name was retained. The spot where Eliphalet had his primitive forge on the Ilion gorge road, just south of the town, is marked by a tablet placed there by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The principal manufactures today are typewriters, fire-arms, cartridges, and filing cabinets and office furniture. The annual output is valued at about $10,000,000.
237 M. UTICA, Pop. 94,156.
(Train 51 passes 1:22; No. 3, 2:31; No. 41, 6:42; No. 25, 7:41; No. 19, 11:08. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 3:57; No. 26, 4:31; No. 16, 9:53; No. 22, 11:50.)
The territory on which Utica is built was originally part of the 22,000 acre tract granted in 1734 by George II. to William Cosby (1695-1736), colonial governor of New York in 1732-36, and his associates. It was then known as Cosby's Manor.
