Oriskany

History

The Oneida village of Oriska was established at the confluence of the Oriskany Creek and the Mohawk River before 1766. Oriska, sometimes also spelled as Ockrisk, Oriska, or Oriske, is believed to be a linguistic corruption of "Ol Hiskè" meaning "a place of nettles." On August 5, 1777, during the American Revolution, Oriska was visited by the Tryon County militia led by Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer. The American-aligned militia was en route to Fort Stanwix to help lift a siege by allied British forces. Several dozen to one hundred Oneida joined Herkimer's militia for the trip. On the morning of August 6, 1777, the forces left Oriska for Fort Stanwix but were met by an ambush about three miles outside of Oriska. The location today is marked by the Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site. The Tory Mohawk who allied with the British later retaliated against Oriska, destroying "stock and provisions" of the village's residents. Before 1810, the surveyor, Col. Gerritt Lansing, returned to the Oriskany Patent to settle. In 1811, he helped found the Oriskany Manufacturing Company. The company's year of incorporation is commonly cited as the founding date for the resettled village. Oriskany Manufacturing Company would operate for several decades. The site later became the Waterbury Felt Mill. The Erie Canal passed through the village until it was surpassed by the NYS Barge Canal. The path of the earlier canal later became State Route 69. The naming of the village from Oriska to Oriskany has become something of an urban legend. As the legend goes, there was a mix up at the post office - a missing comma. Instead of "Oriska, NY" the envelope was labeled as "Oriska NY" and shortly after "Oriskany, NY" was born. This post office legend is disproven by several…

Geography

Oriskany is located at (43.1575,-75.3319). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. The village is near the confluence of the Mohawk River and Oriskany Creek.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,375
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  6,220
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,857
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,100
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  5,015
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,846
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,367
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  4,188

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2026-04-26
  6 km SE of Lowville, New York
• M 3.6 — 2023-04-23
  New York
• M 2.6 — 2023-04-14
  1 km W of Adams Center, New York
• M 2.66 — 2008-02-27
  2 km SW of Central Bridge, New York