Utica

History

Utica was established on the site of Old Fort Schuyler, built by American colonists for defense in 1758 during the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War against France. Prior to construction of the fort, the Mohawk, Onondaga and Oneida nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy had controlled this area southeast of the Great Lakes region as early as 4000 BC. The Mohawk were the largest and most powerful nation in the eastern and lower Mohawk Valley. Colonists had a long-standing fur trade with the Mohawk, in exchange for firearms and rum. The Iroquois nations' dominating presence in the region prevented the Province of New York from expanding past the middle of the Mohawk Valley until after the American victory over the British and British-allied Iroquois in the Revolutionary War. Following the war several Iroquois nations were forced to cede lands to the new State Of New York. The land housing Old Fort Schuyler was part of a portion of marshland granted by King George II to New York governor William Cosby on January 2, 1734. Since the fort was located near several trails (including the Great Indian Warpath), its position—on a bend at a shallow portion of the Mohawk River—made it an important fording point. The Mohawk call the bend Unundadages ("around the hill"), a name that now appears on the city's seal. During the American Revolutionary War, border raids from British-allied Iroquois tribes harried the settlers on the frontier. George Washington ordered America’s first Rangers to enter Central New York and suppress the Iroquois threat. Sullivan's Expedition destroyed more than 40 Iroquois villages and their winter stores, causing starvation. In the aftermath of the war, numerous colonial settlers migrated into the region…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Utica has a total area of — of land and (1.52 percent) of water. Utica and its suburbs are bound by the Allegheny Plateau in the south and the Adirondack Mountains in the north, and the city is above sea level; this region is known as the Mohawk Valley. The city is west-northwest of Albany and east of Syracuse. The city's Mohawk name, Unundadages ("around the hill"), refers to a bend in the Mohawk River that flows around the city's elevated position as seen from the Deerfield Hills in the north. The Erie Canal and Mohawk River pass through northern Utica; northwest of downtown is the Utica Marsh, a group of cattail wetlands between the Erie Canal and Mohawk River (partially in the town of Marcy) with a variety of animals, plants and birds. During the 1850s, plank roads were built through the marshland surrounding the city. Utica's suburbs have more hills and cliffs than the city. Located where the Mohawk Valley forms a wide floodplain, the city has a generally sloping, flat topography. Streets laid out when Utica was a village had more irregularities than those built later in the 19th and 20th centuries. As a result of the city's location (adjacent to the Mohawk River), many streets parallel the river, so they do not run strictly east–west or north–south. Remnants of Utica's early electric-rail systems can be seen in the West and South neighborhoods, where the rails were set into the streets. Utica's neighborhoods have historically been defined by their residents, allowing them to develop their own individuality. Racial and ethnic groups, social and economic separation and the development of infrastructure and new means of transportation have shaped neighborhoods, with groups shifting between them as a result.…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,074
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  6,041
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,600
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,860
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4,708
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,619
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,263
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,021

Largest nearby schools

• THOMAS R PROCTOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · UTICA · 2,675 students · 16.8:1 ratio
• WHITESBORO HIGH SCHOOL
  High · MARCY · 938 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• ONEIDA-HERKIMER-MADISON BOCES
  Other · NEW HARTFORD · 733 students · 5.9:1 ratio
• SENATOR JAMES H DONOVAN MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · UTICA · 730 students · 11.4:1 ratio
• JOHN F KENNEDY MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · UTICA · 695 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• NEW HARTFORD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · NEW HARTFORD · 645 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · UTICA · 639 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• WATSON WILLIAMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · UTICA · 630 students · 13.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2026-04-26
  6 km SE of Lowville, New York
• M 2.79 — 2015-09-27
  New York
• M 2.66 — 2008-02-27
  2 km SW of Central Bridge, New York