Harding Farm is a historic site west of the village of Clinton in Oneida County, New York,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is located on

New York State Route 233 New York State Route 233 (NY 233) is a state highway in Oneida County, New York, United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 12B southwest of the Clinton. Its northern terminus is at an interchan ...

(Harding Road) and is situated south of the junction of NY 233 and

New York State Route 412 New York State Route 412 (NY 412) is a state highway in Oneida County, New York, in the United States. It serves as a connector between NY 233, which bypasses the village of Clinton to the west, and NY 12B, which passes thr ...

. It was built by

Samuel Kirkland Samuel Kirkland (December 1, 1741 – February 28, 1808) was a Presbyterian minister and missionary among the Oneida and Tuscarora peoples of present-day central New York State. He was a long-time friend of the Oneida chief Skenandoa. Kirkland ...

in 1793. Kirkland, missionary to the Oneida Indians and founder of

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

, received from the state of New York following the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. Colonists and

Oneida people The Oneida people ( autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of the five founding ...

traveling the Oriskany Valley were frequent and welcome visitors. Oneida Chief

Skenandoa John Skenandoa (; c. 1706 – March 11, 1816), also called Shenandoah () among other forms, was an elected chief (a so-called "pine tree chief") of the Oneida. He was born into the Iroquoian-speaking Susquehannocks, but was adopted into th ...

, who had played a critical role in aiding the Colonists during the revolution, advised Kirkland on the ideal site to build his home. In 1816, Skenandoa requested to be buried next to Kirkland in the orchard behind Kirkland's house in order to "go up with him at the great resurrection." The bodies were later exhumed and moved to the
Hamilton College cemetery
In 1851, Lyman S. Harding purchased the property and converted it to a dairy farm. In 1905, it was sold to Elihu Root, a native of nearby Clinton and Secretary of State for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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. The Harding Family bought the property back in 1912 with considerably less land than it once had. Today
Harding Farm
is a private residence. Image:Main_house_at_harding_farm.jpg, Main house at Harding Farm. Built by Kirkland in 1793 Image:Kirkland_cottage_3.JPG, Samuel Kirkland's original cottage. Now located on the Hamilton College campus.

References

External links

* Houses in Oneida County, New York Houses completed in 1793 1793 establishments in New York (state) {{OneidaCountyNY-geo-stub