Jewell is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Oneida County, New York Oneida County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of February 26, 2024, the population was 226,654. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or '' ...

, United States. It is a community in the Town of Vienna, on the northeastern corner of

Oneida Lake Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River (New York), Oswego River, which ...

, near the border of

Oswego County Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring t ...

. It lies on State Route 49, approximately 30 minutes from the City of Syracuse to its west and 30 minutes to the City of Utica on the east.

History

The first settler is said to have been Eliphalet Jewell, who owned land there in 1814. Silas Jewell may have come about the same time. After coming to Jewell, Silas moved to Constantia for about 5 years and then came back to Jewell about 1822. Jewell was known as "West Vienna" until 1921 when the name was changed to "Jewell," in honor of the Jewell family. Jewell was once a major town on the east–west road which parallels the Oneida Lake shoreline. In the past it was a thriving community with a store, hotel, mills, boat-building and lumber industries. A small community Church stands in the center as a testament to a time of

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

s, farms,

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

sap houses, and an older way of living. Home to the once famous Idel Wild Land (1820) and in the late 1900s a beautiful French piece-and-piece log mansion, built in the tradition of the French Fort, constructed as a testament to this waterfront community's revival. The New York, Ontario & Western railroad used to serve towns on the north side of Oneida Lake, including Jewell. It was removed in 1957, to be turned into a recreational trail for horse and

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

riders. The trail is called the Oswego Recreational Trail to the west, in Oswego County, but has no name in Jewell's Oneida County. Jewell is home to several Indian legends including an Oneida Lake Creature and a great Indian Treasure.

References

{{Coord, 43, 13, 28, N, 75, 48, 24, W, type:city_region:US-NY, display=title Hamlets in New York (state) Hamlets in Oneida County, New York