Oneida Community Mansion House Introductory Tour

Welcome to the Oneida Community Mansion House!

The Mansion House was built as the home of the utopian Oneida Community. The Community was formed in 1848 and lasted until 1881. At its height, it included almost 300 people living in Oneida, with smaller branches in Sherrill (then Willow Place), Wallingford, Connecticut, and Niagara Falls.

The 19th Century Context

The early 1800s were a period of upheaval in both Europe and America. The Industrial Revolution was beginning, transforming how people worked and lived, while reshaping economies and politics. Americans were working to cure the social ills of society through Abolition, Women’s Rights, Temperance, communal living and other causes. At the same time, the United States was swept up in the Second Great Awakening—a wave of religious revivals that introduced new ways of interpreting Christianity. So many religious and social movements passed through upstate New York that the region became known as the “Burned-Over District.”

The Oneida Perfectionists

The Community founder John Humphrey Noyes and his followers believed they could create a perfect society based on their reading of Christian theology and living like the early Christians described in the New Testament. They called themselves Perfectionists and practiced what they termed “Bible Communism,” sharing both property and labor. The Oneida Community’s religious beliefs extended to their understanding of marriage and child-rearing. Through their practice of “complex marriage” all adults were spouses to one another. This elevated women’s social status comparable to men, which was unusual for the time. Community children were also raised communally, not just by their biological parents.

Industry and Legacy
The Community became a major economic force, first through manufacturing traps, then later with silverware. After the commune dissolved in 1881, members reorganized as Oneida Community, Ltd., a successful company that carried their legacy into the 20th century as Oneida Ltd.

Why It Matters
The Oneida Community challenged traditional ideas about family, women’s rights, labor, and religion—making the Mansion House a landmark of American social history and a testament to three centuries of people striving to make a better world.