The presidential past of the Mohawk Valley

MOHAWK VALLEY, N.Y. (WKTV) - While many people had the day off Monday for Presidents' Day, you may not realize just how much of a connection our area has to some of the Presidents of the United States.

The Oneida County Historical Society realizes that, however, with many artifacts to prove it - artifacts like a podium that was actually used by a pre-President and then-New York Governor Teddy Roosevelt. The podium was used during a dedication ceremony of the Historical Society for its founder, Horatio Seymour.

"This was a very important area, not just for New York, but the nation as a whole," said Brian Howard of the Oneida County Historical Society.

In September 1889, Governor Roosevelt visited Richfield Springs and gave a speech from the porch of the Earlington Hotel, which today is the location of The Tally-Ho Restaurant.

Roosevelt certainly wasn't alone. There are many links to this region and our nation's chief executives, the most notable being our very first - George Washington.

"He was a land owner actually in Oneida County," Howard said. "He owned a couple of hundred acres in (what was then known as) White's Town and the society actually has a copy of the lend indenture he signed when he sold that land to Jedidah Sanger in 1790."

Sanger may be a familiar name to many in the area. He was the founder of the Town of New Hartford.

"So, right from the beginning, there is a very close tie with our American presidents," Howard said. "It's pretty surprising when you go through a region and see signs that say 'Washington was Here' or the typical 'Washington Slept Here.' Well, Washington owned land here. And that's not something that a lot of regions can claim."

Washington was also said to have made stops in Mohawk to have lunch at the Shoemaker Tavern on his way to and from Fort Stanwix in Rome.

The connections only begin there. The man who would become our 22nd and 24th president, Grover Cleveland, also came from Mohawk Valley roots.

"When he was a little boy in the early 1850s, his father was a Presbyterian pastor who was assigned to Clinton," Howard said. "And when Grover Cleveland was a small boy, he attended grammar school in Clinton - lived right on Utica Street. His house still stands, actually."

One of our most iconic presidents - Abraham Lincoln - also visited our fair region.

"Lincoln came through this area at least twice - once during his inaugural train ride from Springfield, Illinois to Washington, and tragically, four years later, his funeral train stopped in Utica," Howard said.

While Monday may be Presidents' Day, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Utica born James Schoolcraft Sherman. Sherman, a Hamilton College graduate who worked at a Utica law firm before serving as a Congressman.

Sherman was just one heartbeat away from the presidency when he served as Vice-President to William Howard Taft.

"The greater Mohawk Valley has been tied to the story of our nation all the way back from the day's of the French and Indian War to the present day," Howard said. "I've said many times we are a lot closer to our nation's history than we might realize."