Onondaga Nation Farm: Land History
Overview of land ownership between 1790 and 2021
The Onondaga people wish to bring about a healing between themselves and all others who live in this region that has been the homeland of the Onondaga Nation since the dawn of time. The Nation and its people have a unique spiritual, cultural, and historic relationship with the land, which is em- bodied in Gayanashagowa, the Great Law of Peace. This re- lationship goes far beyond federal and state legal concerns of ownership, possession, or other legal rights. The people are one with the land and consider themselves stewards of it. It is the duty of the Nation’s leaders to work for a healing of this land, to protect it, and to pass it on to future generations. The Onondaga Nation brings this action on behalf of its people in the hope that it may hasten the process of reconciliation and bring lasting justice, peace, and respect among all who inhabit this area. -Onondaga Claim under United States Law to reclaim illegally purchased lands
Treaty of Fort Stanwix 1768 and 1784
The treaty recognized each of the six nations as sovereign nations, and promised to protect the Six Nations and the reserve's land, a promise that was not kept. The Onondaga nation was impacted negatively by this, with centuries of illegal land grabs by New York State.
Onondaga Nation Farm Map
- This map shows the following:
- 2021 Farm Boundaries
- 2021 Reservation Boundaries
- 1790 Reservation Boundary
- Aboriginal Territory
Deed's + Genealogy
1804-->?
The earliest land deed we currently have is of someone in the Anderson family receiving parts of Lot 200 from Hannah and Jacob Amidon and from Rhoda Russell. They moved to Onondaga County in 1804.
Rhoda Russell is also named on one of the first deeds found for the transfer of Lot 200 to Anderson.
1863
Lewis Amidon received Lots 191 and 192 from Orlow and Ruamah Amidon in 1863. He died on 2 May 1876, in Onondaga at the age of 72, and was buried in South Onondaga.
1871
Oliver Bakeman received Lot 191 from an H.M. Fulmer. He died on the 31st of January in 1909, in Onondaga at the age of 77. Oliver was buried in South Onondaga.
1943
Arthur James Loader. In 1943 Lots 191, 192, and 200 were deeded to his parents, Francis and Daisy Loader. Once his parents had passed, he eventually granted the land to the Onondaga Nation on October 9th, 1999. He passed away on January 1st, 2018 at 81 years old
Daisy V. Loader + husband Francis G. Loader. Lived here until her death on May 24th, 1986 at 74 years old.
Aerial Maps Over Time
Comparisons side by side
1852 Aerial on left and 1874 Aerial at right. Between these time periods, we know the Amidons + Russels were on Lot 200 and the Bakemans were on Lot 191.
1938 Aerial on left and 1951 Aerial at right. Between these time periods, the Loaders were occupying Lots 191,192 +200
1966 Aerial. In 1966, the Loaders were still occupying lots 191,192,200.
Limitations of our research
We were able to find some deeds and aerial maps over the last 230 years. We are aware that there are deeds, genealogies and aerial maps that are still missing, and hope future student research can uncover these. We suspect that records on land ownerships, like deeds , have been lost over time.
We found out that deed transfer documentation can be limited both in the documents available and the information contained within them. A limitation with the deed documents is that the lots of land (191, 192, and 200) were not sold as whole lots, but rather portions of land within each lot were transferred between individuals. This impacts our ability to more solidly determine exactly when and to whom land was given.
