Utica

Utica city (1990 pop. 68,637), seat of Oneida co., central N.Y., on the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal , in a large dairy region; inc. 1862. It is a port of entry, and its manufactures include electrical, electronic, and consumer goods; transportation and medical equipment; machinery and tools; leather, canvas, paper, metal, and stone products; and textiles. Settled in 1773 on the site of old Fort Schuyler (1758), it was destroyed (1776) in a Native American and Tory attack and resettled after the Revolution. Its location on the Erie and other canals and on the railroads stimulated its industrial development.

Like the string of industrial towns and cities from southern New England through upstate New York and into the Midwest, Utica has experienced a major reduction in manufacturing activity in the past several decades, leading to serious financial straits. However, since the late 1990s there has been considerable revitilization of the downtown area, as well as new manufacturing facilities and commercial development, both in Utica itself and in the surrounding suburbs. The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute is there, and Utica has an extensive park system. It is the seat of Utica College (a branch of Syracuse Univ.) and the State Univ. of New York Institute of Technology.

Utica, Tunisia, USA USA (New York): named after the very ancient Phoenician city in Tunisia, now in ruins and called Utique, which, after the destruction of Carthage in 146 bc, became the new capital of the Roman province of Africa. The New York name was allegedly drawn from a hat.