Old Oneida County Court House

On the grounds of Chancellor Park stood the first Court House in Utica. The Old Oneida County Court House was just a quick walk from Post Avenue and a few blocks from North Genesee Street where the Rescue of Harry and George took place. The event is now recognized as the Utica Rescue. The Oneida County Court House was where Hayden and Stewart met for the trial of Harry and George, which later had no effect as the residents of Post Avenue took matters into their own hands.

The old Oneida County Court House stood until 1909 when the current one replaced it. The old building stood on the corner of Elizabeth street and John street, living next to John DeLong's private residence, across the street on John where Pho Mekong House of Noodles is today. On these grounds lived the formal dispute of whether or not Harry Bird and George deserved the right to a trial, and a right stated in the bill of rights, that we have and still value as a central part of our democratic freedom as citizens. Stewart stood ready to defend the two enslaved men in front of the County Judge, publicly, and whole heartedly in a court of law.

Jan DeAmicis, "The Utica Freedom Trail Walking Tour: A Proposed Tour of Abolitionist and Underground Railroad Sites," (Utica: Utica Center, 2013). .https://www.utica.edu/academic/institutes/ucsc/doc/Utica%20Walking%20Tour%202%20Oct%202013.pdf.

Information Courtesy of Oneida County Freedom Trail Commission and Oneida County History Center