Oneida, << oh NY duh, >> Community, a cooperative community in Oneida, New York, was founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848. Noyes hoped to make the community a utopia (perfect society). Noyes, a preacher from Putney, Vermont, believed in a radical form of Christianity known as Perfectionism. Perfectionism taught that people could abolish sin from their lives and become perfect. Noyes began the community in Putney, but he and his followers were forced to leave because of their beliefs.
The members of the Oneida Community believed that the best way to achieve perfection was to live communally, sharing the burden of labor as well as all possessions. The community abolished the private family and, in its place, set up a system called complex marriage. In this system, every man was considered to be married to every woman. The community also planned the birth of its babies and raised its children. In 1869, the community began to choose combinations of parents that it believed would produce the best children.
The Oneida Community flourished financially. It became wealthy by manufacturing and selling a type of steel game trap invented by one of its members. The community also earned money by canning and by manufacturing steel chains and silk thread.
In 1879, outside opposition to complex marriage forced the community to give up the practice. In 1881, the community was reorganized as a joint-stock company called Oneida Community Ltd. In the 1890’s, the manufacture of silverware became the company’s main industry. Today, the company exists as Oneida Ltd. The Oneida Community Mansion House, the former home of the Oneida Community, is a national historic landmark and museum.
