Oneida Community

The Oneida Community was a religious community founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848 near Oneida, New York. The community followed the beliefs of Noyes including Communism (in the sense of communal property and possessions), 'Complex Marriage', 'Male Continence', 'Mutual Criticism' and 'Ascending Fellowship'. There were initially some forty-five members to the community. The community grew slowly (72 members by February of 1850, 205 by February of 1851, and 306 members by 1878) but had a complex bureaucracy of twenty-one committees and forty-eight administration departments. There were smaller communities in Wallingford, Newark, Putney, Cambridge, and Manlius for a short time.

The community lasted until John Humphrey Noyes attempted to pass on the community to his son, Theodore Noyes. This move was very unsuccessful and divided the community. 'Complex Marriage' was abandoned in 1879 following external pressures and the community soon after broke apart, some of the members reorganizing themselves as a joint-stock company. The joint-stock corporation is still in existence today and is a major producer of silverware under the brand name Oneida Limited.