The village was formerly the site of a major fortified village, Kanonwalohale (written as "tkanaˀalóhaleˀ" modern Oneida orthography), of the Oneida tribe, one of the original Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.

[3] They established it in the beginning of the 18th century, moving from an area where they suffered raids by parties from the French colony of Quebec, which was trying to control their fur trade.

Mohawk Joseph Brant led a war party which destroyed the village in July 1780.

[4] Oneida Castle is the approximate geographic center of New York State.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2), all land.

The racial makeup of the village was 98.25% white, .80% Native American, .32% Asian, and .64% from two or more races.