[4] The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or Haudenosaunee, which had long occupied this territory at the time of European encounter and colonization.

The federally recognized Oneida Indian Nation has had a reservation in the region since the late 18th century, after the American Revolutionary War.

In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, Americans changed the name of Tryon County to Montgomery County to honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec.

Together with Utica, Oneida county was the cultural centre of Welsh settlement in New York state.

Indeed Bartlett noted in his Dictionary of Americanisms that "one may travel for miles and hear nothing but the Welsh language".

[7] Oneida County is in the central portion of New York State, east of Syracuse, and west of Albany.

Oneida Lake is on the northwestern corner of the county, and the Adirondack Park is on the northeast.

In the early 21st century, Oneida is the only county in New York state documented as having Chronic wasting disease among its wild White-tailed deer.

21.7% were of Italian, 13.1% Irish, 12.1% German, 9.9% Polish, 8.5% English and 5.6% American ancestry according to self-identification of ethnic background in Census 2000.

Oneida County also leans Republican in major statewide and national elections.

The last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Oneida County was Bill Clinton in 1996, by plurality.

The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide.

Republican Donald Trump returned the county to its reliably red roots, posting strong victories in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

In January 2005, the company ceased manufacturing their product, closing its main plant and selling its assets.

The factory, under new ownership, continues to produce American-made silverware under the Liberty Tabletop brand.

Currently the largest non-governmental, non-healthcare product of Oneida County is gambling.