Interesting Things About Utica – Our Top 5

Utica, NY is named after Utica, Tunisia, once a great seaport on North Africa's Mediterranean coast. Utica was first settled by Europeans in 1773 on the site of Forth Schuyler, which was built in 1758. Utica was incorporated as a village in 1798. Erastus Clark's entry of "Utica" was drawn from several suggestions and the village thereafter became associated with the ancient Carthaginian city.

There are also Uticas located in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Maryland and Alaska. All are named after Utica, NY

Utica Club was the first beer sold after Prohibition was repealed. The West End Brewery Company, which would later become the FX Matt Brewery, was the first brewery in the nation to obtain a license on April 7th, 1933 and was the first to sell beer. The historic achievement is still noted on bottles and cans of Utica Club.

James Schoolcraft Sherman, who was Vice President of the United States during the Taft Administration, was born in Utica on October 24th, 1855. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1878. Sherman was nominated to run again with Taft, but he died six days before Election Day at the age of 57 on October 30, 1912 in Utica. He was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery and several streets in Utica are named after him.

Frank Winfield Woolworth established the first Woolworth's five-cent store on Genesee Street in downtown Utica on February 22nd, 1879. The FW Woolworth Company was among the first five-and-dime stores, which sold discounted general merchandise at fixed prices, usually five and ten cents. By 1911, F-W Woolworth Store was incorporated, uniting 586 stores.