Harding Farm History - Built in 1794 by Samuel Kirland, Founder of Hamilton College

Kirkland established a school called the Hamilton-Oneida Academy with support
and assistance from his good friend, the Oneida Chief Skenandoa.   In 1812, the
Academy was re-named and re-chartered as Hamilton College in honor of U.S.
Treasury Secretary, Founding Father and New York resident, Alexander Hamilton.

With counsel from Skenandoa, Kirkland built his home (the "Kirkland Mansion") on
the Western banks of the Oriskany Creek where the "grass is first green in Spring
and the leaves stay on the trees longest in Fall." Kirkland lived in a small cottage
(built in 1792) at the foot of the Hill while construction of his grand home was
underway.   The house was completed in 1794. His cottage (now called the
"Kirkland Cottage") was moved in 1876 to a location near the Hamilton College
cemetery and moved again in 1925 to its present location at the center of campus.
This modest structure, which is the oldest building on the Hamilton campus is
used by the College's president every Fall to welcome new students to the Hill and
preside over their matriculation.

The Oneida Indians were welcome at Kirkland's home. Oneidas frequently
stopped at his house when passing through the Oriskany Valley and were
welcomed to sleep on the floor before the central fireplaces.

Kirkland's relationship with the Oneida was recognized by the Continental
Congress and the State of New York as critical to gaining the Oneida's support for
the colonists during the revolutionary war. Skenandoah's commitment and heroic
deeds were valued greatly and much appreciated by General George Washington
and members of the Continental Congress.   After the war, President Washington
named the Shenandoah Valley in his honor and recently the Smithsonian Museum
commissioned a sculpture of Washington, Oneida tribe member Polly Cooper and
Skenandoa. (see links: Oneid a Nation and Smithsonian Statue of Skenando a)

In 1788, to compensate Kirkland for his deeds during the War, the State of New
York granted Kirkland 4,000 acres of land extending from the western bank of the
Oriskany Creek to the top of today's College Hill at Skyline Drive. In 1793, Kirkland
donated 300 of his acres for the creation of his Hamilton-Oneida Acadamey. That
year, the New York State Board of Regents granted a charter for Kirkland's school.
Kirkland died 15 years later in 1808 and was burried in the orchard behind his
home (what is now Harding Farm).

The friendship between Kirkland and Skenandoah was legendary and best
acknowledged by Skenandoa's request to be buried beside Kirkland prior to his
death in 1816. Shortly after the Harding Family purchased the property in 1855,
both bodies were exhumed and moved to their present location in the Hamilton
College cemetery.

After Kirkland's death, his home was sold to a Hamilton College professor named
Lathrop who later sold it to his brother. In 1855, a young man named Lyman
Shumway Harding from Madison County purchased the Kirkland home with the
goal of establishing a dairy farm that would be the pride of Oneida County. By all
accounts, he accomplished his objective. Harding Farm thrived under his watch.
His impressive farm was well maintained and the dirt road below his home
became known as Harding Road.

In the late 1800's, Lyman's son Henry W. Harding, the first of many Hamilton
College graduates in the Harding family turned away from farming to pursue a
career in the more exciting city of Detroit, Michigan. This decision led to the Lyman's
sale of Harding Farm to the Root family in 1903.   The sale of "Clinton's finest
manor house" to the town's most famous son was chronicled in the local paper,
The Clinton Courier. The property sat dormant for much of the period until Henry
bought it back in 1914 when he was nearly sixty years old.

Henry's goal was to return to his boyhood home and transform the property in to a
country estate. Henry and his wife Agnes Clute Harding (a.k.a. "Lu-Lu") decided the
old dairy farm need to be made more livable and updated to the standards of the
20th Century. This led to a massive renovation of the main house, the removal a
many farming structures, the movement of a horse barn away from the main house
and the addition of a chauffeur's carriage house and maid's cottage. In addition,
the horse barn was moved further away from the house to create a beautiful side
lawn (and today's Pool Barn) and the orchards were maintained with walking trails.
The days of dairy farming were gone forever.

Upon Henry and Lulu's death, the farm passed down to their daughter Agnes
Harding Barrows. Despite significant financial and personal challenges, Agnes
(known as Nance), was able to hold on to the farm through the depression and
World War II.   Nance's son Henry W. Harding and daughter Molly Harding Osborn
spent a great deal of time and the farm as children. There they developed a close
relationship with their grandparents (Henry and LuLu), and the property and the
Clinton community. This love grew as Henry enrolled in Hamilton College and later
married Agnes Burke, the daughter of a Hamiltonian and sister of two
Hamiltonians.

Henry and Agnes Burke Harding (known as Poppy by her grandchildren) spent
summers, holidays and weekends in Clinton.   Over time, they acquired additional
land along the Oriskany Creek and two additional houses (Oriskany House and
Proctor House) on Harding Road. For a brief period, Henry even organized a group
of investors to purchase The Alexander Hamilton Inn to save it from destruction.
While Henry and Agnes owned Harding Farm, the main house was renovated, the
pool was built and an old hay barn was converted in to the Pool Barn.

Today Harding Farm is owned and managed by a number of Henry and Agnes'
grandchildren and their spouses. A few of us are Hamilton College graduates and
all of us share a deep love for Harding Farm, Clinton, New York and the greater
Mohawk Valley area.