Rome

City in Oneida County, central New York State, USA, on the Mohawk River and Erie Canal, 24 km/15 mi northwest of Utica; population (2000) 35,000. Situated in a dairy farming and market garden district, it manufactures copper and brass products, paint, and household appliances. Rome is the site of Griffiss Air Force Base, and units of the State University of New York and Mohawk Valley Community College.

The site was fortified by the British as early as 1725. Fort Stanwix (1758), the third fort built here, was the target of an unsuccessful British siege that led to the Battle of Oriskany. The area was mapped and named Lynchville in 1786; its growth was fostered by a canal connecting Wood Creek and the Mohawk in 1797, and later, by construction of the Erie Canal, which began here in 1817. Lynchville became Rome in 1819. It is known as the ‘Copper City’ because of its early and continued production of copper and brass products. The Erie Canal Museum re-creates life along its waterway in the early 19th century.

Rome

Province of west central Italy in central Lazio region; capital Rome; area 5,351 sq km/2,066 sq mi; population (2000 est) 3,817,100.