Editing Whitesboro, New York (section)

==History== 
The village began to be settled in 1784, and was incorporated in 1813. An 1851 list gave the name ''Che-ga-quat-ka'' for Whitesboro in a language of the [[Iroquois]] people.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/annalsrecollecti01jone#page/872/mode/2up |title=Annals and recollections of Oneida County |last=Jones |first=Pomroy |date=1851 |publisher=Published by the author |location=[[Rome, New York]] |page=872}}</ref>

The abolitionist [[Oneida Institute]] (1827–1843) was located in Whitesboro.

[[File:Whitesboro, N.Y. LOC 2003630341.tif|thumb|[[Perspective map]] of Whitesboro from 1891 with list of landmarks]]
The older part of the village was bordered by the [[Erie Canal]] and the village's Main Street. When the canal was filled in the first half of the 20th century, [[New York State Route 69|Oriskany Boulevard]] was built over the filled-in canal. The streets that connect the two roads form the oldest part of the village.{{citation needed|date = January 2016}}

The [[Whitestown Town Hall]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1973.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref> It currently serves as the village courthouse, while offices for the Town of Whitestown are housed in newer buildings outside of Whitesboro.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Whitesboro Village Courts |url=https://villagewhitesboro.digitaltowpath.org:10045/content/Courts |access-date=September 19, 2022 |website=Village of Whitesboro}}</ref>

===Village seal controversy===

[[File:Whitesboro New York (city seal).jpeg|thumb|left|The village's former seal was at the center of controversy]]

The Whitesboro seal, originating in the early 1900s, displays founder Hugh White wrestling an [[Oneida people|Oneida]] Native American.<ref name="smithsonian">{{cite web|last1=Katz|first1=Brigit|title=New York Village Changes Controversial Seal Showing a White Settler Wrestling a Native American|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-york-village-changes-controversial-seal-showing-white-settler-wrestling-native-american-180965060/|website=Smithsonian.com|publisher=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=September 29, 2017|archive-date=October 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005015904/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-york-village-changes-controversial-seal-showing-white-settler-wrestling-native-american-180965060/|url-status=live}}</ref> The seal has been controversial because it has been interpreted as a settler choking the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]; city officials contend it depicts a friendly wrestling match that White won, gaining the respect of the Oneida.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/nyregion/residents-in-whitesboro-ny-vote-to-keep-a-much-criticized-village-emblem.html?_r=0 |title=Residents in Whitesboro, N.Y., vote to keep a much-criticized village emblem |first=Marc |last=Santora |date=January 12, 2016 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=March 3, 2017 |archive-date=September 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929233153/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/nyregion/residents-in-whitesboro-ny-vote-to-keep-a-much-criticized-village-emblem.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> The 1970-2017 version of the seal was created after a lawsuit by a Native American group: the version used before the suit showed the settler's hands on the Native American's neck instead of his shoulders.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2009/01/04/whitesboro-seal-takes-little-explaining/44854244007/ |title=Whitesboro seal 'takes a little explaining' |last=Potts |first=Courtney |date=January 4, 2009 |newspaper=[[Observer-Dispatch]] |access-date=April 16, 2022 }}</ref> In 1999, Mayor John Malecki suggested a contest for a new seal, but received no submissions.<ref name="OD2015" />

The seal received attention in 2015 as part of national discussion about [[Modern display of the Confederate battle flag|display of the Confederate flag]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 7, 2015 |title=Mayor of Whitesboro, N.Y., Insists This Village Seal Is Not Racist |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2015/07/07/mayor-of-whitesboro-n-y-insists-this-village-seal-is-not-racist/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=[[The Village Voice]] |first=Jackson |last=Connor |archive-date=September 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911180211/https://www.villagevoice.com/2015/07/07/mayor-of-whitesboro-n-y-insists-this-village-seal-is-not-racist/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="OD2015">{{Cite web |date=July 17, 2015 |title=Whitesboro seal caught up in rebel-flag debate |url=https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2015/07/17/whitesboro-seal-caught-up-in/33859607007/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=[[Observer-Dispatch]] |language=en-US }}</ref> In January 2016, the town cooperated with [[Comedy Central]]'s ''[[The Daily Show]]'' to hold a non-binding vote for a new village seal. Many of the alternative seals were humorous, including one depicting the two men as [[luchadore]]s and another depicting an [[arm wrestling]] contest. Village residents voted 157 to 55 to keep the seal as-is.<ref name=nytimes /> Afterwards, Mayor Patrick O'Connor was criticized for not disclosing Comedy Central's involvement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cleaver |first=Jolene |date=January 13, 2016 |title=Whitesboro mayor: Disclosing TV presence 'would have tainted the seriousness' of seal vote |url=https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2016/01/13/whitesboro-mayor-disclosing-tv-presence/32760321007/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=[[Observer-Dispatch]] |language=en-US }}</ref> ''The Daily Show'''s January 21 show covered the vote and the controversy around the seal. At the end of the segment, correspondent [[Jessica Williams (actress)|Jessica Williams]] announced that the mayor told her that the town would change the seal.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cc.com/video-clips/y3nhwj/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-wrestling-with-history-in-whitesboro--ny | title=Wrestling with History in Whitesboro, NY | work=[[The Daily Show]] | date=January 21, 2016 | access-date=March 3, 2017 | archive-date=May 1, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501032427/http://www.cc.com/video-clips/y3nhwj/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-wrestling-with-history-in-whitesboro--ny | url-status=dead }}</ref> This was confirmed by a joint press release from Whitesboro and the [[Oneida Indian Nation]] the next day.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 22, 2016 |title=Whitesboro, Oneidas to work together on new seal |url=https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2016/01/22/whitesboro-oneidas-to-work-together/32714430007/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=[[Observer-Dispatch]] |language=en-US }}</ref>

An updated seal was adopted in the summer of 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Whitesboro officially replaces controversial seal|url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2017/09/25/whitesboro-officially-replaces-controversial-seal|access-date=April 16, 2022|website=[[Spectrum News 1 Central New York]]|language=en|date=September 25, 2017|first=Melissa|last=Krull|archive-date=April 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416214113/https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2017/09/25/whitesboro-officially-replaces-controversial-seal|url-status=live}}</ref> The new seal was created by a [[communication design]] student at [[PrattMWP]] in [[Utica, New York|Utica]], under direction of a professor there.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2017 |title=Solving Racism – Whitesboro – UPDATE – meetinghouse.co |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001074402/https://www.meetinghouse.co/solving-racism-whitesboro-ny-update/ |archive-date=October 1, 2017|access-date=September 30, 2017 |website=www.meetinghouse.co|url=http://meetinghouse.co/solving-racism-whitesboro-ny-update/|url-status=dead|first=Cindiana|last=Koren}}</ref> While the new seal depicts the same scene as the previous seal, it moves White's hands down to the Oneida chief's upper arms instead of near his neck, and neither man appears to be dominating the other.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/nyregion/whitesboro-ny-seal-logo.html|title=New York Village's Seal, Widely Criticized as Racist, Has Been Changed|date=September 27, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|author=Maya Salam|access-date=September 29, 2017|archive-date=September 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928032947/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/nyregion/whitesboro-ny-seal-logo.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  Additionally, both men were given more realistic skin tones, and their attire was corrected for historical accuracy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cleaver |first=Jolene |title=After past uproar, Whitesboro has new village seal |url=https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2017/09/26/after-past-uproar-whitesboro-has/18725662007/ |access-date=April 16, 2022 |website=[[Observer-Dispatch]] |language=en-US |date=September 26, 2017 }}</ref>