Editing Oneida Community (section)

== Decline ==

The community lasted until John Humphrey Noyes attempted to pass leadership to his son, Theodore Noyes. This move was unsuccessful because Theodore was an [[agnostic]] and lacked his father's talent for leadership.{{sfn |Hillebrand |2017}} The move also divided the community, as Communitarian James W. Towner attempted to wrest control for himself. Towner and a breakaway group eventually moved to California, where they convinced the government to create a new municipality for them, [[Orange County, California|Orange County]].{{sfn |Olin |1979 |pp=220–233}}{{sfn |Wills |2019}}

Within the commune, there was a debate about when children should be initiated into sex and by whom. There was also much debate about its practices as a whole. The founding members were aging or deceased, and many younger communitarians desired to enter into exclusive, traditional marriages.{{sfn |Roach |2001}}

The capstone to all these pressures was the campaign by Professor John Mears of [[Hamilton College (New York)|Hamilton College]] against the community. He called for a protest meeting against the Oneida Community, attended by forty-seven clergy members.{{sfn |Wells |1961}} John Humphrey Noyes was informed by trusted adviser Myron Kinsley that a warrant for his arrest on charges of [[statutory rape]] was imminent. Noyes fled the Oneida Community Mansion House and the country in the middle of a June night in 1879, never to return to the United States. Shortly afterward, he wrote to his followers from [[Niagara Falls, Ontario]], recommending that complex marriage be abandoned.

Complex marriage was abandoned in 1879 following external pressures, and the community soon broke apart, with some of the members reorganizing as a [[joint stock company|joint-stock company]]. Marital partners normalized their status with the partners with whom they were cohabiting at the time of the re-organization. Over 70 Community members entered into a traditional marriage in the following year.

During the early 20th century, the new company, [[Oneida Limited|Oneida Community Limited]], narrowed its focus to silverware. The animal trap business was sold in 1912, the silk business in 1916, and the canning was discontinued as unprofitable in 1915.

In 1947, embarrassed by their progenitor's legacy, Noyes' descendants burned the group's records.{{sfn |Smith |2016}}{{sfn |Wayland-Smith |2016 |p=257–260}}

The joint-stock corporation still exists and is a major producer of [[cutlery]] under the brand name "Oneida Limited". In September 2004, Oneida Limited announced that it would cease all U.S. manufacturing operations at the beginning of 2005, ending a 124-year tradition. The company continues to design and market products that are manufactured overseas. The company has been selling off its manufacturing facilities. Most recently,{{When|date=July 2022}} the distribution center in [[Sherrill, New York]], was closed. Administrative offices remain in the Oneida area.

The last original member of the community, Ella Florence Underwood (1850–1950), died on June 25, 1950, in [[Kenwood, New York]], near [[Oneida, New York]].{{sfn |''The New York Times'' |1950}}{{sfn |''TIME'' |1950}}