Aqua O.C. (Oneida Community) canning jar c1870, 8 inches high and 3 ¾ inch diameter.  The jar has a crude applied lip with a concave base.  The Mansion House Museum has a stunning example of a similar shaped jar, but with graphite pontil mark and a lot of whittle marks, c1855.

Drawing of an O.C. (Oneida Community) aqua canning jar with wire bale c1910.  Even these later style jars are very scarce.

The Nineteenth-Century Utopian Society of John Humphrey Noyes

The old Oneida Community was a religious and social society founded in Oneida, New York, in 1848 by John Humphrey Noyes and his followers. In the beginning, most of them were Vermonters, almost all were New Englanders.  The Oneida Community was founded on Noyes' theology of Perfectionism, a form of Christianity with two basic values; self-perfection and communalism. These ideals were translated into everyday life through shared property and work. 

Noyes' solution was a society where the interest of one member became the interest of all - the enlargement of the family. They called themselves Perfectionists and, being logical and literal, they proceeded to substitute for the small unit of home and family and individual possessions, the larger unit of group-family and group-family life.

The Oneida Community built a communal dwelling house called the Mansion House, now a museum, appointed administrative committees and set up a pattern of daily living which the community followed for the next thirty years. 

The economic base of the Oneida Community was agricultural and industrial.  They had approximately forty acres of partially cleared land on which to farm and an Indian sawmill in which to produce lumber.  The self-supporting enterprise canned fruits and vegetables; made traps and chains; made traveling bags and straw hats, mop sticks, sewing silk and, last of all, they found out how to make silver knives, forks and spoons.  

The unhappiness of some inside the Oneida Community and the animosity of outsiders to their radical sexual practices combined to bring about the end of the commune. They wanted to create a heaven on earth.  For 33 years they believed they would succeed as a utopian commune infamous for “free love.”  The free love was called complex marriage.

In June 1879, fearing criminal charges for sex-related crimes (statutory rape), Noyes fled to Canada.  In August 1879, Noyes wrote a letter to the society telling them to end complex marriage.  Soon after, the Oneida Community’s men and women began pairing off into monogamous marriages. And in January 1881, the religious community dedicated to helping members achieve perfection was reborn as a manufacturing corporation dedicated to providing income for stockholders who had once been utopian dreamers.

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

Editor’s note:  It has been said that the Oneida Community was the most successful commune that ever existed in America.  People came from all over the world to see this society.  The above piece was written by combining material from several articles on the internet.  For further information on this historical subject or to see these articles – Google “Oneida Community” and read more.  Through the years, the Oneida Community sometimes had canning jars made with their initials “O.C.,” embossed on them.  The jars were used to can fruits and vegetables which were used not only for their personal use, but also as a commodity to sell to the public.  Today, O.C. canning jars are scarce and sought after by local collectors as well as canning jar enthusiasts.  The Mansion House has been continually inhabited since 1862 and is a National Historic Landmark near Sherrill, N.Y.  It features a museum, overnight lodging, residential apartments, and a restaurant.  Again, a lot of information about the museum is available on the internet.  People visiting the Mansion House will see the century old trees scattered around the grounds that have meandering paths leading to the peaceful, beautiful gardens that grace the property.