The First Builder of Rome, NY, Was Irish

The city that is Rome, NY, today was nothing but an abandoned fort, a swamp, and a lot of potential when Irish-born Dominick Lynch mapped out his vision for the community in 1796. Over the next 29 years he built up a thriving town he called Lynchville, criss-crossed by streets he named after his friends and family. Those familiar street names include, James, Jasper, Louisa, Ann, John, and Henry (after some of his 13 children), Dominick and Lynch (after himself), and George and Washington (after his friend the Father of our Country). Lynch had the honor of attending George Washington’s inaugural ball in 1789 having become acquainted with him when they were neighbors in New York City.

Dominick Lynch, originally from Galway, Ireland, was the first to develop Rome, NY.

---

The first article in this series is about Sir William Johnson and you can read it here. The third covers John and Nicholas Devereux and will be published in February 2020.

​Lynch was born into a wealthy family of Galway merchants and politicians in 1754, and moved to New York City in 1785, bringing with him his wife Jane and a large fortune he had amassed through his business dealings in Ireland. While in New York, he continued to increase his wealth through investments, speculation and other business enterprises. One of his savvy purchases in 1786 was the land where Rome is now. 

There he built a sawmill, cotton factory, and a woolen factory. He helped guide the construction of the Inland Canal, which connected the Mohawk River to Wood Creek eliminating the need to carry boats and cargo across the Carrying Place. Later, he turned over to the state his property in south Rome for the Erie Canal. He donated the land in downtown Rome where the Oneida County Courthouse, St. Peter’s Church, and the former City Hall now stand. He also donated land for two parks known as Veterans and Gansevoort today.

Despite all the good he did, Lynch was disliked by the early settlers of Rome because of one practice he brought with him from his native Ireland. Instead of selling land lots to them, he rented them. He even rented the swamp land south of Rome in 1 ½ acre lots to those who rented village lots. But he only charged one peppercorn a year for those.

Lynch built a house on the southeast corner of the old Fort Stanwix, but it burned in 1824. He returned to his mansion in Westchester County where he died on June 5, 1825.

---

This is the second installment in a series about early Irish pioneers of the Mohawk Valley. See the first article about Sir William Johnson here, and the third about John C. Devereux here.