On August 6, 1877, the centennial of the Battle of Oriskany was celebrated with Ex-Governor Horatio Seymour as the main speaker. At sunrise, salutes fired from guns on the battlefield announced the day, every home in the village of Oriskany was decorated, and 70,000 people came to the celebration on foot, by wagon, horseback, carriage, boat, and rail. Spurred by the centennial festivities, funds were collected for a monument, which was erected from stones of the dismantled Erie Canal weigh lock at Utica and dedicated in 1884.