ROME — The Rome Historical Society has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the former Erie Canal Village seeking to demolish a dilapidated structure on the property and to remove all restrictions to the land owned by RHS, among other demands.

The City of Rome was included in the lawsuit, but has since been dropped after agreeing to some RHS-requested repairs, according to Historical Society Officials.

Executive Director Arthur L. Simmons III said RHS filed the lawsuit complaint on Jan. 6 against Cross Roads Redemption Church and Richard Rios, of Brea, California, as well as the City of Rome, in regards to the portion of land referred to as the Fort Bull/Fort Wood Creek. RHS owns the Fort Bull/Fort Wood portion of the property, where continued research and artifact excavations are conducted.

Rios and his church purchased the Erie Canal Village portion in 2019 and, as recently as January 2023, have discussed plans to repair the property and reopen sometime in 2023.

The Erie Canal Village Facebook page has not updated since Jan. 4.

“In recent years, the Rome Historical Society has been subject to violations of its rights as the owner of the Fort Bull – Fort Wood Creek site, and in all of these instances we have patiently sought to remedy these issues through direct communication with the defendants,” Simmons said in a release.

“However, while this lawsuit is not meant to be adversarial, we do find it necessary and indeed an obligation to seek judicial relief so that the Rome Historical Society may vindicate its deeded rights as owner of the Fort Bull – Fort Wood Creek site and protect it for future generations.”

In the lawsuit, RHS is seeking the following:

• Removal of all restrictions, impediments and obstructions caused by the church and Rios on RHS’s deeded easements across the Erie Canal Village used to access the Fort Bull/Ford Wood Creek property.
• Demolish and remove the dilapidated Shull House from RHS’s property.
• Re-establish and maintain vehicular access to the Fort Bull/Fort Wood Creek property with a maintenance road through the Village.
• Prevent the church and Rios from completing a “Stockade Wall”, which was built across one of RHS’s deeded easements used to access Fort Bull/Fort Wood Creek.
• Prevent the church and Rios from falsely advertising Fort Bull/Fort Wood Creek on its website and elsewhere.

The lawsuit also seeks monetary damages caused by instances of defamation from the church, Rios and their representatives.

Attempts to contact Rios and the Cross Roads Redemption Church by the Daily Sentinel were unsuccessful.

The lawsuit also sought to compel the City of Rome to reinstall and maintain a culvert over the Fort Bull Waste Weir spillway, which would restore access to RHS land and easements. The culvert had been removed after it had collapsed during a flooding on routes 46 and 49.

The City of Rome has since agreed to replace the culvert, and the legislation to do so is expected to be completed sometime this month. Upon the city's ratification of this agreement, Simmons said the City of Rome will be dropped from the lawsuit.

“With the need to maintain the integrity of the Society’s deeded easements to its property being paramount, we have worked with the city to settle the matter and appreciate its efforts and commitment to legislating an agreement and get the culvert reinstalled,” Simmons stated.

The lawsuit is filed in Oneida County Supreme Court, and remains ongoing in front of Justice Bernadette T. Clark.

On March 6, Simmons said a preliminary injunction was signed by Clark that prohibits the church and Rios from obstructing, impairing or interfering with RHS’s use of its easements. The injunction also prohibits church employees and volunteers from harassing RHS employees, it prohibits them from publicly stating that they own or have access to the Fort Bull site, it stops any further construction on the Stockade Wall, it requires church employees and volunteers to wear I.D. badges and it stops the church from encouraging trespassers on the Fort Bull site.

Simmons said the March 6 injunction addresses many of the issues brought up in the lawsuit. He said RHS expects to appear in court at a later date to further discuss the issues regarding the Stockade Wall, the Shull House and the matter of the defamation.

This story was updated on April 6, 2023.