From your description, Camponotus novaeboracensis sounds reasonable. It may also be C. herculeanus, which is a closely related species and also commonly occurs here. In fact, C. novaeboracensis was recorded as a subspecies of C. herculeanus in the early 20th century until Creighton separated them. For someone on here to give you an ID, you'll want to include good pictures. If you can get closeups of your workers (post-nanitics), you could key them out yourself. Creighton (1950)--cited below--is still the best key for your potential species and is publicly available.
Creighton, WS (1950) The ants of North America. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 104.
Edited by Cameron C. Thomas, November 28 2017 - 6:39 AM.