The Story of Cooperstown

The Story of Cooperstown

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Cooperstown, by Ralph
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Title: The Story of Cooperstown
Author: Ralph Birdsall
Release Date: June 19, 2006 [EBook #18621]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Transcriber's Note: The majority of the illustrations for this text are
photographs. Where there is a name listed inside the [Illustration:] tag,
that is the name of the photographer. Below that is the caption of the
photograph.

[Illustration: Joseph B. Slote
COOPERSTOWN FROM THE NORTHWEST]

THE STORY OF COOPERSTOWN
BY
RALPH BIRDSALL
Rector of Christ Church
With Sixty-eight Illustrations from Photographs
NEW YORK, CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 1925
Copyright, 1917, by RALPH BIRDSALL
First printing, July, 1917 Second printing, December, 1917 Third
printing, August, 1920 Fourth printing, August, 1925
* * * * *
Printed in the United States of America

FOREWORD
The ensuing narrative is a faithful record of life in Cooperstown from
the earliest times, except that the persons and events to be described
have been selected for their story-interest, to the exclusion of much that
a history is expected to contain. The dull thread of village history has
been followed only in such directions as served for stringing upon it
and holding to the light the more shining gems of incident and
personality to which it led. Trivial happenings have been included for
the sake of some quaint, picturesque, or romantic quality. Much of
importance has been omitted that declined to yield to such treatment as

the writer had in view. The effort has been made to exclude everything
that seemed unlikely to be of interest to the general reader. Those who
seek family records, or the mention of all names worthy to be recorded
in the history of the village, will find the book wanting.
The local history has been already three times recorded, first in 1838 by
Fenimore Cooper, whose work was brought down to date by S. T.
Livermore in 1863, and by Samuel M. Shaw in 1886. While now out of
print many copies of these books are still accessible.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE INDIANS 1
II. THE COMING OF THE WHITE MEN 26
III. A BYPATH OF THE REVOLUTION 51
IV. THE BEGINNING OF THE SETTLEMENT 74
V. A VILLAGE IN THE MAKING 89
VI. OLD-TIME LOVE AND RELIGION 109
VII. HOMES AND GOSSIP OF OTHER DAYS 130
VIII. THE PIONEER COURT ROOM 150
IX. FATHER NASH 163
X. THE IMMORTAL NATTY BUMPPO 174
XI. STRANGE TALES OF THE GALLOWS 192
XII. SOLID SURVIVALS 211

XIII. THE BIRTHPLACE OF BASE BALL 247
XIV. FENIMORE COOPER IN THE VILLAGE 258
XV. MR. JUSTICE NELSON 299
XVI. CHRIST CHURCHYARD 326
XVII. FROM APPLE HILL TO FERNLEIGH 339
XVIII. THE LAKE OF ROMANCE AND FISHERMEN 364
XIX. TWENTIETH CENTURY BEGINNINGS 393
VILLAGE MAP AND GUIDE 432

ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE COOPERSTOWN, from the northwest Joseph B. Slote
Frontispiece
THE COOPER GROUNDS Arthur J. Telfer 2
COUNCIL ROCK Arthur J. Telfer 8
THE OTSEGO IROQUOIS PIPE 13
AT MILL ISLAND Charles Frederick Zabriskie 21
JOSEPH BRANT, from the Romney portrait 52
SITE OF CLINTON'S DAM A. J. Telfer 71
OTSEGO LAKE, from Cooperstown A. J. Telfer 78
THE OLDEST HOUSE Charles A. Schneider 86
WILLIAM COOPER, from the Stuart portrait 91

AVERELL COTTAGE C. A. Schneider 104
THE WORTHINGTON HOMESTEAD Forrest D. Coleman 110
CHRIST CHURCH A. J. Telfer 127
THE HOUSE AT LAKELANDS, as originally built 131
MRS. WILSON 133
LAKELANDS C. A. Schneider 137
POMEROY PLACE J. Patzig 141
AMBROSE L. JORDAN 151
JORDAN'S HOME, AND HIS LAW OFFICE C. A. Schneider 156
THE HOME OF ROBERT CAMPBELL J. B. Slote 158
FATHER NASH 171
LEATHERSTOCKING MONUMENT A. J. Telfer 185
NATTY BUMPPO'S CAVE C. A. Schneider 188
RIVERBRINK C. A. Schneider 193
EDGEWATER A. J. Telfer 212
RESIDENCE OF W. H. AVERELL AND JUDGE PRENTISS C. A.
Schneider 221
WOODSIDE HALL Forrest D. Coleman 226
THE GATE-TOWER AT WOODSIDE Walter C. Stokes 228
SWANSWICK A. J. Telfer 230
SHADOW BROOK James W. Tucker 233

HYDE HALL A. J. Telfer 238
HYDE CLARKE, from the Emmet portrait 243
A WEDDING DAY AT HYDE A. J. Telfer 246
BASE BALL ON NATIVE SOIL A. J. Telfer 249
THE ORIGINAL HOUSE AT APPLE HILL (now Fernleigh) 256
FENIMORE A. J. Telfer 259
OTSEGO