The Story of Cooperstown

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The Story of Cooperstown

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Cooperstown, by Ralph Birdsall This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
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 HALL, from an old drawing 260
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER 263
THE CHALET A. J. Telfer 265
THE NOVELIST'S LIBRARY, a drawing by G. Pomeroy Keese 267
A PAGE OF COOPER'S MANUSCRIPT 269
THE HOME OF NANCY WILLIAMS C. A. Schneider 271
THREE-MILE POINT A. J. Telfer 282
THE CALL FOR THE INDIGNATION MEETING 284
THE COOPER SCREENS IN CHRIST CHURCH F. D. Coleman 293
AT FENIMORE COOPER'S GRAVE Alice Choate 297
SAMUEL NELSON, LL.D. 300
THE HOME OF JUSTICE NELSON C. A. Schneider 314
NELSON AVENUE A. J. Telfer 320
CHRIST CHURCHYARD, from the Rectory Alice Choate 327
THE COOPER