Curious Facts - Cooperstown News Room

Folklore tells that Abner Doubleday invented baseball on a cow pasture within the Village of Cooperstown in 1839.
The village of Cooperstown was part of the Cooper Patent, which William Cooper purchased in 1785 from Colonel George Croghan. The land amounted to 10,000 acres.
The Village Offices and Cooperstown Art Association are housed in a neoclassical building, designed by famed architect Ernest Flagg.
Otsego County was originally settled by Judge William Cooper, the first English land baron to sell his land, rather than “rent” to tenant farmers.
James Fenimore Cooper, son of William Cooper, immortalized the region with his great American novels, The Leatherstocking Tales.
The region boasts an internationally-acclaimed opera, an emerging performing arts center, several summer theater production companies and festivals, and one of the country's top folk art collections.
The Otsego Golf Club, est. 1894, is one of the nations' oldest. Located at the northern end of Otsego Lake, it was the scene of the adventures of the Deer Slayer.
Leatherstocking Golf Course, located at the four-diamond Otesaga Resort Hotel, is considered by many to be one of the East’s most scenic and challenging resort golf courses.
America’s oldest existing covered bridge, built in 1825, sits quietly on the grounds of the stunning Hyde Hall estate. This National Historic Landmark is a 50-room neoclassic country mansion with a commanding view of Otsego Lake.
More than a century ago eight Delaware & Hudson brakemen founded the Brotherhood of Railway Brakemen in Oneonta.
The D&H roundhouse in Oneonta was once the largest and its turntable the longest in the world.
The region has more than 25 museums and galleries featuring remarkable collections of American Indian and Folk art, along with a circa 1845 living history farming village.
The Village of Cherry Valley is located high above the Mohawk Valley where, on a clear day, there’s an 80-mile view of Vermont’s Green Mountains.
The Busch family, of Anheuser-Busch fame, first came to the area in the 1880s to purchase hops for its beer. The Busch family still owns estates in the Cooperstown area.
The Cooperstown Beverage Trail is New York State’s first official cuisine trail winding along 23 miles. World-class beverages are produced at a farm winery and an historic water-powered cider mill.
Otsego County is located within a 750-mile radius of 50% of the North American population.
The Village of Unadilla, settled about 1770, is at the junction of the Ouleout Creek and Susquehanna River. The Indian name Unadilla is said to mean “Meeting Place,” indicating the place where two rivers meet.
Boy Scout Troop #1, located in Unadilla, is the longest-chartered troop in the United States.
Two national halls of fame are located in the region – The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum in Oneonta.
There are more than 400 charming bed & breakfast inns in Otsego County – or 2.5 per square mile.
Cooperstown operates a vintage-style trolley that transports visitors throughout the village. For only $3 guests can ride the trolley all day; $2 for children 12 and under!
One of the most notorious events of the Revolutionary War was the Cherry Valley Massacre of November 11, 1778. English Tory Rangers and Joseph Brant's Mohawks killed 47 people, mostly by tomahawk.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum opened its door June 12, 1939, the first sports Hall of Fame in America. The Museum has drawn more than 13 million visitors since opening.
The Leatherstocking Golf Course has been awarded 4½ stars by Golf Digest and voted 55th Best Golf Resort in the US by readers of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine.
The Leatherstocking Golf Club's 18th has a 505-yard par 5 with an island tee box on Lake Otsego.
Downtown Oneonta is an eclectic mix of one-of-a-kind specialty shops and great restaurants where arts and culture flourish. Two colleges, the State University College at Oneonta and Hartwick College are nearby.
Otsego Lake is the drinking water source for the village of Cooperstown.
The Clinton-Sullivan Campaign floated hundreds of barges down the river to get supplies to American troops during the Revolutionary War.
The entire watershed for Otsego Lake is on the National Historic Register.
Cooperstown has a two-block downtown area with one traffic light and a year-round population of 2,200.