"Cooperstown - Or Is It 'Clarksville'? " a Cooperstown Travel Page by Bwana_Brown

Cooperstown, in scenic 'up-state' New York and about half-way between Albany and Syracuse, is an idyllic little spot. One of my many meetings happened to be scheduled here in mid-November, 2004 (as an alternative to the usual Albany location), so I was more than happy to start finding out what this place was all about!

It turned out to be a very pleasant sunny and 8 degC day (you could not hope for much better at that time of year!) as I enjoyed the countryside on my drive over from Albany. The village, picturesquely located beside Otesago Lake, did not disappoint when I arrived, just before noon on a Monday.

The pace was relaxed, after all, peak tourist season was long past, as I strolled the main part of Cooperstown. Everything was spruced up quite well and there were tidy little round-abouts at the street intersections (unusual for the USA!). There were a few things that I wanted to see, the top two on the list being the Baseball Hall of Fame and the other, the Otesaga Resort Hotel where our meeting was to be held over the next 2 days. But first, a little history on Cooperstown.

Founder, William Cooper was an enlightened judge and member of Congress who decided in 1786 that this area of New York should be developed in a benevolent way. With his wealth allowing him to offer generous terms, he was able to attract numerous settlers to this scenic part of the state. His novelist son, James Fenimore Cooper, became even more famous than his father, with his publication of 'The Last of the Mohicans' in 1826. Lady Luck continued to shine on the village in the late 1800s when the wealthy Edward Clark, a 50% partner in the Singer Sewing Machine Company, decided to retire here. His fortune further endowed the village, which has a present day population of just over 2000. Located in the scenic hills of New York and on the shores of the 9x1 mile Lake Otesago, Cooperstown became a tourist Mecca at the turn of the 19th century. With the backing of families with deep pockets, Cooperstown has been able to retain much of it's quaint nature and officially bills itself as 'America's Most Perfect Village'.