Pub In The Park

Sometimes a trip to New York City won’t feel complete without exploring the countryside surrounding this great metropolis.  You can find a car here, and then you’ll be ready to go just about anywhere on your schedule, not tied down to a bus or train’s time table.  Personally, I’ve always enjoyed a car trip that will take me by roadside attractions, probably stemming from trips as a child through the Northwest and Southwest, where the attractions range from sand statues to The Thing, presumably a ten thousand year old mummy.  Within driving range of New York City, up in Cooperstown, New York, you’ll find one of the great hoaxes of the 19th Century: The Cardiff Giant.

A cigar manufacturer named George Hull thought up the Cardiff Giant after arguing with a minister.  He wondered if ministers and others would believe that giants were real, based on a Biblical quote in Genesis 6:4 that mentions there were giants on Earth, if he produced the petrified remains of one.  He carved a stone statue secretly.  It was over ten feet tall.  He washed it in acid and pounded it with needles to make it seem old, then buried it on a farm in Cardiff, New York.  The entire project cost him $2,600 to do, and this was in 1868 dollars, but he figured he’d charge money for people to see it, and that he’d actually make a profit.

When the statue was “found,” it was instantly proclaimed a fraud, but as Hull figured, fundamentalists thought it was real and declared it real as the statue made the rounds of cities.  Hull charged fifty cents to see it, and made $30,000 on the deal.  The New York Historical Association eventually bought it for another $30,000 and it’s on display in Cooperstown, where you’ll still need to pay an admission fee to see it.  The drive  in the New York countryside, there and back, should be a pleasant contrast to the cit.  It can be found at the Farmer’s Museum, a mile north of Cooperstown on Highway 80.  The museum is open daily from ten to five in the summer and from Tuesdays through Saturdays from ten to four in the off-season.  It’s closed in November and December, and you might want to call ahead to be certain: 607-547-1400.

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1. A Street in New York City
2. The Modern Park System: The Ideas of New York Park Commissioner, Robert Moses
3. Picking Office Space in New York City