Just in time for the Memorial Day weekend in 1938, the Fairy Spring Park opened to the public, on the east side of Otsego Lake, north of the village of Cooperstown.
It was a "new and improved" version of the park, which had officially opened only a year earlier.
There was no such park in 1936, so those watching progress on the grounds must have experienced something like keeping up with computer software updates in the early 21st century.
Some call it Fairy Springs, but either way seems to be the proper name.
Regardless of the variation, the park wouldn't have been possible without the donation of land. That took place in August 1936. Robert Sterling Clark had moved to Middleburg, Va., and made a formal offering of all his properties to Otsego County for public purposes. Among those holdings was most of the acreage on the lakefront, the present Fairy Spring Park. Clark knew the village had expressed a desire for this land, and that is what eventually was transacted.
By 1937, the park was in the hands of the village. The June 4 edition of The Otsego Farmer reported that visitation was good on the Memorial Day weekend.
"A goodly number of picnic parties were held over the holiday week-end at Fairy Spring on the east side of Otsego Lake, the new village picnic ground now in the process of development. The grounds under the tall and sublime pines which form a magnificent grove have been nicely cleared, tables and fire places built, and, while construction work is still in progress, nothing prevented the enjoyment of an outing at this delightful spot."
Work progressed quickly, as was reported in the Aug. 11 edition of The Freeman's Journal.
"Completion of the pavilion and other buildings at the new Fairy Spring Park was reported Monday," Aug. 9. "The main pavilion presents a very attractive exterior, well in keeping with its setting, while the interior is nicely adapted for the purposes for which it was built. There is a commodious kitchen and dining or assembly hall, the latter fitted with a large fireplace and equipped with long tables, which may be used in case of rain. There are also well-equipped bath houses, toilets, etc.
"The magnificent spring from which the park takes its name, famed in legend and sung in poetry, has been protected by a proper covering and the water carried to a reservoir from which it is available to the public. This water is of wonderful quality and always cold, even in the warmest period."
The fame and legend of Fairy Spring dates back to the references made by James Fenimore Cooper in two of his novels. From "The Pioneers," Natty Bumppo's hut was on this site. In "Home as Found," Cooper wrote that the Effinghams, visiting this spot, noted that "near the small house that is erected over a spring of delicious water, stood the hut of Natty Bumppo, once known throughout all these mountains as a renowned hunter"¦ Natty probably chose that spot for his hut, on account of the vicinity of the spring "¦Yonder little fountain that you see gushing from the thicket, and which comes glancing like diamonds into the lake, is called the Fairy Spring,' by some flight of poetry that, like so many of our feelings, must have been imported; for I see no connexion between the name and character of the country, fairies having never been known, even by tradition, in Otsego."
The History of Cooperstown, 1929-1975, said that upon the 1938 opening, "further improvements were completed this spring, including the addition of 12 additional picnic tables. Harry A. LaDuke was placed in charge of the park for the coming season."
This weekend: The 144th New York regimental band had an important gig.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or e-mail him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.
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