• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • RSS
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Cooper’s Cave: America’s First Roadside Attraction

April 16, 2017 by Anthony F. Hall Leave a Comment

19th century tourists visiting Cooper’s CaveJames Fenimore Cooper’s knowledge of the French and Indian War may have been sketchy, but he was interested enough in its history to contemplate  a visit to Lake George, which he finally did with a party of Englishmen in August, 1824.

Lord Edward Stanley,  who would later become the 14th Earl of Derby and  Great Britain’s Prime Minister during the reign of Queen Victoria, was a member of the party. As they crossed the Hudson River at Glens Falls on the return trip to Saratoga, Stanley noted in his journal, “Cooper… was much struck with the scenery which he had not before seen; and exclaimed, ‘I must place one of my old Indians here.”

Cooper, Stanley and the others then climbed down to the rocks to get a closer view of the cave where the novelist would, in fact, set one of the most famous incidents  in  his ‘Last of the Mohicans.’

According to James A. Holden, New York State’s official historian  in the early 1900s, “(Stanley) family legend has it  that the future Lord Derby told Cooper ‘here was the very scene for a romance,’ and the author promised his friend that a book should be written in which these caves would play an important part.”

Holden added that Cooper “affixed to the cave an undying fame, so that for nearly a century it has been a visiting place for European and American travelers. for scientist and layman, for geologist and artist, for seekers after the unusual…”

In fact, the cave could be said to be America’s first roadside attraction.

According to historian Russell Bellico, a set of wooden stairs enabled 19th century visitors to explore the cave.

A concerete spiral stairway was constructed in 1915 and remained in place until 1962.

Until recently, no formal or official access to the cave was allowed. A viewing platform, however, has been constructed by the Village of South Glens Falls and the City of Glens Falls which at least allows visitors  to see the falls and a portion of the cave.

Given the prominence of Cooper’s novel and the popularity of the 1992 film version that starred Daniel Day-Lewis, it’s perhaps surprising that more hasn’t been done to take advantage of the landmark.

Someone who has is Patty Bethel, who grew up near the cave in South Glens Falls.

In 1995, she, her husband Ed and their son Adrian opened Cooper’s Cave Ale Company, a micro-brewery that has grown to include a pub, an ice cream stand and much-in-demand craft soft drinks.

Even its brews’ names are inspired by French and Indian War lore; they include a Pathfinder Porter, a Sagamore Stout, a Radeau Red, Garrison Ale and a Tavern Ale.

“Ed and I had been 18th century re-enactors since the 1970s, and our idea was to educate people about the fact that our local history is a very big deal,” said Patty Bethel.
She added, “I grew up in a family where we had to make do with what we had. Here, we’re surrounded by history. So we’ve utilized that.”

The Bethels secured an industrial building on the edge of Glens Falls that just happens to be on the Old Military Trail, which, in Cooper’s novel, would have been the route taken by Munro’s daughters – Cora and Alice – from Fort Edward to Lake George.

It’s also not far from the site of the historical event that inspired the novel – the massacre of  British and American by France’s Native American allies.

Once a railroad bed, the trail is now more or less coextensive with the Warren County Bike Path, which reached the Bethels’ building in 2000.

With an entirely new customer-base passing their building every day, the Bethels saw an opportunity to create a new revenue-stream; thus the ice cream stand was born. The ice cream stand, in turn, gave rise to a brisk business making and selling ice cream cakes.

The pub opened in 2007 when an adjacent building became available.

“We’re not here to save the universe, just this corner if it,” quips Bethel.

“We work hard,” she acknowledges. “If anyone gets anywhere, it’s because of hard work.”

Cooper’s Cave Ale Company beer, soda and ice cream products are available at its retail store at 2 Sagamore Street. The pub is open for lunch and dinner daily, with the exception of holidays (Super Bowl Sunday included.) For more information, call 792-0007.

Photos from above: 19th century tourists visiting Cooper’s Cave, and Glens Falls artist imagines the scene from Last of Mohicans, provided.

A version of this story first appeared on the Lake George Mirror Magazine.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Glens Falls, James Fenimore Cooper, Literature, Tourism

About Anthony F. Hall

Anthony F. Hall is the editor and publisher of the Lake George Mirror.Anthony grew up in Warrensburg and returned to the Adirondacks and took a job with legendary state senator Ron Stafford. In 1998, Anthony and his wife Lisa acquired the Lake George Mirror, once part of a chain of weekly newspapers owned by his father Rob Hall. Established in the 1880s, the Mirror is America’s oldest resort newspaper.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Help Support The Almanack

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Catherine Berkley on The Shooting of Adirondack Guide Alex White
  • Michael A Mazza on French Canadian Rev War Veteran Antoine Paulin’s Grave Being Marked in Champlain
  • peter Waggitt on Raines Law, Loopholes and Prohibition
  • Anthony St Phillips on War of 1812: Carrying the Great Rope
  • Kenneth Boede on When Sullivan County Was A Sportsman’s Paradise
  • Robert Hunt on Westchester County’s Katharine Harrison, Accused Witch
  • Lisa Nevins on Westchester County’s Katharine Harrison, Accused Witch
  • Nancy Begley Pennell on Irish Immigrant, Medal of Honor Winner Terrence Begley Being Honored in Albany
  • arc skuta on MicroHistory and Migration: From Moltrasio to London, New York and Montreal
  • Nancy Robinson on Former Saratoga and North Creek Railway Purchased

Recent New York Books

Washington’s Marines
Major General Israel Putnam hero of the American Revolution
v is for victory
The Motorcycle Industry in New York State
Unfriendly to Liberty
weeds of the northeast
Putting Out the Planetary Fire: An Introduction to Climate Action and Advocacy
Seneca Ray Stoddard An Intimate Portrait of an Adirondack Legend
rebels at sea
The Great New York Fire of 1776

Secondary Sidebar

Mohawk Valley Trading Company Honey, Honey Comb, Buckwheat Honey, Beeswax Candles, Maple Syrup, Maple Sugar
preservation league