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10-25-2007 By BRUCE MARKUSON Cooperstown is filled with stories of alleged hauntings on both its west and east sides, from the Otesaga Hotel to the Christ Episcopal Church graveyard. Three houses, in particular, form the heart of Cooperstown's haunted history. Located near the corner of Main and River streets, this trio of intriguing structures provides an active portal to the town's ghostly and ghoulish lore. Byberry Cottage At times plagued by flying bats and strange noises of disembodied footsteps, River Street's Byberry Cottage is a house of great character, one that blends unusual architecture with spirits of generations past. One of its original supernatural powers. Without any physical intervention, she once managed to levitate a table that was weighed down by a stack of books and Cooperstown's heaviest man, Judge Sturgis. To some, Susan's interest in the supernatural seemed inconsistent with her character, given her praiseworthy efforts in building a local hospital. The ranks of the dissenters included a parson from the nearby Christ Church. Considering Susan's actions to be inappropriate and disrespectful, he advised her to stop exhibiting her supernatural powers, but she refused. One night in Byberry Cottage, Susan heard strange noises, a prelude to a visit from several enraged ghosts. While it's not known exactly what the ghosts did, their message to Susan was clear: cease using your psychic powers, they are the work of the devil. Not surprisingly, Susan Cooper never again publicly engaged in the supernatural. Greencrest Eerily reminiscent of the house featured in the 1960 horror classic, "Psycho," Greencrest was once the home of John Worthington, who had earlier married Jenny Cooper. Sadly, the marriage of John and Jenny did not last long. While on their honeymoon in Newport, R.I., the youthful Jenny died unexpectedly. John later built the large house, highlighted by its green clapboard and elaborate window designs. As a tribute to his wife, John commissioned an artist to create a portrait of his bride. Prominently displayed on the south-side stairwell wall, the nearly life-size portrait greeted visitors as they scaled the steps toward the second floor. After an appropriate period of mourning, John eventually re-married. His second wife, Cora Lull, did not take kindly to the portrait and ordered John to place it in storage. Shortly thereafter, Cora encountered a strange nighttime visitor. Cora was left duly frightened by the infuriated visitor - the ghost of Jenny Cooper. Angry that her portrait had been removed from its place of prominence, Jenny's spirit scolded her disrespectful successor. Frantically, Cora instructed John to retrieve the painting and restore it to the stairway wall. John took extra measures by bolting the painting to the wall, so as to make future abstraction more difficult. Despite his efforts, later generations have removed the painting, with each removal usually followed by strange, inexplicable noises in the stairway. Within a short time, the occupants have realized that the unsettling sounds began after the painting's removal, prompting them to return the portrait to its rightful place. Those who enter the home on River Street quickly take notice of the massive portrait of Jenny. According to some, the portrait's eyes tend to "follow" visitors as they make their way up the stairway. It's almost as if Jenny's spirit inhabits the framework of the painting, forever guarding against another unwanted removal. Pomeroy Place The first stone house in Cooperstown's history, Pomeroy Place was built under the direction of village founder William Cooper as a wedding present for his daughter, Ann, and her husband, George Pomeroy. The architect of the Federal style house intertwined the couple's initials, "G," "A," "P," and "C," into the stonework on the east side of the house. One rainy November night in the early 1900s, a lost clergyman wandered by the house, located at the corner of River and Main, during a visit to local rector Ralph Birdsall. After the clergyman knocked on the front door of Pomeroy Place, the door creaked open, revealing an elderly lady dressed in black. She promptly gave him directions. The visiting clergyman later told Birdsall about his encounter, but the host informed him that no one lived there. The next day, Birdsall showed his friend firsthand that the house was abandoned and unoccupied. Later on, the two men leafed through a scrapbook when the visiting clergyman took note of a particular photograph. When he identified the lady in the picture as the same one who had given him the directions the previous night, a chill inched down the spine of Mr. Birdsall. His friend had just pointed out a photo of Ann Cooper Pomeroy, long since deceased and now buried in the Christ Church graveyard. It seems that the visiting clergyman had not actually met Ann herself, but rather the ghost of the house's original inhabitant. According to local legend, Ann's ghost remains active today. Those who walk by the Main Street side of the house during the day are invited to look through the right-hand first-floor window. Passersby might just see the spirit of Ann Pomeroy, dressed in 19th century garb, sitting in a chair and reading from the Bible. Bruce Markuson conducts Ghost Tours in the village on a weekly basis. He can be reached at 547-8070. |
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