My granddaughter Adeline, sister Laurie, and I walked through the Fenimore Farm and Country Village in Cooperstown (formerly known as The Farmers Museum) as the sun blazed overhead. We took a ride on the Empire State Carousel, which is billed as “a museum you can ride on.”  The docent there told us that it was the brainchild of Social Studies teacher and master woodcarver Gerry Holzman who wanted to make learning fun.  The carousel was begun in 1983 and completed in 2003 through the work of Holzman and 1000 volunteers but lacked a permanent home until Jane Forbes Clark whose family had created the Farmer’s Museum agreed to build a place for it. It opened in 2006 and is filled with everything New York—all 25 hand-carved animals are native to our state and also features panels on everyone from Jackie Robinson to Grandma Moses.  We were the only ones on the ride (just beating out a troupe of preschool field trippers-whew!) and took our time examining its many features.  To be honest, the carousel could be a field trip in itself.

Then we continued on to the Country Village where we visited the Filer Schoolhouse (1840) , the Cornwallville Church (1790), and Bump Tavern (1796).  Bump Tavern began as a stagecoach stop which evolved into a boardinghouse. It reminded me of the picture of my great-great grandfather Ormalo Segar’s stagecoach stop in Briscoe. 

We wandered through the Lippitt Farmstead, where we were greeted by goats, chickens, and a sweet black calf named Annabelle who was just three weeks old. When we asked the farmer where the calf’s mother was, we were told that they were separated at birth for “health and safety reasons.”  This made my heart break a little when I saw how happy the calf was for any attention as it stood all alone in the pasture.  This is among the many reasons why I could never be a farmer! The farmer gave Adeline a big bottle to feed Annabelle which was so sweet to behold.  I do continue to feel bad for that lonely little calf, though apparently it is common to separate calves from their mothers at birth. The farmers can’t afford to lose all the milk that would be used to feed the calf.

The Fenimore Farm and Country Village has been updated since we last visited in the 1980’s.  While the Cardiff Giant remains, the Village has grown and the introduction of interpreters in many of the houses adds immeasurably to the experience.

A quick stroll across the road and we were at the Fenimore Art Museum where we were able to see the impressive “Mary Cassatt/ Berthe Morisot: Allies in Impressionism” exhibit.  It’s amazing that little Cooperstown has such world-class art shows and is a testament to the work of Jane Forbes Clark and her family’s impressive legacy.