James Fenimore Cooper was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought him fame and fortune. He lived much of his boyhood and his last fifteen years in Cooperstown, New York, which was founded by his father William Cooper on property that he owned. Cooper became a member of the Episcopal Church shortly before his death and contributed generously to it. He attended Yale University for three years, where he was a member of the Linonian Society.
Photograph by Mathew Brady, 1850
Otsego Hall, Cooper's home
The young Cooper, in Midshipman's naval uniform
The Last of the Mohicans Illustration from 1896 edition, by J. T. Merrill
Cooperstown is a village in and the county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the Central New York Region, Cooperstown is approximately 60 miles west of Albany, 67 mi (108 km) southeast of Syracuse and 145 mi (233 km) northwest of New York City. The population of the village was 1,794 as of the 2020 census.
Main Street, part of the Cooperstown Historic District
Entrance to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The Fenimore Art Museum
The Clark Estates building, originally the Otsego County Bank, was built in 1831 in the Greek Revival style
