There is tremendous history in this region, which is in the heart of the Mohawk River valley and identified as the Central-Leatherstocking tourism region by state's tourism industry. Schoharie County is farm country - rolling land, characterized by fields and woods and the babbling Schoharie Creek that feeds into the Mohawk to the north. The area was long known as the "Breadbasket of the American Revolution," as it has some of the richest, most fertile soil in the world. The name "Leatherstocking" also should give a significant clue to the area's past - it's the region that author James Fenimore Cooper immortalized in his renowned "Leatherstocking Tales," including the story of "The Last of the Mohicans."
The village of Sharon Springs has a somewhat more recent claim to fame, since it was in the 19th century that the community boasted the most popular natural spas in the East, if not the entire country. Thousands of visitors flocked to the region to enjoy the mineral spas and stayed for extended periods at one of the dozens of grand hotels built in the village.
(historic postcard)
Over the years, the area lost a lot of its appeal as competition from the mineral springs in Saratoga, about 80 miles to the northeast, siphoned off its prominent Social Register patrons like the Vanderbilts, who soon migrated to the southern Adirondacks for the additional attractions of that area, including the historic race course. By the mid-20th century, the New York Thruway (the first of the country's superhighways), about 20 miles north, diverted traffic and left Sharon Springs, along US Route 20, to wither.
Today, the village is experiencing a very gradual rebirth. It still struggles to attract visitors, but Cooperstown is the major lure in the area, and the summer season is prime time. There are energetic entrepreneurs who have invested significant amounts of time and money to restore some of the village's architectural treasures. The American Hotel (pictured above and below) is one of the few of the remaining grand hotels - a historic gem that was in great disrepair, but was rescued by a pair of gentlemen from New York City several years ago and serves as an anchor in the village's evolving rebirth.
Alas, we were a week too early for the village's Harvest Festival, but it promises to be a big event. Some folks in television production with ties to the village are taping some content for the Discovery Channel, so perhaps Sharon Springs soon will become the newest destination hotspot in the region. It has so many of the ingredients that make for a delightful visitor experience, but it doesn't suffer (yet) from that polished-to-death, trendy-beyond-words ambience that sometimes renders a cookie-cutter sameness in character to so many other "quaint" villages. Sharon Springs oozes its share of quaintness and charm, but it's not totally pristine and, as an afficionado of the qualities of historic villages that make good travel destinations, that is, in my view, a very good thing. It's a real place, with real challenges to offset its assets, but with great potential, and it has great heart.
The latest buzzword of the moment seems to be "authentic" and Sharon Springs is certainly that, not at all contrived, just striving. I'm hoping it'll get more good media attention, and more visitors, but not so much that the essential qualities of the place become obscured. With the kind of energy, enthusiasm, and creative thinking these entrepreneurs are demonstrating, along with some thoughtful local planning, there is no doubt the village will get there. The travel industry is always looking for new products in the form of "new destinations" - even ones like Sharon Springs that have been there for decades, waiting to be renewed and rediscovered. I'd certainly choose to visit a wonderful, real place like that over any newly created charming village any day. I'll be rooting for Sharon Springs and definitely will go back to visit from time to time to see how things are progressing.
No comments:
Post a Comment