Springfield in Otsego County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Deep Pockets
How'd An English Gent' End Up Here?
Photographed by Scott J. Payne, April 1, 2023
1. Deep Pockets Marker
In 1806, George Clarke said goodbye to his first wife and 5 children in England and traveled to New York. He settled in Albany and employed Richard Cooper to manage his properties. Richard died prematurely and George married his widow, Ann, in 1814. Soon after, the Clarke's moved into Hyde Hall.
Throughout his life, George Clarke invested in New York's early industries including canals, railroads, Hudson River docks, and an iron and glass manufactory. With his growing growing wealth, he developed roads, established villages, and controlled a vast empire of tenant farms on his land holdings.
One Lump or Two?
In 1825 George Clarke inherited Swanswick, a sugarcane plantation with hundreds of enslaved people in Jamaica. This contributed to the family's wealth and helped to fund the construction of Hyde Hall.
( photo captions )
Ann Low Cary Cooper Clarke Portrait. Courtesy of the Fenimore Art Museum Cooperstown, NY N0284.1976
Hyde Hall in Cheshire, England.Print from James Pigot & Co's Directory, 1794
Sugar Cane Harvest, William Clarke, 1823. Courtesy of John Carter Brown Library
Sugar tongs and sugar bowl ( c. 1830). Hyde Halls Collection
This project was supported with fund from the NYS Park and Trail Partnership Grants and
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1806.
Location. 42° 47.586′ N, 74° 52.404′ W. Marker is in Springfield, New York, in Otsego County. It is on Glimmerglass State Park Road north of County Route 31, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 267 Glimmerglass State Park Road, Cooperstown NY 13326, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York and in the Mohawk Valley. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Hyde Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Brittle Veneer (within shouting distance of this marker); Hop To It! (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Hyde Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Welcome Home! (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hyde Hall Covered Bridge (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named Hyde Hall Covered Bridge (approx. half a mile away); Sunken Island (approx. 1.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Springfield.
Also see . . .
Photographed by Scott J. Payne, April 1, 2023
2. Deep Pockets Marker
Ostego Lake is in background.
Photographed by Scott J. Payne, April 8, 2023
3. Hyde Hall
Credits. This page was last revised on October 19, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 9, 2023, by Scott J. Payne of Deposit, New York. This page has been viewed 366 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 9, 2023, by Scott J. Payne of Deposit, New York. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.
