Lansing in Tompkins County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Barbecued Chicken

Photographed by Susan A. Dalaba, June 3, 2023

1. Barbecued Chicken Marker

Inscription. Ca. 1950 Dr. Robert Baker of Cornell U. developed chicken barbecue sauce & safe cooking method to support fundraising by community groups in NYS.

Erected 2021 by William G. Pomeroy Foundation. (Marker Number 3.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Education. In addition, it is included in the Hungry for History, and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1950.

Location. 42° 32.27′ N, 76° 30.153′ W. Marker is in Lansing, New York, in Tompkins County. It can be reached from Auburn Road (New York State Route 34B), on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 25 Auburn Road, Lansing NY 14882, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York

and in the Southern Tier.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)

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Confederacy,

New Netherland,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Town of Lansing (a few steps from this marker); Rogues Harbor Inn (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Rogues Harbor Inn (approx. 0.2 miles away); Asbury Church (approx. 0.9 miles away); Benjamin Joy (approx. 2.1 miles away); Peter Wheeler (approx. 2.1 miles away); World War II Memorial (approx. 2.1 miles away); Table Salt Wells (approx. 2.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lansing.

More about this marker. Located along end of right field line of the ball field.

Also see . . . Why All of Upstate New York Grew Up Eating the Same Barbecue Chicken (Atlas Obscura, 5/26/19).

Excerpt: IN 1950, ROBERT C. BAKER, a professor at Cornell University, published Cornell Cooperative Extension Information Bulletin 862, which changed summer in upstate New York forever. Entitled “Barbecued Chicken and Other Meats,” the bulletin describes a simple vinegar-based sauce that can be used to turn broilers—chickens
Photographed by Mira Earls, July 8, 2022

2. Barbecued Chicken Marker
raised for their meat rather than their eggs—into juicy, delicious barbecue heaven.

At the time, this was an innovation. When Americans ate meat, they preferred beef and pork, and the poultry industry was just beginning to increase production. As an agricultural extension specialist, part of Baker’s job was to convince Americans to eat chicken. Before he passed away in 2006, he invented chicken bologna, chicken hot dogs, chicken salami, and, most famously, a prototype chicken nugget.

Cornell Chicken Barbecue Sauce, though, was his first great triumph, and what he is best known for in upstate New York...

(Submitted on April 13, 2024.)

Bob Baker and “Cornell Chicken” image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mira Earls, July 8, 2022

3. Bob Baker and “Cornell Chicken”

The Barbecue Pit image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mira Earls, July 8, 2022

4. The Barbecue Pit

Credits. This page was last revised on November 6, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 13, 2024, by Susan A. Dalaba of Cortland, New York. This page has been viewed 604 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 13, 2024, by Susan A. Dalaba of Cortland, New York. 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 16, 2024, by Mira Earls of Cortland, New York. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.