James Fenimore Cooper: Cooperstown’s Literary Ghost

by Victor A. Walsh 

By mid-morning on this dreary gray Sunday, crowds of people dressed in shorts and sporting baseball caps, are bustling in and out of the many baseball memorabilia shops lining Main Street. The brick facades bear names like Mickey's Place, Seventh Inning Stretch, and National Pastime, and they sell everything associated with the game, from baseball apparel, cards, equipment, and autographed memorabilia to baseball art, medals, statues, and pricey collectibles.

Named after William Cooper, a wealthy land speculator, county judge, and father of novelist James Fenimore Coo...