About the Town of Otsego

Founded in 1788, the Town of Otsego is the oldest town in the county, has a land area of 53.9 square miles, over 75 miles of roads, and a population of 3,641 people in the 2020 census. The Town contains approximately fourteen miles of shoreline on Otsego and Canadarago Lakes, has a diversity of land uses and is primarily rural in character. The Village of Cooperstown is located along the eastern edge of the town and along with Fly Creek contains most of the Town’s business establishments, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

To learn more about the Town of Otsego, you can contact one of our Town Historians:

Town Historian
Tom Heitz
Fly Creek 13337
607-547-9735

Town Co-Historian
Sherlee Rathbone
Fly Creek, NY 13337
607-547-9334

or anyone else on our Contact Page.

To read some newspaper entries from years gone by, read our Back in History Page.

To read about our village of Fly Creek, read our Focus on Fly Creek Page.

To read about our historic cemeteries and who is buried there, go to our Cemeteries Page.

You can also read about the town in this informative article on the Wikipedia website, which includes this list of the communities and locations in the town:

• Brookwood Point – A projection into Otsego Lake north of Cooperstown.
• Cattown – A hamlet west of Fly Creek and Oaksville on NY-80.
• Chalk Lake – A small lake located west of Fly Creek.
• Chestnut Hill – An elevation located east of the corner of Goose Street and Bailey Road.
• Cooperstown – County seat, Most of the Village of Cooperstown is within the town borders.
• Fitch Hill – An elevation near Pierstown on Armstrong Road.
• Five Mile Point – A projection into Otsego Lake near the northern town line.
• Fly Creek – A hamlet west of Cooperstown on conjoined NY-28/NY-80. The Fly Creek Methodist Church, The Cornfield, Fly Creek Grange No. 844, and Fly Creek Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]
• Hutter Point – A projection into Otsego Lake, north of Five Mile Point.
• Index – A hamlet south of Cooperstown on NY-28. Partially in the Town of Hartwick.
• King Hill – An elevation on the northern town line, partly in the town.
• Leatherstocking Falls – A waterfall located on Leatherstocking Creek near the eastern town line.
• Metcalf Hill – An elevation northeast of Fitch Hill.
• Mud Lake – A small lake located west of Fly Creek.
• Muskrat Pond – A small lake located northwest of Fitch Hill.
• Oaksville – A hamlet west of Fly Creek on NY-28/80.
• Pail Shop Corners – A hamlet north of Fly Creek.
• Panther Mountain – An elevation on the eastern shore of Canadarago Lake.
• Pierstown – A hamlet near the western side of Otsego Lake.
• Red House Hill – An elevation on the west side of Otsego Lake near Five Mile Point.
• Six Mile Point – A projection into Otsego Lake, north of Hutter Point.
• Snowdon – A hamlet near the western town line on NY-80.
• Taylortown – A location north of Pail Shop Corners. At the corner of County Route 26 and Honey Joe Road.
• Three Mile Point – A projection into Otsego Lake, south of Five Mile Point.
• Toddsville – A hamlet southwest of Cooperstown. Partially in the Town of Hartwick.
• Tunnicliff Hill – An elevation north of Snowdon.
• Twelve Thousand – A location in the northwestern corner of the town.
• Whalen Hill – An elevation in the southwestern corner of the town. Partially in the town of Hartwick.
• Wileytown – A hamlet in the southwestern part of the town on NY-205.