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Stories a place tells about itself, passed down and still repeated.
Southfields, NY
Local legend says Revolutionary War loyalist and outlaw Claudius Smith hid stolen valuables inside caves at nearby Cat Rocks before his capture and execution. Treasure hunters have searched for the supposed cache for generations, and a Legends & Lore marker along Route 17 records the story; do not leave public access areas to hunt for it.
Esperance, NY
Local legend tells of a widowed French woman accused of witchcraft by neighboring settlers during the nineteenth century. The story claims she was eventually shot through her window with a silver bullet and buried beneath a pine tree so she could not return, and a Legends & Lore marker now preserves the tale along Route 20.
Ballston Spa, NY
In 1869, Spiritualist Samuel Hides said a séance message from the spirit of Benjamin Franklin told him exactly where to drill for a healing mineral spring. A spring was struck at the predicted depth, and the story became part of Ballston Spa folklore; a Legends & Lore marker now identifies the site.
West Edmeston, NY
A Brookfield-area tall tale tells of a turtle larger than a cottage emerging from Gorton Lake and dragging an impossibly heavy wagon of rocks into the water. A Legends & Lore marker on Gorton Lake Road preserves the story at a specific roadside location.
Germantown, NY
According to local tradition, Rev. Johann Frederick Haeger was visited on Christmas Eve 1720 by a spirit calling itself the "Master of Time and Space." The spirit supposedly showed him visions of Germantown's future, and a Legends & Lore marker now identifies the location tied to the story.
Sleepy Hollow, NY
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and the adjoining Old Dutch Church landscape are inseparable from Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. A Legends & Lore marker inside the cemetery specifically commemorates the story that the Headless Horseman tethers his horse among the graves.
Wheatley Heights, NY
Long Island legend says Jacob Conklin sailed with Captain William Kidd before building a home in this area around 1710. The house burned in 1918, but a Legends & Lore marker on Colonial Springs Road preserves the local pirate connection.
Deer Park, NY
For decades, local stories claimed President John Quincy Adams once owned a summer home in Deer Park. Research instead traced the property to a different John Quincy Adams, a clergyman who owned land here in the nineteenth century, and a Legends & Lore marker now explains how the presidential connection became local folklore.
West Seneca, NY
A Legends & Lore marker at Ebenezer Cemetery preserves the story of Kau-Qua-Tau, a Seneca woman accused of witchcraft in 1821 and killed after fleeing the accusation. Later folklore blamed her spirit for disturbances in a cabin that once stood at the site.
Cutchogue, NY
Long Island tradition claimed Benjamin Franklin personally placed this stone mileage marker while serving as colonial postmaster in the 1750s. Later research indicates the marker was probably installed in the early nineteenth century, but the Franklin story endured for generations and is now explained by a Legends & Lore marker beside Route 25.
North Rose, NY
During the 1830s, spirit mediums supposedly led groups into this area to dig for buried gold and jewels revealed by supernatural guidance. The legend held that everyone had to remain completely silent while digging or evil spirits would appear and the treasure would vanish; a marker now stands near Galen and Lasher roads.
Sugar Loaf, NY
Local folklore remembers Elizabeth Dobbin, a widow who supposedly lived alone near Sugar Loaf Mountain in the late 1700s and was accused by nearby villagers of practicing witchcraft. A Legends & Lore marker now marks the area associated with the Mountain Witch story.
Chester, NY
Local legend says Nathaniel Knapp killed a bear here around 1750 using only a knife and later asked to be buried at the site. The marker stands at Knapp's View, a public passive park with walking and picnic access, though no confirmed grave marker for Knapp survives.
Portville, NY
Stop on Promised Land Road, put the car in neutral, and it appears to roll uphill. The slope is an illusion — the surrounding land hides the true horizon, so a gentle descent reads as a climb — which has never once stopped anyone trying it with a bottle of water. A public road, so pull over sensibly and watch for traffic.
Smithtown, NY
Smithtown folklore claims founder Richard Smith received as much land as he could circle in a single day while riding a bull after helping return a kidnapped daughter to a Montauk leader. Historical deeds make the tale doubtful, but it remains central to the town's identity and is commemorated by both a marker and the famous Whisper the Bull statue nearby.
Wappingers Falls, NY
Spook Hill Road supposedly earned its name when moonlight reflecting from a rocky hillside created a strange glow that terrified horses traveling the old dirt road. The original landscape has changed considerably, but a 2023 Legends & Lore marker in Spook Hill Park preserves the story.
Yates County, NY
Stop on Newell Road, put the car in neutral, and it appears to roll uphill. The slope is an illusion — the surrounding land hides the true horizon, so a gentle descent reads as a climb — which has never once stopped anyone trying it with a bottle of water. A public road, so pull over sensibly and watch for traffic.
Rockland County, NY
Stop on Spook Rock Road at US 202, put the car in neutral, and it appears to roll uphill. The slope is an illusion — the surrounding land hides the true horizon, so a gentle descent reads as a climb — which has never once stopped anyone trying it with a bottle of water. A public road, so pull over sensibly and watch for traffic.
Buffalo, NY
A four-foot plaque at the Erie Basin Marina commemorating Theodor Fontane's poem about a helmsman who steers a burning Lake Erie steamer to shore. Maynard is a fictionalised name over a real rescue. Buffalo and its German sister city Dortmund dedicated it in 1997, with the finished plaque rededicated in 1998.
Lewis, NY
Joseph Call was a real nineteenth-century wrestler, logger and millwright whose unusual size and strength inspired stories of superhuman feats. Known as the Lewis Giant or the Paul Bunyan of the East, he is commemorated by a Legends & Lore marker along U.S. Route 9.
Watertown, NY
Local lore claims there is a strange area within Thompson Park where people become disoriented, lose several minutes of time, or briefly experience another time period. There is no proven supernatural vortex, but the story has become one of Watertown's best-known modern legends and the public park can be visited normally.
