ace with the new French
government, and, closing his grocery in Cooperstown, was ultimately
restored to his office as civil governor of Martinique.[67] He appears
as one of the characters in Fenimore Cooper's novel, _The Pioneers_.

The house on Lake Street known as Averell Cottage was erected in 1793,
the central part of it, with chimneys at each end, constituting the
original structure. It has ever since been in possession of lineal
descendants of the first owner, James Averell, Jr. James Averell settled
on the patent in 1787, and in 1792 exchanged his farm for John Howard's
tannery on Lake Street just west of Pioneer Street.

[Illustration: _C. A. Schneider_

AVERELL COTTAGE]

In 1794 a state road was laid out between Albany and Cooperstown. This
road came over Mount Vision and descended toward the village by a route
that may still be traced down the hillside from Prospect Rock.
Cooperstown was then first included in a post route, and a post office
was opened in the village, with Joseph Griffin as postmaster. The mail
arrived weekly for some years; it then came twice a week; then thrice.
The daily mail was not established until 1821.

The arrival of the mail was something of a ceremony in the early days of
Cooperstown. Toward evening the sound of the postman's horn was faintly
heard as he rounded the slopes of Mount Vision; the blasts grew louder
as he descended the hill and approached the village; then the thunder of
the four post-horses as they crossed the bridge was heard, and the
postman drew up with a flourish at the post office, where the villagers
had gathered to await the news of the outer world. _The Otsego Herald_
publishes a letter from an indignant citizen, complaining that the mails
were opened in a bar-room. Since the first postmaster was also a tavern
keeper, the charge was probably true.

Among the new houses built in 1796 was one that has survived to the
present time, and stands on Main Street adjoining the Second National
Bank on the east. This house, distinguished for the quaint beauty of its
doorway, was first occupied by Rensselaer and Richard Williams. At about
this time the Academy was erected on the hill at the corner of Pioneer
and Church streets, where the Universalist church now stands. It was
"65-1/2 feet long, 32 wide, and 25 feet posts," while the summit of its
belfry was seventy feet high. It was erected by public subscription, at
a cost of about $1,450. "It was one of those taste