The Elephant Hotel is a historic former hotel which today serves as the town hall in Somers, in

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(NRHP) on August 7, 1974 as Somers Town House and designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 2005 as Elephant Hotel. It is also a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

in the NRHP-listed Somers Hamlet Historic District. It is located at 335

US 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Mass ...

, across from the northern end of

NY 100 New York State Route 100 (NY 100) is a major north–south state highway in Westchester County, New York, in the United States. It begins parallel to Interstate 87 (I-87) at a junction with the Cross County Parkway in the city of ...

History

Hachaliah Bailey Hachaliah Lyman Bailey (pronounced ''heck-a-LIE-uh''; July 31, 1775 – September 2, 1845) was the founder of one of America's earliest circuses. In 1808, he purchased an Indian elephant which he named "Old Bet" and which was one of the first suc ...

(known as the creator of Bailey Circus) built the Elephant Hotel in Somers, NY, after buying an African elephant, which he named "

Old Bet Old Bet (died July 24, 1816) was the first circus elephant and the second elephant brought to the United States. There are reports of an elephant brought to the United States in 1796, but it is not known for certain that this was the elephant that ...

". Bailey intended to use the elephant for farm work, but the number of people it attracted caused Bailey to tour her throughout the northeast. Old Bet was killed on tour in 1816, when she was shot by a local farmer. Bailey's tours were the first of their type in the nation, and inspired numerous others to tour with exotic animals, and during the 1830s the old style circus and Bailey's attractions merged to form the modern circus. Due to this, Somers is known as the "Cradle of the American Circus". Bailey had purchased this land in 1805, and began construction of the hotel in 1821, as a memorial to the animals he displayed. It is said Old Bet was buried in front of the building. The monument to Old Bet that stands in front of the hotel was placed in 1827. In 1835, the hotel was incorporated by the Zoological Institute.History of the Elephant Hotel
''Somershitoricalsoc.org'' The Elephant Hotel was purchased by the town of Somers in 1927. It is a town

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

and was dedicated a

in 2005.

Museum of the Early American Circus

The Somers Historical Society occupies the third floor of the building. The Society operates the Museum of the Early American Circus, which is open on Thursday afternoons and for special holidays.

Popular culture

*''

Monumental Mysteries ''Mysteries at the Monument'' (formerly ''Monumental Mysteries'') is an American reality television series currently airing on the Travel Channel and is hosted by Don Wildman. The show uncovers stories of history and unsolved mysteries behind Ame ...

'' featured an episode about Old Bet in 2013 *Japanese singer-songwriter

Akiko Yano is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer born in Tokyo and raised in Aomori and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s. She has been called "one of the major musical talents of the Japanese popular music world", and her vocals an ...

released an album titled ''Elephant Hotel'' in 1994; the cover features a photograph of Yano standing in front of the hotel.

References

External links

*
Elephant Hotel history
- Somers Historical Society *

- Somers Historical Society {{National Register of Historic Places in New York Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in New York (state) City and town halls in New York (state) Hotels in New York (state) National Historic Landmarks in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Westchester County, New York Hotel buildings completed in 1825 Buildings and structures in Westchester County, New York Museums in Westchester County, New York Circus museums in the United States Historical society museums in New York (state) Historic American Buildings Survey in New York (state) Somers, New York

History

Museum of the Early American Circus

Popular culture

See also

References

External links