Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
When people hear “Finger Lakes,” Cayuga Lake, Keuka Lake, and Seneca Lake usually come to mind. However, there are a total of eleven lakes in the area. In fact, the entire Finger Lakes Region spans fourteen counties and covers over 9,000 miles. With such a vast area comes some fascinating history, most of which you probably didn’t know. Are you ready to travel back in time to uncover some of the area’s most interesting historical facts? Here are our top six:
The Home of Jell-O
While various gelatinous or “jelly” desserts have been around as early as the 15th century, Jell-O, as we know it today, was founded by Pearle Bixby Wait in LeRoy, New York, in 1897. Wait and his wife, May, created the product by adding various fruits and sugar to granulated gelatin. In 1899, the product was sold to Frank Woodward, owner of Genesee Pure Food Company. Several years later, in 1923, the company was renamed Jell-O Company. In 1925, Jell-O Company merged with Postum Cereal to become the General Foods Corporation, which is now known as Kraft/General Foods.
The First Female Private Detective: Kate Warne
Born in 1833 in Erin, New York, a small town in Chemung County, little is known about Kate Warne‘s life before her espionage career. She was born into a low-income family and was widowed by the age of 23. In 1856, her fascinating career began when she joined the Pinkerton Detective Agency as their first female detective and perhaps the first-ever female detective in the country. She was involved in many cases, but the most notable is the assassination attempt on the then President-elect Abraham Lincoln. Her work continued during and after the Civil War. In addition to her espionage work, she also ran the agency’s Female Detective Bureau, leading and developing other female agents.
The Largest Pancake Griddle in the World
Birkett Mills, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of buckwheat products, broke the world record in 1987 for constructing the largest pancake griddle, measuring 28 feet in diameter. After its completion, the company celebrated its unveiling by cooking the world’s largest buckwheat pancake at the 12th Annual Buckwheat Harvest Festival on September 27th, 1987. The pancake took 15 gallons of cooking oil, 2,000 gallons of water, and 2,000 lbs of buckwheat to make. The massive flapjack was then topped off with a 2′ by 3′ slab of butter and slathered in 15 gallons of maple syrup. Located in Penn Yan, New York, the griddle now hangs on the side of the Birkett Mills corporate building.
Birthplace of Memorial Day
After over a century of memorial events honoring deceased service men and women, on May 30th, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) a holiday in Waterloo, New York. In 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was enacted and came into effect in 1971. It designated Memorial Day a national holiday and moved it from May 30th to the last Monday in May. Most recently, in December 2000, the National Moment of Remembrance resolution was passed, which asks for all Americans to voluntarily pause for a minute of silence at 3 p.m. for those who’ve lost their lives in service.
The First Cold Breakfast Cereal was Invented
In 1863, the first cold breakfast cereal was invented by James Caleb Jackson, a vegetarian who believed that a healthy diet was essential for overall good health. While experimenting with cereal as an illness cure at his health spa in Dansville, NY, he developed a new type of breakfast cereal, which he called Granula. The cereal was made from bran-rich graham flour, which was mixed into a dough, rolled into sheets, and then baked. The sheets were then broken into small pieces and baked again before finally broken into smaller pieces. Granula never became popular because it had to be soaked overnight before it could be consumed. However, Granula inspired the creation of ready-to-eat cereals such as John Harvey Kellogg’s Cornflakes and Charles W. Post’s Grape-Nuts.
The First and Longest-Running Wine Trail in the U.S.
Cayuga Lake Wine Trail is the country’s first and longest-running wine trail and is part of a broader network of wine trails (one of three) in the Finger Lakes Wine Country. Through the vision of Mary Plane of Cayuga Vineyards (now known as Cayuga Ridge Estates), five wineries around Cayuga Lake joined together and established the Cayuga Wine Lake Trail in 1983. With more wineries added over the years, CWLT now has 10 members, offering prestigious wines earning over 6,000 national and international medals. Situated along the west side of Cayuga Lake, the wine trail offers many attractions accompanied by breathtaking vistas and lake views. From scenic drives to exceptional dining to live music, the Cayuga Wine Lake Trail has something for everyone.
The Finger Lakes Region is known for its crystal clear lakes and majestic natural landscape. However, the area is rich in history. From wartime events to quirky discoveries, this area in Upstate New York has undoubtedly made an impact locally and nationwide.
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