Did you catch Somers' Elephant Hotel on TV? The Monumental Mysteries on the Travel Channel featured the building – a monument to the first circus elephant – on Thursday, July 25.
"Somers has beautiful, picturesque roadways and trees and it's real country. So, it's a nice place," Somers historian Doris-Jane Smith told Monumental Mysteries. "In the center of town is a 20-foot, oblisque, granite shaft and at the top sits a 3-foot tall, 4-foot long surprise."
It's an elephant.
Monumental Mysteries's Don Wildman narrates that its diminitive size does not reflect the impact its real life cousin had on the town of Somers and the country.
The town of Somers is known as the "cradle of the American circus" after local cattleman Hachaliah Bailey bought an elephant, which he named Old Bet.
It all started in 1805 when Bailey overheard an unusual conversation between two sea captains about a "beast" that had an enormous strength. He thought he could save time and money by having the animal work at his farm.
It took several months for him to take possession of the Indian elephant, which he purchased for $1,000. The elephant was one of the first to ever set foot on American soil.
"When he sees the elephant, he is just in shock, Hachaliah is so excited," Smith told Monumental Mysteries.
All of the locals were intrigued.
"What was going to be a beast of burden working on this farm, his entrepreneurial skills kicked in and he thought 'I could do somethign more with this animal,'" Smith told Monumental Mysteries.
Rather than putting him to work, Bailey started to charge people money if they wanted to see the elephant. Few people had seen such an animal at the time. As the new business took off, he acquired more exotic animals and began a new form of entertainment.
"Hachaliah Bailey really began the American circus as we know it," Smith told Monumental Mysteries. "People were so excited to see an animal they had only heard about. They lined up by the droves to see the elephant and it was almost like a dream come true."
When tragedy struck and Old Bet was shot by another farmer, the elephant's skeletons were donated to P.T. Barnum's American Museum in New York City.
"This was a terible loss," Smith told Monumental Mysteries. "The elephant that had brought so much love and happiness to people is gone."
But Barmun and Bailey's nephew, James, joined forces and formed the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
"They traveled from community to community," Smith told Monumental Mysteries. "The laughter and happiness is still there and to think that it all began with one elephant in the town of Somers, NY is astonishing."
In 1827, Hachaliah Bailey commissioned a granite ironwork and concrete monument to Old Bet. It's a memorial to the animal whose legacy has brought "joy to the hearts of millions of Americans." He later erected the Elephant Hotel, which now serves as the Somers Town Hall.
To watch the Monumental Mysteries episode on the Travel Channel, click here.
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