About this property
The Elephant Hotel is a historic former hotel which today serves as the town hall in Somers, in Westchester County, New York, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on August 7, 1974 as Somers Town House and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005 as Elephant Hotel. It is also a contributing property in the NRHP-listed Somers Hamlet Historic District. It is located at 335 US 202, across from the northern end of NY 100. Hachaliah Bailey (known as the creator of Bailey Circus) built the Elephant Hotel in Somers, NY, after buying an African elephant, which he named "Old Bet". 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. The Elephant Hotel was purchased by the town of Somers in 1927. It is a town landmark and was dedicated a National Historic Landmark in 2005. 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. Monumental Mysteries featured an episode about Old Bet in 2013 Japanese singer-songwriter Akiko Yano released an album titled Elephant Hotel in 1994; the cover features a photograph of Yano standing in front of the hotel. National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Westchester County, New York Media related to Elephant Hotel at Wikimedia Commons Elephant Hotel history - Somers Historical Society Historical Records from Westchester County Archives Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NY-4-101, "Elephant Hotel, State Route 116 Vicinity, Somers, Westchester County, New York", 5 photos, 12 measured drawings, 7 data pages, supplemental material Museum of the Early American Circus - Somers Historical Society
Location
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Elephant Hotel
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Questions about this property
When was Elephant Hotel listed on the National Register?
Elephant Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 4, 2005.
What type of historic resource is Elephant Hotel?
Elephant Hotel is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Elephant Hotel a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Elephant Hotel has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Elephant Hotel?
The period of significance for Elephant Hotel is recorded as the civil_war era.
Can I research the history near Elephant Hotel?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Elephant Hotel will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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