Miscellaneous, Monument to Lady Upton

Monument to Lady Upton

Bainbridge Republican, May 30, 1907

 

A monument has just been erected over the grave of Lady Upton, a trotting horse which 35 years ago won many races in the middle and eastern states, and in Canada, which died last March at Mt. Upton at the remarkable age of 48 years.  Lady Upton had a record of 2:17 to an old fashioned high wheel sulky.

 

Nobility? No, Monument to Lady Upton

Honors Mt. Upton's Greatest Trotter

Binghamton Press, Sept. 3, 1950

 

A moss-covered stone monument stands in a corner lot near Mt. Upton depot.  A visitor to the Otsego County [sic] community, investigating its description, might be surprised to find the shaft dedicated to nobility.  The name it bears is "Lady Upton."  Further investigation would clear up the question of the title but make the observer wonder even more about the purpose of the memorial.  For Lady Upton was a horse and the monument is dedicated to her accomplishments.

 

C.R. Richmond, who operates the Mt. Upton hardware store, is one who recalls more vividly than most, the story of the noble mare.  His grandfather, the late Cowell Chamberlain was her owner and the man who erected the monument even before the horse died as a memorial to her record.  Mr. Richmond remembers that his grandfather took the horse known as Lady Upton "on a $50 note" from a man named Cook of Guilford in 1866 and turned her into the greatest trotter the region has ever known. 

 

Although the big mare spent most of her days as a work horse hauling wood and doing chores of various sorts on the Chamberlin estate at Mt. Upton she showed a natural aptitude for the race track.  She became the darling of trotting fans at county fairs throughout the area and set many records of long standing including that of the 2:16 trot for high wheeled sulky at the Whitney Point Fair, according to records in Mr. Richmond's possession. 

 

Lady Upton was entered in 24 harness races between 1877 and 1885, according to the records.  She won them all.  The horse continued to be a favorite at the county fair tracks and earned a nationwide reputation as one of America's leading trotters.  Between race season she took the farm chores with equal efficiency.  She was as faithful a worker as a race horse and her service continued long after she had attained the normal equine's normal span of years.

 

When she died March 12, 1907, at the age of 43, her owner buried her beneath the stone marker which stands in testimonial to her unusual qualities.