Tompkins County Fun Facts

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The Finger Lakes region is chock-full of rich history and culture.

In this series I’m sharing with you all the firsts, important historical events, notable individuals, world records, and occasional quirky roadside attractions I come across in my explorations, organized by county.

Here are some fun facts about Tompkins County. For random facts about the other 13 Finger Lakes counties: Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Livingston, Monroe, Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Wayne, Yates.

I know I’m only scratching the surface of all the cool things to know, so please tell me interesting facts to add! You can comment below or send me a message.

And make sure you subscribe to the Finger Lakes Family Fun email list or follow on Instagram, where I’ll be sharing my latest discoveries.

Tompkins County Basic Facts

Population: 105,740

County seat: Ithaca

Origin of name: Daniel D. Tompkins, governor of New York and vice president of the United States

Tourism site: visitithaca.com

Dryden

Lincoln Manuscript

In 2009, the Southworth Library sold a handwritten manuscript signed by Abraham Lincoln at a Christie’s auction for $3.44 million — a record price paid for any U.S. historical document. The 16th president had given the speech at the White House in 1864 after his re-election. The document had been given to the library in 1928 by the wife of John Dwight, a local who had served in the U.S. House of Representatives and received it from Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s son, as a thank you for his role in helping to secure funding for the Lincoln Memorial. The funds were used to build a new library wing. (Personal note: The library and its staff are lovely, and we feel extremely lucky to have them and their great programming nearby.)

Ithaca

Oldest African American fraternity

Alpha Phi Alpha, the nation’s oldest African American fraternity, was founded by seven Cornell University students in 1906 at 421 N. Albany Street. St. James church (see below) provided a meeting place and support during the early stages.

Oldest comic book club

The Comic Book Club of Ithaca was started in February 1975 and is the oldest active comic book fan club in the United States. It holds regular club meetings and shows such as Ithacon, the second-longest-running comic convention in the country.

Ice cream sundae

The ice cream sundae was very likely invented in Ithaca in 1892. Here’s my full history of the dessert and a roundup of the best ice cream shops in town today.

International Rutabaga Curling Championship

The rutabaga curling championship at the Ithaca Farmers Market has been celebrating root vegetables and absurdity for over a quarter century. It’s hilarious, thanks to MCs, protestors, a chorus, instrumentalists, and a unique air of wackiness. 

(Explore more festivals and events in and around Ithaca.)

Seat of the Dalai Lama

Ithaca is home to Namgyal-Ithaca, the Dalai Lama’s north American seat. It was founded in 1992 as a branch of the main Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala, India and moved into a beautiful new building on South Hill in 2004. The site is designed to resemble a mandala when viewed from above and is officially named Du Khor Choe Long (Land of Kalachakra Study and Practice). Kalachakra is considered the most complex symbol system in Tibetan Buddhism and represents the unity of wisdom and compassion. The center offers meditation practice, retreats, and courses. In April 2022, ground was broken for construction of a new library and learning center.

Oldest A.M.E. Zion church

St. James A.M.E. Zion is the world’s oldest active church of its denomination. It was built in 1833 in the historic Southside, probably also making it the oldest religious structure in town. It hosted many famous abolitionist speakers, such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Reverend Jermain W. Loguen and likely served as a station along the Underground Railroad that helped fugitive slaves en route to Canada.

Tommy plane

The Thomas-Morse S-4 Scout or “Tommy” was produced in Ithaca starting in 1917 and for a while was used to train all WW I pilots. The only Tommy that has been restored to full flight capacity anywhere in the world (by the Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation, over the course of 14 years) can be seen at the History Center.

X Ambassadors

Two members of X Ambassadors — lead singer Sam Harris and his brother and keyboardist Casey Harris — are originally from Ithaca. (Drummer Adam Levin is the third band member.) They’re known for such hits as “Renegades” and “Unsteady.”

Lansing

Kyle Dake

Kyle Dake was actually born in Ithaca, but the world-famous wrestler is often associated with Lansing, and for good reason: His grandfather Bob started the high school’s wrestling program, which continued under Kyle’s father Doug, who was also his longtime coach. As of 2022, Kyle has gone on to win three world titles and an Olympic bronze medal (Toyko 2020).

Trumansburg

Moog Synthesizer

The Moog Synthesizer, the first commercial electronic musical instrument, was invented by Robert Arthur Moog in 1964-1967. He was a Ph.D. student in engineering physics at Cornell and started his synthesizer factory in Trumansburg. Unlike its predecessors, the Moog didn’t fill entire rooms, could be played in real time with a keyboard, and was much more affordable (though it still cost $10,000).

Learn more about Bob Moog in this very recent (9/2022) biography by Albert Glinsky:

Taughannock Falls

The claim to fame of Taughannock Falls is that at 215 feet (66 meters) it is the highest free-falling waterfall in the northeastern United States — and 33 feet taller than Niagara Falls.

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