The Legend of
the Old Leatherman

Actually this isn't a legend at all, it's a true story of legendary nature. The Old Leatherman was a character indeed. The mystery surrounding his coming and going is nothing but complete, consuming curiosity.

His body was found in a cave near Sing Sing, New York in 1889 which is too bad because it seems he spent most of his time here in Connecticut. The winter of 1888 was severe and is credited with putting an end to this wanderers comings and goings. He is buried in Sparta Cemetery near Ossining, NY. He was buried as a public charge. The fascination of this person was, and still is so great, that there is a New York State Highway Historical Market on Route 9 to direct you to the cemetery. The Ossining Historical Society has placed a marker on the grave.

Perhaps it is the peculiarity of his travels that makes the Old Leatherman so entirely interesting. It is without doubt the punctuality he maintained that peaked everyones curiosity. He traveled the same route over and over again traversing half of Connecticut and part of New York State. He showed up in the same place, on the exact day and time on each leg of his journey. Every 34 days, for 31 years.

His route took him from the Connecticut River west along the shore line to the New Haven area. From here he travelled north, apparently avoiding every city along the way. This change in his direction would be to avoid the actual city of New Haven although his route skirted the city travelling through East Haven and North Haven through Hamden to Woodbridge and then winding his way back to the shoreline still traveling west. He would head north somewhere along this route passing by Norwalk and New Canaan, then entering New York State. He would enter Connecticut again near New Milford traveling east towards Meriden and back to the Connecticut River.

He apparently frequented some special places amongst the civilization of the time, not exactly looking for handouts, but accepting food from those who would not question his lifestyle. Some residents would set plates of food out for him, every 34 days, and the Old Leatherman would always come by and clean that plate. He lived mostly in caves and they can be found along this route. One has to wonder how much traveling he had done to find these secluded sites to spend the night.

The general consensus of who he was is that he came here from France. No one knows for sure when, or even why. There is some thought that he failed miserably in a family leather business in France and exiled himself to America. This story would certainly fit his attire, which of course, was all leather. Apparently the suit was very heavy, would "squeak" as he walked and was made from many pieces of small leather all laced together. He wore a heavy leather hat and his shoes topped with leather were wooden.

He must of been a character. An outdoorsman for sure. He was found in the snow in 1888 and was taken to Hartford Hospital. His hands and feet were frozen. The Hospital was not to his liking though and he escaped! He didn't survive long after these injuries but was stable enough to make it from Hartford to Ossining before he succumbed. He was believed to be 65 years old at his death.