Fillmore Days-The History, The Memories, The Bathtubs
Tour Ambassadors: Vanessa Richards
Summertime is synonymous with the season of races. Running, biking, swimming, or paddling, in Cayuga County there is a race for everyone! Training for most races involves tying up those laces, dusting off the equipment, and training hard. What may not be a part of your typical race training basics is a bathtub; that is unless you are signing up for the Fillmore Days Bathtub Races. Before we dive into what goes into such a unique event, let’s talk about why such a race even exists.
A Little Historical Background…
This story begins in Moravia, NY. This quaint town is nestled on the southern end of Owasco Lake. As you pass through town, you’ll notice its small-town charm, friendly residences, and the name Fillmore plastered all over the place. The Fillmore this town is honoring is the 13th President of the United States, Millard Fillmore. He was born just outside of Moravia in Summer Hill. His presidency was most well known for the Compromise of 1850 – which is still controversial today – that postponed the civil war by ten years. Fillmore was also the first president to put a library in the White House.
In 1917 famous newspaper columnist H.L. Mencken published a column, about the history of the bathtub. In this article, he incorrectly gave credit to Millard Fillmore for bringing the bathtub to the White House. Somehow this information found its way into the history books. The bathtub debacle was quickly debunked but that doesn’t stop the residents of Moravia from having fun!
A New Tradition
Thus a new tradition was born honoring the son of Moravia in a weekend full of fun named Fillmore Days. This celebration of historical items and new traditions bring people local and afar together for food, parades, and of course bathtub races. When the tradition was in its heyday through the 1990’s, an unfortunate accident involving a tub and a bystander brought the beloved tradition to a screeching halt.
It took over 20 years and some very determined local supporters of the old tradition to bring back the hilariously entertaining races. Unlike the races decades ago that took place on the streets of Moravia, the races now take place on a bystander-safe course at Fillmore Glen State Park.
In 2024 the celebration will be held August 8-10th. You will not want to miss the thrilling races, music, parades, shopping, food, fun, drink, and prizes!
For more information visit: friendsoffillmoreglen.org.
Want to Participate?
There is still time to grab that old bathtub you may have sitting around and enter the race. There are multiple categories for tub races and specific safety features your tub must have to race. If you aren’t the racing type, there is much to feast your eyes on as some of the teams who race the tubs take this seriously and some not so seriously at all!
If you have never seen the competition of bathtub races,
you don’t know what you are missing.