The Story Behind This Tiny New York Town Is Bizarre But True
By Lea Monroe|Published March 19, 2016
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Lea Monroe
Author
Writer for Only In Your State. Scribbling about all things New York and Buffalo related while also keeping you updated on the latest travel news! Inquiries: Lmonroe@onlyinyourstate.com
There are small towns and ghost towns, but have you ever heard of fake towns in New York? The strange and alluring phenomena hiding away in our state never cease to amaze me. Created as a cartographical trap in the 1930s, in recent years this fake town has become more real than ever. It’s time to determine whether or not you think Agloe really exists…
While generally speaking most mapmakers will never own up to it, the trick of putting fake roads and landmarks on maps to insure their work is never stolen is something that most certainly seems to exist. If a company creates a map that has a non-existing road on it and then they see another company create a map with said fake road, you then have the guilty party right in the palm of your hand!
So when a man by the name of Otto G. Lindberg from General Drafting Co. saw his fake town of Agloe show up on one of Rand McNally's maps in later years, he was certain his work had been stolen...
When Lindberg and his assistant Ernest Alpers were creating the map, they combined their initials (OGL & EA) to create the town of Agloe as a trap. Once confronted, Rand McNally explained that when his cartographers were working, they came across a building called Agloe General Store (pictured above), which happened to stand right where the fake town of Agloe was marked on the map. Wait, what?
Turns out, the owners of the general store had seen the area marked as Agloe on a map being locally distributed, and it was then that Agloe General Store was born! In recent years the abandoned store has been taken down by the owners, but not before some of author John Green's fans could lay their eyes on it! If you're unfamiliar with the book or movie Paper Towns, the fake town is mentioned and brought to life by the author.
Click here to see a fan's footage of the general store before it was taken down!
While the novel Paper Towns was published back in 2008, it was only last year that the movie was put out on the big screens, bringing life to Agloe once again. Through the connection made with this book, taking the adventure to find this fake (and somehow difficultly hidden in plain sight) town has become a popular experience for many of John Greens fans. A truly devoted fan even went as far as creating a town marker for Agloe, seen in both pictures above.
Check out author John Green explain the history of the fake town of Agloe and its connection this book in the video below:
So what do you think? Do you consider the town of Agloe, New York to be real? We’d love to hear if you have any stories about attempting to find this fake town yourself!
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