by Mary Bauso, Friends of Fillmore Glen
Nestled at the southern tip of Owasco Lake is the quiet village of Moravia – a small community in the Finger Lakes Region, surrounded by nature’s beauty. Each year, Moravia hosts Fillmore Days to celebrate a local man who rose from poverty to the presidency and to promote the surrounding area. The festival has one unique feature: bathtub races.
The Moravia-Locke Chamber of Commerce started Fillmore Days in 1973. The first bathtub races were added to the festival in 1974 upon the urging of a local history teacher who had seen similar races in Canada. He knew of the bathtub rumor and thought the races would give an added level of joviality to the celebrations.
In the earlier years, Main Street attracted crowds to witness the silliness of navigating a cast iron tub on wheels using a toilet plunger to surge ahead. It was a carnival atmosphere where spectators lined the streets to cheer for zany cast iron tubs and zanier crews fueled by many ounces of bubbly suds (spirits). The event continued for 26 years without a break until 2000.
In 2019, the Friends of Fillmore Glen State Park revived Fillmore Days, moved them from downtown to Fillmore Glen State Park and added more ways to participate. In addition to cast iron tubs, fiberglass and custom-made categories have been added. Creative themes such as taco tubs, hot dog racers and witches’ cauldrons have appeared. A tub can be rented for the day, decorated and accessorized to suit racer’s whims. Fillmore Days hosts a pedal car derby for the younger crowd.
Unless you are a presidential historian, you might not realize Moravia’s connection with Millard Fillmore, 13th President of the United States, and with a persistent news story about bathtubs.
H.L. Mencken, a widely known journalist, published an article in 1917 that claimed that the 1843 invention of the indoor bathtub was bitterly controversial. He said that some people found them too decadent, others too unhealthy. Cities tried to ban bathing. Mencken stated that it took President Fillmore’s installation of a bathtub in the White House for them to become widely accepted.
But the story was completely false! Mencken made the article up for entertainment during the bleak days of World War I and to also make a point about how quickly a lie can become conventional wisdom. Bathtubs are so common today that it is almost impossible to imagine a world without them.
Fillmore was born in Summerhill, outside of Moravia, in 1800. The rumor that he put the first bathtub with indoor plumbing in the White House was a good way to capitalize on the falsehood for Moravia. Although it was a hoax, Fillmore’s hometown thought it was all good, clean fun. So much so, bathtub races were incorporated as a signature event at Fillmore Days in Moravia.
The festival continues to grow. A cornhole tournament was added in 2023, and a duck scavenger hunt will be new in 2025. The event is rounded out with food, craft, wine and beer vendors. A family fun field of free games is available all day for children of all ages to enjoy. Admission is $1 per person and the state park parking fee is lowered to just $5 for the event.
For those who are creative and have an imagination in building and racing a bathtub can visit friendsoffillmoreglen.org for a schedule of events starting at 10 a.m. August 9. Follow on Facebook – Friends of Fillmore Glen State Park. The group is always looking for more participants.
