GORTON TURTLE

Inscription

GORTON TURTLE
AS TOM DORSEY CLEARED LAND
HIS WAGON LOAD OF HUGE ROCKS
COULDN'T BE MOVED BY HORSES.
A GIANT TURTLE SURFACED AND
DRAGGED WAGON INTO THE LAKE.
NEW YORK FOLKLORE SOCIETY
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2016

The story goes that Irishman Tom Dorsey was clearing large rocks from the land to plant a garden. He was using a lumber wagon led by a team of horses, but the wagon grew to be so heavy it was unmovable. Dorsey let the wagon sit for several weeks as he pondered what to do. One day while sitting on his front porch, a gigantic turtle, larger than a cottage, emerged from Gorton Lake. It stretched its neck out, took a look at Dorsey, then looked over to the wagon full of rocks. Slowly it waddled up to the wagon, took the wagon tongue in its mouth and dragged it into the lake. Once back in the water, the turtle gave Dorsey a wink, then drew his head back into his shell and slowly sank underneath the water. Local Brookfield, NY storyteller Geneva “Aunt Neva” Watson shared the old tale during an interview with writer George W. Walters for a book called “Chips and Shavings.”