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BED BUG HILL

Program
Legends & Lore®
Subject
Folklore
Location
Corner of County Highway 26 and Bed Bug Hill Rd, Fly Creek, NY
Lat/Long
42.749678, -74.97901
Grant Recipient
Fly Creek Area Historical Society
Historic Marker

BED BUG HILL

Inscription

BED BUG HILL
INSPIRED BY A NINETEENTH
CENTURY MIGRANT HOP PICKER
WHO INSISTED HE WOULD NOT
RETURN BECAUSE LOCAL BEDBUGS
WERE "AS BIG AS SQUIRRELS"
NEW YORK FOLKLORE SOCIETY
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2017

The legend behind Bed Bug Hill’s name goes back to the time of migrant hop pickers in New York State. When one of the pickers was asked if he would return to Fly Creek the following season, the story goes that he said, “No, they grow bed bugs as big as squirrels here.” The migrant hop pickers arrived from all over the state and beyond to pick the crops.