Agloe, New York facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Agloe |
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Fictional Agloe, New York, a copyright trap, shown on a real map of New York published by Exxon in 1998.
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| A General Drafting map location | |
| Country | United States |
| Created by | Otto G. Lindberg and Ernest Alpers |
| Genre | Map |
| Type | Copyright trap |
| Notable locations | Agloe General Store (formerly) |
| First appearance | c. 1930 |
| State | New York |
| County | Delaware County, New York |
| Town | Colchester, New York |
| ZIP code | 12776 |
Agloe is a made-up (fictional) small community called a hamlet. It is located in Colchester, Delaware County, New York. Mapmakers created Agloe as a secret "copyright trap". This means it was a fake place put on a map to catch anyone who copied their work.
Surprisingly, Agloe later became a real place for a short time. It is also famous for appearing in the popular book Paper Towns by John Green and its film adaptation.
Contents
History of Agloe
How Agloe Was Invented
In the 1930s, two mapmakers, Otto G. Lindberg and Ernest Alpers, created Agloe. They worked for a company called General Drafting. They placed this fake hamlet at a dirt road intersection in the Catskill Mountains. This spot was near NY 206 and Morton Hill Road, north of Roscoe, New York.
The name "Agloe" was actually an anagram of their initials (O.G.L.E.A.). They designed Agloe as a "copyright trap." This was a clever way to find out if other map companies were copying their maps without permission. If Agloe appeared on another map, they would know it was a copy.
When a Fake Place Became Real
In the 1950s, something unexpected happened. A general store was built right at the intersection where Agloe was marked on the maps. Because the name "Agloe" was on the Esso maps (which General Drafting made), the store was named the Agloe General Store.
Later, another map company, Rand McNally, also showed Agloe on their map. Esso thought Rand McNally had copied their map. But Rand McNally argued that they got the name from the Delaware County government. They said Agloe was now a real place because a store had been built there and named after it. So, the "trap" actually made the fake place real!
Agloe Today
Eventually, the Agloe General Store closed down. Agloe continued to appear on maps until the 1990s. It even showed up briefly on Google Maps. On February 25, 2014, the United States Geological Survey added "Agloe (Not Official)" to their database of geographic names.
Agloe in Paper Towns
Agloe is a key part of the novel Paper Towns by John Green and its film adaptation. In the story, one of the main characters, Margo Roth Spiegelman, runs away from home. She leaves clues for her friend Quentin Jacobsen to find her.
Quentin discovers that Margo is hiding in Agloe. He learns that "paper towns" are places that only exist on maps, often as copyright traps. The book's title, Paper Towns, comes from Margo's journey to discover several of these unique places.
See also
In Spanish: Agloe para niños
