Pompey stone

The Pompey stone was a stone that was carved as a hoax near Pompey, New York, circa 1820. Upon its discovery that year, the stone was quickly accepted as authentic, dated to circa 1520, and extensively analyzed by historians of the day for its significance as an early record of European presence in the region. It was commonly thought to have marked the grave of a Spaniard, who was proposed to have been an explorer, missionary, or captive of a Native American tribe.

The hoax was generally accepted as authentic for the next seventy years, and after being displayed for a year in Manlius it was moved to Albany, first in the State Museum of the Albany Institute and after 1872 in the New York State Museum of Natural History. In 1894 the antiquarian William M. Beauchamp conducted research casting doubt upon the stone's age and suggesting it was a hoax. Later that year the engineer John Edson Sweet publicly admitted that his relatives had carved the stone in the 19th century. The stone has since remained on display as an example of a hoax and as of 2018 was held by the Museum of the Pompey Historical Society.