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Brookside Museum

Ballston Spa’s Abandoned 1814 Factory Awaits Rediscovery

November 26, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Ballston Spa in 1815In November, 1813, nine men met in the city of New York to sign an agreement, handwritten by Nicholas Low, to form the Ballston Spa Company for the manufacture of cotton, wool and linen fabrics. They pledged an initial capital of $100,000 in shares of $100 each. A month later the Company announced it would “extend the capital stock” to $800,000, a staggering sum for those days.

Low was a businessman and friend of the rich and powerful of the nation. One was his late colleague Alexander Hamilton. During the 1790s, Low helped midwife the birth of the village of Ballston Spa, in Saratoga County.  He owned most of the land upon which it was laid out and spent a fortune developing the village, including the famous Sans Souci Hotel. [Read more…] about Ballston Spa’s Abandoned 1814 Factory Awaits Rediscovery

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Brookside Museum, Industrial History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, War of 1812

Saratoga County Mills Using Manila Hemp Were Home To ‘The Paper Bag King’

September 27, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Union Mill (left), West Bag Factory and George West Office Building from Prospect Street in 2008 (courtesy Wikipedia User Daniel Case)One of the most prosperous residents in the history of Ballston Spa, NY, was a “Paper Bag King” who once laid claim to the largest manila paper bag operation in the world, also located in Saratoga County.

George West, was born in the English village of Kentisbeare in 1822. He was the sixth of nine children, and as soon as he was old enough West followed in his father’s footsteps and began working at a local paper mill. [Read more…] about Saratoga County Mills Using Manila Hemp Were Home To ‘The Paper Bag King’

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Brookside Museum, Industrial History, Labor History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Saratoga Museum Has New Name, New Mission

September 8, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Saratoga County Historical Society at Brookside Museum has reinvented itself as the Saratoga County History Center.

It’s the intention of the Saratoga County History Roundtable to work closely with the History Center as the new vision takes shape in coming months. [Read more…] about Saratoga Museum Has New Name, New Mission

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Brookside Museum, Saratoga, Saratoga County, saratoga county historical society, Saratoga County History Center

The Ballston Terminal Railroad: A Short History

August 11, 2020 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

The A.N. Chandler car of the Ballston Terminal RailroadThe Ballston Terminal Railroad in Saratoga County, NY, opened on August 6, 1898.

At 4:05 pm, the George West made its inaugural run from the Village of Ballston Spa to the Pioneer Mill in West Milton. This was a six mile trip. On the return trip to Ballston Spa, the trolley stopped at the Power House in Factory Village to allow the company to review the machinery. Then everyone boarded again to arrive back at Middlebrook Avenue at 5:10 pm. The total round trip took one hour and five minutes. [Read more…] about The Ballston Terminal Railroad: A Short History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Brookside Museum, Labor History, railroads, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable

The Death of Jane McCrea: Fact and Fiction

August 2, 2020 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

Death of Jane McCrea by Jules TurcasWhat could be more symbolic of British imperial domination, immorality, and unfettered disrespect for human life than the murder of Jane McCrea at the hands of British-allied Indians near Fort Edward, NY, on July 26, 1777?

Word spread fast, and McCrea’s slaying excited legion numbers of patriotic American militia to seek righteous revenge against the sinister “savages” and General John Burgoyne. Burgoyne could later reflect upon this sad event as the beginning of the end of his sinister, failed military expedition.

At least, this is what authors, enthusiasts, and yes — even historians — have led us to believe for centuries. [Read more…] about The Death of Jane McCrea: Fact and Fiction

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: AmRev, Brookside Museum, Fort Ticonderoga, Military History, Native American History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Ulysses S. Grant’s Final Battles at Mt McGregor

July 24, 2020 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

Last Photograph of Ulysses Grant in his favorite chairOn July 23, 1885, at 8:08 am, Ulysses S. Grant lost his final battle, dying from cancer of the throat and tongue. He died on Mt. McGregor in Saratoga County, in Drexel’s Cottage (now known as Grant Cottage) where Grant and his family spent the last 5½ weeks.

Grant’s doctors felt it was best he leave New York City for the summer to get away from the oppressive heat and pollution of the city and find a place with cool clean air due to his illness. [Read more…] about Ulysses S. Grant’s Final Battles at Mt McGregor

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Brookside Museum, Mark Twain, Military History, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Ulysses S Grant

Abe Best: Contentious Clifton Park Resident

July 5, 2020 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Burial Vault of Abraham and Harriet BestAbraham (1789-1871) and Harriet Best moved from Claverack, Columbia County, NY to Vischer Ferry in the Town of Clifton Park (Saratoga County) in 1815 and built a fine brick federal style home that still stands on Vischer Ferry Road. My late wife Martha and I purchased this home in 1987 and so I live in the “Best House.”

Abraham had red hair and a temperament to match. He was a farmer who seems to have been very opinionated, and sometimes argumentative. He was a staunch member of the Amity Reformed Church, and in 1835 he petitioned the consistory in a suit against a neighboring landowner, John Clute, who he accused of wrongfully removing a fence from his property. [Read more…] about Abe Best: Contentious Clifton Park Resident

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Brookside Museum, Clifton Park, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Saratoga’s Other Grand Hotel, The Clarendon

June 16, 2020 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

The Clarendon HotelThe United States Hotel in Saratoga Springs, built in 1824 on the southwest corner of Broadway and Division Street, grew over the years to have more than 500 rooms. On Sunday, June 18, 1865, the guests were preparing to take carriage rides out to Saratoga Lake, a favorite diversion of the time, when a fire broke out. The flames spread quickly, devouring the hotel in a spectacular blaze.  A year later the community’s other massive hotel, Congress Hall was also destroyed by fire. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Other Grand Hotel, The Clarendon

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Recreation Tagged With: Architecture, Brookside Museum, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Saratoga Springs

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