In Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, the Brookside Museum’s 2021 Artisan Market is set for November 27th through December 24th. Like its predecessors, the twenty-first installment of the market will feature only handcrafted products created by local artisans. [Read more…] about Artisan Market Returning To Ballston Spa
Brookside Museum
Ballston Spa’s Abandoned 1814 Factory Awaits Rediscovery
In 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
Saratoga County Mills Using Manila Hemp Were Home To ‘The Paper Bag King’
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’
Saratoga Museum Has New Name, New Mission
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
The Ballston Terminal Railroad: A Short History
The 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
The Death of Jane McCrea: Fact and Fiction
What 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
Ulysses S. Grant’s Final Battles at Mt McGregor
On 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
Abe Best: Contentious Clifton Park Resident
Abraham (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
Saratoga’s Other Grand Hotel, The Clarendon
The 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