New York State Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) responded to several recent wildlife rescues in the Hudson Valley, including a Saratoga County turkey apparently hit by a vehicle; and in Dutchess County, eleven ducklings stuck in a storm drain and an orphaned gosling. [Read more…] about Recent Wildlife Rescues: A Turkey, A Gosling, and 11 Ducklings
Milton
Early Saratoga County Inventors & The Patent Office Fire
The United States Patent Commission was created on April 10, 1790, to establish a formal method for submitting and indexing patents. Its first three members were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph.
As only three people made up the early patent office, the first applications were not closely examined. An inventor simply submitted a written description, a working model, and a $30 fee (equivalent to about $1,000 today). [Read more…] about Early Saratoga County Inventors & The Patent Office Fire
Rowland’s Hollow: A Lost Crossroads in Saratoga County
Saratoga County, NY, has seen nine generations come and go in the almost 235 years since it was carved out from Albany County in 1791. Settlers moved in, established farms, mills, and small communities. Several of these communities have become villages, cities and suburban towns.
Others have remained hamlets and become forgotten crossroads – still vibrant communities with a rich history of memories. Still others have disappeared altogether, no longer visible or remembered. [Read more…] about Rowland’s Hollow: A Lost Crossroads in Saratoga County
The Ballston Raid of 1780: A New Documentary
The Ballston Raid of 1780 was one of three coordinated raids launched primarily out of Canada in late September 1780 which struck upstate New York targets in Albany, Tryon, and Charlotte counties, including present-day Saratoga County, NY.
Ballston resident William Fraser was Captain of a group of 34 Loyalists known as Fraser’s Rangers. They were part of a 200-man force commanded by Captain John Munro of the King’s Royal Regiment. [Read more…] about The Ballston Raid of 1780: A New Documentary
Town of Milton Honoring Revolutionary War Veterans
On August 31st, 2024, at 11 am the Town of Milton‘s 250th Revolutionary War Committee will hold a ceremony to commemorate a sign honoring veterans of the Revolutionary War at North Milton Cemetery located on the north side of Route 29, on the east corner of North Milton Road. [Read more…] about Town of Milton Honoring Revolutionary War Veterans
When Old Money and New Collided in Saratoga Springs
On the morning of August 14, 1909, Rhoda Thompson of Rose Hill Farm in Milton instructed her driver, Sylvester, to harness the horses so that she might bring her house guest, a Mr. Wilder, to the Saratoga Springs train station in order to catch the 4 pm train to New York City. [Read more…] about When Old Money and New Collided in Saratoga Springs
The Milton Jog: A Saratoga County Boundary Dispute
Is it a mistake when everyone accepts the error?
In 1829, in an effort to bring certainty to town boundaries, the state legislature enacted boundary descriptions of all New York State’s towns. The Saratoga County town of Milton’s east line was defined “by the east line of the fourteenth allotment of the Kayaderosseras patent and the same continued to the north line of the sixteenth allotment.” Milton’s eastern boundary was a straight line, unchanged since the town of Greenfield was cut out of it in 1793. [Read more…] about The Milton Jog: A Saratoga County Boundary Dispute
The 115th New York: The Iron Hearted Regiment During The Civil War
During the Civil War, Colonel Simeon Sammons received authority to recruit a regiment in the counties of Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, and Saratoga, with headquarters at Fonda. On August 26, 1862, it mustered into the service of the United States for three years as the 115th New York Infantry Regiment, known as the “Iron-Hearted Regiment.” [Read more…] about The 115th New York: The Iron Hearted Regiment During The Civil War
Saratoga County Granges: The Patrons of Husbandry
The Grange, formally known as “The Patrons of Husbandry,” was introduced to Saratoga County in 1890, twenty-three years after the agricultural organization’s founding and twenty-two years after the nation’s first local chapter was established in Fredonia, Chautauqua County, NY. In the 1880s and into 1890, New York State Grange sent organizers in the field to build up membership. [Read more…] about Saratoga County Granges: The Patrons of Husbandry
George West: Saratoga County’s Paper Bag King
“The Paper Bag King” developed his paper-making skills as an apprentice in England and his business acumen as a 19th century entrepreneur in Saratoga County. George West earned the nickname from being on the cutting edge of offering flour companies a choice between cotton and paper sacks, the latter of which was cheaper and, hence, became more common.
West’s mill at Rock City Falls in the town of Milton was among the first in the United State to make bags from paper. It was one of about a dozen 19th century paper mills in Saratoga County that West would come to own. [Read more…] about George West: Saratoga County’s Paper Bag King
361 Votes: Saratoga County’s 1898 Leadership Battle
The recent battle for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives left many astounded that it took so many votes to reach a conclusion. However, Saratoga County once went through a situation that makes the House of Representatives battle look like very small potatoes. [Read more…] about 361 Votes: Saratoga County’s 1898 Leadership Battle
A Special Christmas At Saratoga County’s Poorhouse
The end of 1873 ushered in change at the Saratoga County Poorhouse in the form of a brand-new building, along with a novelty the residents had never before enjoyed – a Christmas tree. [Read more…] about A Special Christmas At Saratoga County’s Poorhouse
Simeon DeWitt: America’s Surveyor General
Tjerck Claeszen DeWitt immigrated to New Amsterdam (now New York City) from Grootholt in Zunterlant in 1656. Grootholt means Great Wood and Zunterland was probably located on the southern border of East Friesland, a German territory on the North Sea only ten miles from the most northerly province of the Netherlands.
By 1657, Tjerck DeWitt married Barber (Barbara) Andrieszen (also Andriessen) in the New Amsterdam Dutch Church and moved to Beverwyck (now Albany). While in Beverwyck, he purchased a house. At this time Albany contained 342 houses and about 1,000 residents, about 600 of whom were members of the Dutch Church. [Read more…] about Simeon DeWitt: America’s Surveyor General
Camp Boyhaven Property Added To Middle Grove State Forest
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the addition of 219 acres of land formally belonging to Camp Boyhaven to the Middle Grove State Forest in the town of Milton, Saratoga County.
Camp Boyhaven was established in 1924 as one of the longest operating Boy Scout camps in New York State, serving scouts from Schenectady County and the greater Capital District. [Read more…] about Camp Boyhaven Property Added To Middle Grove State Forest
The Disappearance of Civil War Veteran Dudley Goodwin
One hundred years ago a long-standing citizen of Ballston Spa went missing.
Usually known as Dudley Goodwin, his name was sometimes given as M. Dudley Goodwin (which is what appears on his tombstone). According to information on Find-A-Grave, his first name was Madison. He was born in Fulton County, on the second day of April, 1844. A sister was also born in Fulton County, about 1841, but Dudley’s other siblings were born in Saratoga County. [Read more…] about The Disappearance of Civil War Veteran Dudley Goodwin
A Saratoga County Cemetery Mystery
Along Plummer Road in the town of Milton in Saratoga County sits the Powell-Wiswall Cemetery, a peaceful rural cemetery where local residents have been laid to rest since the early 1800s.
Standing like a sentinel over it all is a large statue of Christ. On two sides are engraved the names Ella Frances Wood-Mann and her husband Enos Rogers Mann. This monument sits adjacent to Wood family plots, where over the years Ella’s parents and other family members have been laid to rest. [Read more…] about A Saratoga County Cemetery Mystery
Murder Trials Of Note In 19th Century Saratoga County
The following record of nineteenth century murder trials in Saratoga County was provided by a Mechanicville correspondent to the Troy Daily Times in 1891:
There have been many noted murder trials in Saratoga county since the first court was held in the town of Stillwater May 10, 1791 – 100 years ago. The court now in session at Ballston Spa meets about five miles from where the first court was held, at the residence of Samuel Clark, near East Line, Judge John Thompson of Stillwater [then] presiding, he having received the appointment as the first judge of Saratoga county from Governor Clinton. [Read more…] about Murder Trials Of Note In 19th Century Saratoga County
The Life and Death of a Saratoga County Patriot
The last week of the year 1843 was a difficult time for Ballston farmer Uriah Gregory. On December 29th Uriah lost his beloved wife, Tamer, his partner of more than sixty-five years, with whom he shared a life in the earliest days of the new nation. [Read more…] about The Life and Death of a Saratoga County Patriot
A Tannery Fire Transformed Kaydeross Valley Communities
Today the crossing of Middle Line Road and Geyser Road in Saratoga County contains a few houses and a small parking lot to access the Kayaderosseras Creek. But in the mid-1800s, it was the site of a thriving hamlet of several hundred inhabitants called Milton Center.
Locally renowned Revolutionary War Lt. Colonel James Gordon became an early entrepreneur after the war. He built one of Milton’s earliest gristmills on the creek by 1800 as well as other small mills to the south in the Town of Ballston. [Read more…] about A Tannery Fire Transformed Kaydeross Valley Communities
The 1780 Raid on Ballston & Saratoga County
Life as they knew it changed overnight. For years there had been fear, causing hardships day-by-day, but after this event their lives would never be the same. October 16, 1780 was a day the people along Middleline Road in the Town of Ballston, in what is now Saratoga County, would never forget. [Read more…] about The 1780 Raid on Ballston & Saratoga County