History, Natural History & the Arts
This summer Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa, NY, opened an exhibit: “Century of Ice Cream! The Dake Family and Stewart’s.”
One might wonder why this successful business, with almost 350 convenience stores is named “Stewart’s” and not “Dake’s.”
Actually, the original founder of Stewart’s had a strong reputation for high-quality dairy products, long before the Dake family purchased the business. [Read more…] about Donald Stewart: The Man Who Founded The First Stewart’s Shop
Ask someone the name of a three-ring circus and their response would likely be Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey, or a combination of the two. Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows was established in 1884 and P.T. Barnum’s Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome had opened in 1871. Predating both was the biggest, most successful, though also the least known of the traveling shows, Adam Forepaugh’s Great All-Feature Show and Wild West Combined, established in 1863. [Read more…] about Forepaugh’s Wild West Show & Circus Enthralled Upstate NY
A century ago, Corinth, in Saratoga County, was home to some of the top Rhode Island Red chickens in the state. Backyard hens have become popular in recent years but poultry breeding was a big business in the earlier 1900s. [Read more…] about Adirondack Poultry Yards: King of the Rhode Island Reds
The saga of thoroughbred racing at Saratoga has largely been told by and about the horse owners, tycoons, the rich and famous of their era.
The people who actually care for the horses, the backstretch (barn area) workers, grooms and hot walkers often receive little attention. [Read more…] about The Saratoga Racecourse Backstretch Backstory
The following 
letter was original published in the trade magazine American Stationer on May 1st, 1890.
To the Editor of The Stationer
As the heated term of the year draws near I presume that any number of stationer clerks [stationary store clerks] are asking themselves as to how, when and where they shall spend their vacations. I want to give them a bit of advice regarding a summer outing. [Read more…] about 1890 Hikers: Albany to Lake George and Back
Saratoga has always been a gambling town. Even before the famous racetrack was built, Saratoga was full of gambling dens.
Many of the early gambling places were run by men who were considered “gentlemen gamblers.” They ran relatively clean games and generally avoided violence or other forms of vice. They were professional gamblers.
Later, with gambling well entrenched and Saratoga’s location along the notorious bootleg trail from Canada during prohibition, Saratoga attracted nationally known gangsters. [Read more…] about Gamblers and Gangsters of Saratoga
The Saratoga County History Roundtable will host its first program of the year at the Saratoga County History Center at Brookside Museum, 6 Charlton Street, Ballston Spa, on Wednesday, August 18. The program begins at 6:00 PM with a tour of the four new exhibits in the museum. Docents will be available to share information on the exhibits and the History Center. Visitors will be able to enjoy the new gardens and refreshments on the lawn.
At 7:15 PM author and retired police chief Greg Veitch will tell stories of Saratoga Springs nefarious past from his book A Ganster’s Paradise (Shires Press, 2019). [Read more…] about A Gangster’s Paradise: Saratoga Springs History Talk
The Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World (IBPOEW) has been active in Saratoga Springs for 96 years. Known as the “Black Elks” among its membership, the Frederick Allen Lodge No. 609 was chartered August 5, 1925.
The Lodge was named in honor of Frederick Joseph Allen who was one of the first Redcaps employed at Union Station in Albany. Mr. Allen worked there for many years, and later became Custodian of Saratoga Springs City Hall. The Mary A. Carter Temple No. 362, woman’s auxiliary was chartered September 17th, 1925. [Read more…] about The Saratoga Black Elks: A Short History
Nothing is quite as exciting as being part of the crowd at a Super Bowl or at the Olympic Games. That type of excitement must have been experienced by Saratoga Lake dwellers in July, 1874 when the “Great Intercollegiate Regatta” came to our community.
Nine colleges – Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Wesleyan, Dartmouth, Williams, Cornell, Trinity and Princeton all entered six man shells. While each school brought their own fans to the area, most interest (especially betting interest) centered on the fierce Harvard – Yale rivalry. In a race five years earlier, Yale had beaten the boys from Harvard but were charged with unsportsmanlike conduct and disqualified. Bad blood existed between these two prestigious members of the Ivy League. [Read more…] about The Great Intercollegiate Regatta of 1874
One Hundred and Fifty Years ago, on July 15th, 1871, a news article appeared in the Saturday edition of the Ballston [Saratoga County] Journal, “Wm Brown and John Parent are preparing the foundations for two fine houses on Bath Street, opposite the Washington Spring.”
Brown’s house would not be the typical gable-roofed residence, But a fashionable French-Gothic Mansard. The post-civil war period was known for unabashed ostentation. Suppliers, manufacturers, and financiers had profited greatly from the government’s need to equip and maintain its armed forces. There was so many nouveau riche showing off their wealth, it was fashionable to do so. [Read more…] about Ballston Spa’s Éclair House: Some History