New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Saratoga County

Kathryn Starbuck: Saratoga Suffragist, Attorney, and Politician

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Kathryn Helene StarbuckKathryn Helene Starbuck was born in Saratoga Springs in 1887, only a few years after her father, Edgar Starbuck, had moved to town and purchased a department store on Broadway. Kathryn was a bright young girl and after graduating from Saratoga Springs High School went on to earn a degree from Vassar College in 1911.

In 1914, she became one of the first female graduates of Albany Law School and was admitted to the New York State Bar Association the following year. [Read more…] about Kathryn Starbuck: Saratoga Suffragist, Attorney, and Politician

Ballston Spa’s Abandoned 1814 Factory Awaits Rediscovery

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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

The 1869 Shooting of Thomas Brown in Corinth

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Brown Woolen Mill as seen from Palmer Falls circa 1865A fatal mistake on Sunday evening, November 7th, 1869 resulted in the death of Thomas Brown, agent and superintendent of the Palmer Falls Water Power Company and Woolen Factory in Corinth.

Brown, a Scottish immigrant, had come to the area from Niagara Falls as a speculator with plans to improve the water flow on the Hudson River at Palmer Falls. He hoped to sell or lease rights to the abundant waterpower with property along the Hudson to manufacturers. A canal was added to provide hydropower to an edge tool factory operated by Brown in 1860. [Read more…] about The 1869 Shooting of Thomas Brown in Corinth

Stewart’s Shops History: Eisenhower’s Ice Cream Cake

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Ike Cuts a 150-Lb Ice Cream CakeElection week seems like an appropriate time to share this Presidential Story.

On June 22, 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the Vermont State Dairy Festival in Rutland. The Festival held a barbecue that day in the President’s honor. When it was over, they presented the President and his Presidential Party with a 150-pound ice cream cake. The cake represented a day’s work for twenty cows. [Read more…] about Stewart’s Shops History: Eisenhower’s Ice Cream Cake

Calvin Preston: A Survivor of Two Calamities

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Calvin W. PrestonOn the sunny morning of October 21, 1861 – to cheers from tens of thousands of citizens, with bands playing and the roar of cannons – Calvin W. Preston, Galway farmboy boarded a towboat-drawn barge at the Albany, NY docks with other soldiers of the Ellsworth Avengers regiment for the beginning of a dangerous and arduous journey that would lead to perhaps the most important battle of the Civil War: Gettysburg. [Read more…] about Calvin Preston: A Survivor of Two Calamities

Plans Afoot For Historic Victory Mills Near Saratoga Battlefield

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Private developers are planning for the clean-up and reuse of the historic Victory Mills complex located on Fish Creek in the Village of Victory, Saratoga County.

Developers are working to turn the 1918 cotton mill into 186 apartments and a brewpub at a cost of about $60 million. [Read more…] about Plans Afoot For Historic Victory Mills Near Saratoga Battlefield

20th Century’s Witness: Elmer Droms of Saratoga County

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Elmer Droms with his famous pumpkins ca 1998Long time Clifton Park (Saratoga County) resident Elmer Droms died on Friday, October 27, 2000 at age 102. He had been an occupant of Maplewood Manor Nursing Home in Ballston Spa since spring.

Prior to that time, he occupied a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse on Droms Road, near Grooms Corners in Clifton Park, his home for 98 years. [Read more…] about 20th Century’s Witness: Elmer Droms of Saratoga County

War on the Middleline: Munro’s Raid On Saratoga County in 1780

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Historical Marker on Middleline RoadLife 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. Much like our response to Pearl Harbor or September 11, October 16, 1780 was a day the people along Middleline Road in the Town of Ballston would never forget. [Read more…] about War on the Middleline: Munro’s Raid On Saratoga County in 1780

The Burning of Jones Mill During Battles of Saratoga

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British Captain Alexander Fraziers Select Marksmen campWhen most people think about the Battles of Saratoga, they think of those at Freeman’s Farm (Sept. 19) and Bemus Heights (Oct. 7). Also well known is the siege period in the modern Schuylerville area from October 10th to the 17th.

There were many combat actions however, both great and small, that get less notice. One small skirmish, occurred at Jones Mill, near Grangerville in the town of Saratoga on October 2, 1777. [Read more…] about The Burning of Jones Mill During Battles of Saratoga

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

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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’