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Saratoga County

The Button Fire Engine Company of Waterford: Some History

October 13, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Side-Stroke Fire Engine, 1872, L Button & Sons, Waterford NY - Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield HistoryFor much of the 19th and 20th centuries, New York State was a leader in fire engine and apparatus manufacturing. One of the main players in that industry was Lysander Button of Waterford, NY.

Starting around 1831, Button worked his way up the ladder from mechanic turned inventor to owner of the firm that would eventually take his name, the Button Fire Engine Company. [Read more…] about The Button Fire Engine Company of Waterford: Some History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: Fires, Industrial History, Saratoga County, Schoharie Crossing SHS, Waterford, Waterford Historical Museum

Small Plane Crashes Into Great Sacanadga Lake

October 11, 2022 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

NYSP logoAccording to a press release issued by New York State Police, on Sunday, October 9th, at about 11:54 am, State Police responded to a reported accident involving a small single engine plane on Great Sacandaga Lake in the area of 328 Houseman Street in Northampton, Fulton County. [Read more…] about Small Plane Crashes Into Great Sacanadga Lake

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Recreation Tagged With: Aviation History, Great Sacandaga Lake, Northampton, Saratoga County, Search and Rescue, State Police

The Creation of the Saratoga Battlefield Park: A Short History

October 9, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Saratoga Battlefield and Hudson RiverSaturday, October 8th, 1927, was a great day for a burglar in Ballston Spa, NY. The Saratogian newspaper announced that “Ballston Spa closed down shop this noon and went to the Saratoga Battlefield celebration. Scores of Ballstonians, many of them taking part in the pageant, went to the historic battlefield this morning, but the great exodus did not take place until early this afternoon. Stores, mills, offices and shops closed at noon and throughout the forenoon there was a hustle and bustle of people getting ready to go to the celebration.” [Read more…] about The Creation of the Saratoga Battlefield Park: A Short History

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Al Smith, American Revolution, Battle of Saratoga, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mechanicville, Military History, National Park Service, Public History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Saratoga National Historical Park, Schuylerville

Saratoga Historic Preservation Award Winners Recognized

October 7, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Stone Abbey at 125 Circular Street by Gail SteinEach year in September the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation recognizes those who have preserved the architectural heritage of Saratoga Springs.

Award recipients were recently honored during the Foundation’s Annual Meeting at Music Hall at City Hall, 474 Broadway. Categories for this year’s awards included Adaptive Reuse, Rehabilitation Initiative, Rehabilitation, Restoration, Landscape Initiative, New Contextual Design, Porch Restoration, and Window Initiative. [Read more…] about Saratoga Historic Preservation Award Winners Recognized

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Architecture, Historic Preservation, NYRA, Saratoga County, Saratoga Race Course, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation

John Taylor: New York’s ‘Only’ Speaker of the House

October 5, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

John Taylor 1784-1854What do you suppose history will say about politicians of current times? Hindsight is often different from what was presumed by contemporaries. But for John Taylor, who became New York’s first Speaker of the House of Representatives, that does not seem to be true. He was always seen as a man of high standards, even if those high standards irked some people in his own political party. [Read more…] about John Taylor: New York’s ‘Only’ Speaker of the House

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Ballston Spa, Charlton, Political History, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Early Boy Scout History & Camp Saratoga

October 4, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Camp Saratoga, 1960 retreatCamping has been the backbone of the Boy Scout program since its inception. The national Boy Scouts of America kick-started its organization with a two-week summer camp at the YMCA’s Silver Bay facility on Lake George in August 1910.

BSA commissioned its first scoutmaster – S.F. Lester of Troy, NY – September  10th, 1910. Lester brought his troop to summer camp at the Vermont YMCA camp in 1911. [Read more…] about Early Boy Scout History & Camp Saratoga

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, Boy Scouts, Gansevoort, Lake George, Rensselaer County, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Saratoga County Public History Award Nominations Sought

October 4, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Saratoga County History Center in Ballston SpaThe Saratoga County History Center has announced they are seeking nominations for their second Saratoga County Public History Award.

In 2021, the Saratoga County History Center established an annual award to recognize and celebrate the oft-unnoticed, yet deeply important, work done by public historians, writers, teachers, and museum practitioners.  [Read more…] about Saratoga County Public History Award Nominations Sought

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center

Joe Gingras: A Major League Baseball Career Thwarted By War

October 2, 2022 by Dave Waite 4 Comments

Joe Gingras Signs with Kansas CityIn 1870 Francois Dieudonné Gingras left his native Canada for Manhattan where he met and married Mary Roohan. By 1896, now with three children and another on the way, this couple had settled in Saratoga Springs where they opened a grocery store.

Their oldest son, Frank, was soon brought into the family business and the store was renamed, F. D. Gingras & Son. Their youngest son, whom they had named Joseph Elzead John Gingras, was looking to pursue a far different life: baseball. [Read more…] about Joe Gingras: A Major League Baseball Career Thwarted By War

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Baseball, Binghamton, Broome County, Chemung County, Elmira, New York City, Pennsylvania, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs, Sports History, World War One

Moreau Lake State Park Getting Accessible Trail System

October 2, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

parks and trails nyMoreau Lake State Park has announced a new fully accessible trail system on is in the works.

The project will include a trailhead kiosk and interpretive signs geared towards neurodivergent visitors and those with disabilities. The trail will lead to an accessible platform and fishing pier that has been completed as an Eagle Scout project. [Read more…] about Moreau Lake State Park Getting Accessible Trail System

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, Recreation Tagged With: Moreau, Moreau Lake State Park, Parks and Trails NY, Saratoga County, Universal Access

Carleton’s Raid in 1780 Devastated Saratoga, Warren, and Washington Counties

September 20, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Map of Carleton's RaidThe 1780 Carleton Raid devastated the present-day New York State counties of Saratoga, Warren, and Washington. It was known as the “Great Burning” because many of the structures along the “Old Military Road” south of Fort George at the southern end of Lake George were destroyed.

British Maj. Christopher Carleton’s raid was part of a larger strategy that played out across upstate New York and Vermont. Together with Carleton’s raiders, Sir John Johnson swept across the Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, Col. John Munro attacked Ballston Spa, and Lt. Richard Houghton raided Royalton, Vermont during the autumn of 1780. [Read more…] about Carleton’s Raid in 1780 Devastated Saratoga, Warren, and Washington Counties

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: American Revolution, carleton's raid, Essex County, Fort Amherst, Fort Ann, Fort George, Fort Ticonderoga, Glens Falls, Kingsbury, Lake George, Military History, Queensbury, Saratoga County, Schuylerville, Warren County, Washington County

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