History, Natural History & the Arts
Theodore Roosevelt spent a bit of time in Saratoga County, particularly in the years leading up to and including his time as Governor of New York (1899-1900).
TR would often visit a friend, Guy Baker, who lived in Ballston. He hunted on Baker’s Hawkwood estate and sometimes brought members of his family for short visits with the Bakers. [Read more…] about Ballston’s Hawkwood Estate: Teddy Roosevelt, Guy Baker & The Countess
Spencer Trask awoke on the morning of December 31st, 1909 in the last compartment of the last sleeper car on the Montreal Express as it neared New York City on the D&H Railroad line.
Getting dressed, his thoughts may have turned to the three passions that dominated his 65 years. He did not know then that it would be the final day of his eventful life. [Read more…] about Life and Legacies of Spencer Trask
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
On Christmas morning, December 25th, 1945, the residents of Saratoga County were startled by a loud noise. It was not the clatter of Santa’s reindeer on the roof but instead America’s race to the Moon had begun. [Read more…] about Saratoga County’s Cold War Rocket Test Facility
This week on The Historians Podcast, Chris Carola, a veteran Associated Press reporter, tells the story of Jack Wilpers, who grew up in Saratoga Springs, and the key role Wilpers played in the capture of former Japanese prime minister Hideki Tojo in 1945. Carola is writing a book on the subject. [Read more…] about Saratoga Soldier Played Key Role in Tojo’s Capture
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
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
On December 1st, 1812 , Gideon Putnam, considered one of the founders of Saratoga Springs, died.
Gideon and his wife Doanda Putnam were among the community’s most influential couples. Gideon was originally from Sutton Massachusetts, while Doanda was from Connecticut. Shortly after their marriage in 1787, the two moved to Vermont and then on to the Saratoga Lake area. In 1789 they moved to what is now Saratoga Springs. [Read more…] about Marking The Death of Saratoga’s Gideon Putnam
Kathryn 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
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