After the Marvin House at the northeast corner of Division Street and Broadway in Saratoga Springs was destroyed by fire in 1865, it was quickly rebuilt as the city’s largest hotel. In the early 1880s it was renamed The Arlington Hotel briefly before being purchased by William W. Worden in 1885. He renamed it The Worden Hotel at the request of guests who honored him with a dinner celebrating his purchase. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Worden Hotel: A Short History
Saratoga Springs
Barbara Linell Glaser Named ‘Conservationist of the Year’
The Adirondack Council will present its Conservationist of the Year Award to Barbara Linell Glaser, EdD, during the organization’s Forever Wild Day celebration on July 9th at Great Camp Sagamore, near the Adirondack hamlet of Raquette Lake. [Read more…] about Barbara Linell Glaser Named ‘Conservationist of the Year’
A Historic Preservation Success Story in Saratoga
Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation has purchased the building located at 65 Phila Street in Saratoga, with plans to restore and preserve the property. [Read more…] about A Historic Preservation Success Story in Saratoga
The 1921 Trail of Saratoga’s District Attorney That Turned Into A Riot
On May 11th, 1921, Saratoga County District Attorney Charles Andrus stood before Justice Henry Borst at the courthouse in Ballston Spa for the start of a criminal trial.
It must have been a strange feeling that day for Andrus because unlike countless other times before the court, this time the District Attorney was seated at the defendant’s table. He had been indicted on charges of neglect of duty, bribery, and corruption. His trial would be extraordinary on many levels. [Read more…] about The 1921 Trail of Saratoga’s District Attorney That Turned Into A Riot
How Ballston Spa Became the Seat of Saratoga County
In 1791, the newly formed Saratoga County Board of Supervisors met for the first time at Mead’s Tavern in Stillwater, in the eastern part of the county. It was common for elected officials or committees to meet at a public house before building a town hall.
Within the next few years, when it was decided that a courthouse building and jail should be erected, the Town of Ballston was chosen for it’s central location.
Captain Edward A. Watrous donated a site on his farm for the courthouse on Middeline Road in Ballston and construction began in 1795. Court was first held there the next spring. A small hamlet grew, known as “Courthouse Hill,” it was complete with taverns, hotels and law offices. The county seat seemed to be firmly cemented at that location, but that changed in 1816. [Read more…] about How Ballston Spa Became the Seat of Saratoga County
Advocates Hope To Save Two Historic Saratoga Springs Buildings
Every February the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation holds their Heart Bomb Campaign to raise awareness about important places and the impact of preservation in Saratoga Springs. [Read more…] about Advocates Hope To Save Two Historic Saratoga Springs Buildings
A Professional Engineer’s View of Historic Preservation
This week on The Historians Podcast, professional engineer Darren Tracy of Saratoga Springs discusses historic preservation and describes a project he undertook restoring a “tiny house” in Glens Falls, New York. [Read more…] about A Professional Engineer’s View of Historic Preservation
Life and Legacies of Spencer Trask
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
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
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