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
Saratoga Springs
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
Marking The Death of Saratoga’s Gideon Putnam
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
The New York Man Involved in the Capture of Tojo
Late on the afternoon of September 11th, 1945, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jack Wilpers, a 25-year-old bookie’s son from Saratoga Springs, busted into the home of one of the United States’ most hated living persons. What he did over the next couple of hours would change history. [Read more…] about The New York Man Involved in the Capture of Tojo
The Life and Death of Saratoga’s Statue to the 77th Regiment
During the American Civil War – which, despite attempts to argue otherwise, was in effect America’s crusade against slavery – several hundred thousand citizens from New York State enlisted in the United States Army.
Many from Saratoga County (and also some from Essex and Fulton Counties) joined the 77th Regiment, its unit number chosen to recall the 1777 Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution. It was known as the “Bemis Heights Regiment,” the place so evocative of the “turning point” of the War of Independence. [Read more…] about The Life and Death of Saratoga’s Statue to the 77th Regiment
Saratoga’s Other Grand Hotel, The Clarendon
The United States Hotel in Saratoga Springs, built in 1824 on the southwest corner of Broadway and Division Street, grew over the years to have more than 500 rooms. On Sunday, June 18, 1865, the guests were preparing to take carriage rides out to Saratoga Lake, a favorite diversion of the time, when a fire broke out. The flames spread quickly, devouring the hotel in a spectacular blaze. A year later the community’s other massive hotel, Congress Hall was also destroyed by fire. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Other Grand Hotel, The Clarendon
Saratoga Preservation Awards Nominations Sought
Each May at the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation Annual Meeting, the Foundation celebrates National Preservation Month by recognizing building owners with Preservation Recognition Awards. Due to the uncertainty of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the call for nominations was delayed and the awards ceremony will not take place in person. Instead, the Foundation will announce award winners in June digitally. [Read more…] about Saratoga Preservation Awards Nominations Sought