We honor our veterans in the Town of Saratoga

Saratoga is home to the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery. 

In 1992, the site was chosen for the $22.5 million cemetery. “We liked the spot for a number of reasons, it’s accessible. From a visual standpoint, it’s pure environment with views across the Hudson River Valley. It’s less than a half a mile from the Saratoga National Historical Park, the land is gently rolling – it’s just agood spot for it” said Donna St. John from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. (Saratogian 18 June 1992)

 “It means that nowthere is a place to honor our veterans, a place that is nearby for the familes”said former U.S. Representative Gerald B. Solomon to the Saratogian (12 November1997). “This means a lot to those who served their nation.” 

We honor our veterans in the Town of Saratoga. The Town of Saratoga has seen a number of battles in the 18th Century including the Turning Point of the American War of Independence. At the close of the 20th Century (1999) we were honored to become the home of the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery which provides a dignified military funeral honors and cemetery to Veterans who have defended our nation. The Department of Veterans Affairs operates the cemetery as part of a system of 135 nationalcemeteries. All told there is 351.7 acres of land in the Town of Saratoga devoted to the memorialization of those who served this nation.

On this day

On this day in 1776, British General Carleton holds meeting with 300 Iroquois at Montreal, who declare their allegiance to Britain and his army starts to pursue a retreating Benedict Arnold up Lake Champlain; in 1778; many of the veteran soldiers that served at Saratoga, enter their next major battle, the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey which is the last important engagement in the North during the war with numerous casualties are caused by sunstroke however, the Americans maintain control ofthe battlefield as the British withdraw; in 1862, the 77th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment participated Battle of Garnett’s and Golding’s Farms in Henrico County, Virginia; in 1865 the 77th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment mustered out of the army under Colonel David J. Caw; in 1914, a Bosnian Serb,Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sofia in Sarajevo, setting off a chain of events that would culminate in a world war by August; five years later in 1919, Germany and the Allies signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending World War I and providing for the creation of the League of Nations. 

On this day is a chronological timeline of events that occurred on this day in history around the Town ofSaratoga. Discover what happened today in local history by subscribing toour blog at http://ift.tt/2czXtwq 

(Thank you to Deputy HistorianPatricia Peck and Town Supervisor Thomas Wood for compiling information for this timetable.)

OTD Good Templar Social in Schuylerville.

“The Good Templar social, Friday evening, received about $19.” according to the Schuylerville Standard (2 July 1890). 

The Good Templars is a coed fraternal organizations for temperance or total abstinence founded in the 19th century and with a structure modeled on Freemasonry, using similar ritual and regalia. The first accounts of a lodge is the Schuylerville Battle Field lodge in 1880 and the Schuyler lodge in 1889. Then there was The Quaker Springs lodge #203 along with a Juvenile Temple. 

During the Progressive Era (1890–1920), hostility toward drinking alcohol became widespread, with the Prohibition Party and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union as the most influential advocate of prohibition. In New York, there is a long history of social reform movements started or flourished along New York’s canal system. (The Good Templars started in Utica, NY along the Erie Canal in 1850.) The rural part of the town of Saratoga in particular Quaker Springs (along the Champlain Canal) was not immune to these social movement. The community had an active Quaker community that formed the Quaker Springs Anti-Slavery Society in 1836, and the Old Saratoga Anti-Slavery Society in 1850. Prohibition was also strongly supported by the Methodist and Quakers, which have the only churches in that part of the town. Prohibition began on January 16, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect. 

Saratoga has been defined by the people who by choice or by chance make up this community. There are many individuals and groups like the Good Templars that help define this country, our region, and this community. It is the determination of our forefathers, in surmounting overwhelming odds that help define the American spirit – the will and ability to shape a better future. It is the people it is that define this community by choice or by chance have changed this country and even the world. That is why studying the people of Saratoga is integral to a good understanding of the condition of being human.

OTD: Town Board heard complaints and Mallery’s Cottages

#onthisday in 1916, there was a meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Saratoga was held in the town clerk’s office in the village of Schuylerville 

Mr. Glick being present called the attention to the Board to the unfavorable conditions of the Lake Shore Road from the bridge to Point Breeze near Mallery’s cottage 

These are the town board records of 1916 made by Town Clerk Paul August Hespelt.(1 Mar 1890 – 1945). Paul A. Hespelt (was a pharmacist at Miller’s pharmacy. The pharmacy was also the location of the Town offices (rented from C.J. Miller for $60 a year). 

The Town Clerk’s Office is the official repository for all ordinances, resolutions and official documents related to the Saratoga town government. The own Clerk office is historical in its traditions, having served as a direct link between the residents and their local governments since the beginning. While town clerks are generally credited with issuing licenses, that is only a small part of this complex job. Many duties are mandated by state and town laws, but many more go well beyond those mandates as town clerks also serve as a major source of information to all. One of the most important roles is as the Records Management Officer. The Town Clerk is the custodian of all town records, responsible for active files, storage and position of inactive records, and the careful maintenance of archival material. 

There is little known about Mallery’s cottage except it was the location for a film being shot in 1912. The Saratogian 18 September 1912 reported that the “The work on the “Wood Violet,” a moving picture playlet being enacted here by the Vltagraph company using the local scenery for backgrounds… This morning, the balance of the picture of the Wood Violet and her. episode of climbing the,big load with a rabbit In her arms and the arrival of the hunter who camped at the foot of the tree, waiting for her to come down, was taken. …. This was enacted at Fred Mallery’s cottage “Hiawatha,” at Saratoga Lake.” The work on the “Wood Violet,” a moving picture playlet being enacted here by the Vltagraph company using the local scenery y backgrounds” Wood Violet was a romantic silent drama released 12 November 1912. The cast included Anita Stewart and E. K. Lincoln. It was directed by Ralph Ince. Ince directed more than 170 films. 

The Town of Saratoga was established in 1788 as one of the four “mother” towns of Saratoga County, NY. The Town of Saratoga has a legacy that is rich history and a current environment that is attractive to residential, commercial, and agricultural pursuits. It is located in the eastern portion of Saratoga County bordering the Hudson River on the East, Saratoga Lake and the City of Saratoga Springs on the West, the Town of Stillwater on the South, and the Towns of Northumberland and Wilton on the North. Despite all of the changes that have occurred, the rural character of the Town and the spirit of the residents has remained constant. As the new millennium unfolds the town is prepared to honor its past and welcome the challenges that are forthcoming in the future.

On this day

On this day in 1775, Congress authorizes invasion of Canada and resolves that Major General Philip Schuyler should travel to Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point in order to examine the troops, their supplies and their ability to navigate Lake Champlain and Lake George, as well as “obtain the best intelligence he can of the disposition of the Canadians and Indians of Canada.”; in 1776, Congress resolves to organize rifle regiments in Virginia, New York,and Maryland (some of these soldiers would serve at the Battles of Saratoga); in 1862, the 77th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment participated Battle of Garnett’s Farm in Henrico County, Virginia; and in 1900, it was reported that the Quaker Springs shingle mill made 40 shingles a minute. 

On this day is a chronological timetable of events that occurred on this day in history around the Town of Saratoga. Discover what happened today in local history by subscribing to our blog at http://ift.tt/2czXtwq

 (Thank you to Deputy HistorianPatricia Peck for compiling information for this timetable.)

OTD: Col. P Schuyler was leading an invasion of Canada

On this day in 1691, Colonel Pieter Schuyler was in Saratoga leading an invasion of Canada in the King William’s war.

Schuyler was among Saratoga patentees in 1685. Schuyler recorded “We continued at Saraghtoga ; foul weather, where we were joined by 15 Mohawks commanded by one Schayavanhoendere.” These Mohawks came over by the Saratoga trail from Schenectady and were from a party of ninety-five or more, which later joined the expedition at Ticonderoga.

During the summer of 1691 a force led by Major Pieter Schuyler invaded the French settlements along the Richelieu River south of Montreal. Callières, the local French governor, responded by massing 700-800 French and allies at the fort at La Prairie, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Schuyler surprised the much larger French force in a rainstorm just before dawn on 11 August 1691, inflicting severe casualties before withdrawing towards the Richelieu River. Schuyler’s force might have remained intact, but instead was intercepted by the force of 160 men led by Valrennes that had been detached to block the road to Chambly. The two sides fought in vicious hand-to-hand combat for approximately an hour, before Schuyler’s force broke through and escaped. The French had suffered the most casualties during Schuyler’s initial ambush, but the casualties Schuyler’s force suffered after the French Valrennes’ counterattack meant that they had incurred the greater proportion of the loss. Instead of continuing his raids, Schuyler was forced to retreat back to Albany.

Saratoga has been defined by the people who by choice or by chance make up this community. The Schuyler family help defined this community. The village of Schuylerville in the Town of Saratoga is named after the Schuyler family. It is the determination of our forefathers, including Governor Schuyler in surmounting overwhelming odds that help define the American spirit – the will and ability to shape a better future. It is the people it is that define this community by choice or by chance have changed this country and even the world political development. That is why studying the people of Saratoga is helpful in the understanding of the condition of being human.

My Saratoga Morning

This morning I enjoyed the beautiful landscape of Saratoga National Historical Park.  This beautiful landscape was the location that the New York Times Magazine called the the most important battles to have ever been fought in the entire world in the last 1,000 years, because “It launched two centuries of revolution elsewhere. It marked the beginning of the end of the British Empire. And it breathed life into the United States of America.”