Schuyler House

The Schuyler House is the country home of General Philip Schuyler, a businessman, politician, and entrepreneur, and father-in-law to Alexander Hamilton. *The Schuyler Estate of Saratoga NHP encompasses 62.15 acres of the core of Major General Philip Schuyler’s original large, eighteenth-century manor in the present-day Village of Schuylerville, New York. Built in 1777, the Schuyler House is a two-story frame structure with a stone foundation. Philip Schuyler (1733-1804) built the house to replace one burned by the British in 1777 after the battles of Saratoga. Lt. General Burgoyne used the previous house during the Battles of Saratoga, then ordered it to be destroyed upon his retreat to his camp across Fish Creek. *Schuyler operated his thriving country estate from 1763 until his death. The estate included mills, a fishery, barns, agricultural fields, formal gardens and barracks that housed Schuyler’s slaves, servants and workers. Many residents of Saratoga (Schuylerville today) worked for Schuyler. *The 1777 Schuyler House, restored to its c.1787-1804 appearance, is the dominant building on the property. There is an attached kitchen at the northeast corner of the house. A privy and a well house are the only other historic buildings that remain on the grounds. Archeological evidence remains from many other historic buildings that once dotted the landscape. The Schuyler Estate was once clear cut for agricultural and industrial operations. The house commanded the open 3000-acre operation. Today the house lot is more enclosed with many trees growing in the lawn, including many nineteenth-century black locusts. Two old lilacs grow near the house to the south and east. *The Schuyler family, mainly General Philip Schuyler, was instrumental in the development of the Village of Saratoga, now Schuylerville, as an agricultural and industrial village that relied on milling, farming and fishing. In 1831, the citizens of Saratoga voted to rename their village Schuylerville in honor of General Schuyler, but the Schuylers’ period of prosperity was coming to a close. Philip Schuyler II fell deep in debt during the national economic panic of 1837. He abandoned the long-held family leasehold and sold many of the farms in fee simple to the tenants occupying them, and he was forced to sell the Schuyler Estate to creditors in 1837. George Strover purchased the estate in 1839. Many outbuildings had been built, moved, or razed under Schuyler II’s tenure, and the construction of the Champlain Canal in 1822 had a lasting impact upon the landscape and operations of the farm. *Today, the Schuyler Estate site is administrated as a house museum and public park that interprets the history of General Schuyler, his family, his manor and its relation to the two battles of Saratoga in 1777. The community has strong ties to the Schuyler Estate as a source of pride and tourism. The Schuyler House is opened most weekends in the summer and limited times in the fall. The estate grounds are open from sunrise to sunset. For details on the Schuyler House please visit http://www.nps.gov/sara or call 518 670-2985.

Schuyler House

The Schuyler House is the country home of General Philip Schuyler, a businessman, politician, and entrepreneur, and father-in-law to Alexander Hamilton. * The Schuyler Estate of Saratoga NHP encompasses 62.15 acres of the core of Major General Philip Schuyler’s original large, eighteenth-century manor in the present-day Village of Schuylerville, New York. Built in 1777, the Schuyler House is a two-story frame structure with a stone foundation. Philip Schuyler (1733-1804) built the house to replace the one burned by the British in 1777 after the battles of Saratoga. Lt. General Burgoyne used the previous house during the Battles of Saratoga, then ordered it to be destroyed upon his retreat to his camp across Fish Creek. Schuyler operated his thriving country estate from 1763 until his death. The estate included mills, a fishery, barns, agricultural fields, formal gardens and barracks that housed Schuyler’s slaves, servants and workers. Many residents of Saratoga (Schuylerville today) worked for Schuyler. * The 1777 Schuyler House, restored to its c.1787-1804 appearance, is the dominant building on the property. There is an attached kitchen at the northeast corner of the house. A privy and a well house are the only other historic buildings that remain on the grounds. Archeological evidence remains from many other historic buildings that once dotted the landscape. * The Schuyler Estate was once clear cut for agricultural and industrial operations. The house commanded the open 3000-acre operation. Today the house lot is more enclosed with many trees growing in the lawn, including many nineteenth-century black locusts. Two old lilacs grow near the house to the south and east. * The Schuyler family, mainly General Philip Schuyler, was instrumental in the development of the Village of Saratoga, now Schuylerville, as an agricultural and industrial village that relied on milling, farming and fishing. Fish Creek was at the center of the development and housed the milling and fishing operations. The first and second Schuyler Houses were burned during King George’s War and the Revolutionary War respectively. Today, the Schuyler Estate site is administrated as a house museum and public park that interprets the history of General Schuyler, his family, his manor and its relation to the two battles of Saratoga in 1777. The community has strong ties to the Schuyler Estate as a source of pride and tourism. The Schuyler House is opened most weekends in the summer and limited times in the fall. The estate grounds are open from sunrise to sunset. For details on the Schuyler House please visit http://www.nps.gov/sara or call 518 670-2985. * From the NPS in 2019 * Season: Schuyler House * Opening Day: Saturday, May 25th * Hours: 10am – 4pm, Wednesday – Sunday * Closing Day: Sunday, October 6th * * Tours: The house is available for viewing by dropping in – staff will be on hand to answer questions you may have about the estate or Schuyler family. Upstairs portion of the house is only available during tour times call for details (in the past there were three formal tours a day. Reservations are not required. Tours are first come, first served and limited to 12 people per tour)

Pete Flanders remember the Schuyler House’s tenant house

Today is the anniversary Walter “Pete” Flanders (3 Nov 1919 – 7 Mar 2010) death. Flanders was the husband of Anita ‘Nete” Flanders for 68 years. Flanders served as a Private First Classsin the US Army in World War II. Flanders had a very good memory and was an active participant in the Old Saratoga Historical Association. * Flanders was interviewed by the National Park Service about the Schuyler House, during the period of Strover/Lowber family ownership. The land sounding the Schuyler House hosted industrial development, but by 1940, a decline in industry had begun. The Schuyler House lawn was overgrown by the 1940s, and most outbuildings had either burned, been removed, or collapsed by this time. The black locust trees remained the primary landscape feature. According to an interview with Walter “Pete” Flanders, a former handyman for George Lowber, the three-story brick tenant house and two identical wood frame mill houses located in the area of the current parking lot were torn down in 1941. A grass-covered depression southwest of the comfort station marks the location of the two wooden houses. * Today, the Schuyler Estate site is administrated as a house museum and public park that interprets the history of General Schuyler, his family, his manor and its relation to the two battles of Saratoga in 1777. The community has strong ties to the Schuyler Estate as a source of pride and tourism. The Schuyler House is opened most weekends in the summer and limited times in the fall. The estate grounds are open from sunrise to sunset. For details on the Schuyler House please visit http://www.nps.gov/sara or call 518 670-2985.

Knox Cannon in Saratoga

Faces and Places: Town of Saratoga Historian’s Photographic Archives Title: Sean Kelleher at the 2000 Knox Artillery Trail Reenactment at the Schuyler House 09 Dec 2000 was a  bitterly cold day for about 45 reenactors to commemorate the Knox Artillery Train some 225 years after the noble train of artillery travelled through Saratoga.  In 1775, an expedition led by Continental Army Colonel Henry Knox transport artillery that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point to the Continental Army camps outside Boston, Massachusetts during the winter of 1775/1776.   Knox was in Saratoga on 24 December 1775.  He first went “on foot to Fort Miller: where Judge Dewer (Duer) procur’d me a sleigh to go to Stillwater… , and then crossed the river by ferry to the west side and arrived at Saratoga (Schuylerville) where he stopped and had dinner: We dined & set off about three OClock it still snowing exceeding fast… after the utmost efforts (of the) horses we reach’d Ensign’s tavern (just at the Saratoga/Stillwater town line) 8 miles beyond Saratoga – we lodg’d.” The images contained in this digital Faces and Places collection document Town of Saratoga’s past through its villages, buildings, and events. They are drawn from the Town of Saratoga Historian’s Collection. The majority of these photos were taken by former Town Historian Thomas N. Wood or Deputy Historian Veronica Wood. The images on Faces and Places collection are part of the Town of Saratoga Historian’s Photographic Archives. They are the property of the Town of Saratoga, which retains all right thereto. No publication or reproduction, electronic or otherwise, is allowed without the expressed permission of the Town of Saratoga Historian’s Office. The collection is opened by appointment. You may contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com The vast majority of the collections with Town of Saratoga Historian have been donated by many generous individuals and organizations throughout our community. We greatly appreciate such generosity and continue to rely heavily on this support in order to continue building collections for future generations. If you are interested in making a donation, contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com

2000 Knox Artillery Trail Reenactment at the Schuyler House

Faces and Places: Town of Saratoga Historian’s Photographic Archives Title: 2000 Knox Artillery Trail Reenactment at the Schuyler House On 09 Dec 2000, a  bitterly cold day about 45 reenactors commemorate the Knox Artillery Train.  The oxen used for the cannon were provided by Herb Trombley.  Some of the reenactors came from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Canada.  They did to this to remember 225 years before the noble train of artillery which traveled through Saratoga.  In 1775, an expedition led by Continental Army Colonel Henry Knox transport artillery that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point to the Continental Army camps outside Boston, Massachusetts during the winter of 1775/1776.   Knox was in Saratoga on 24 December 1775.  He first went “on foot to Fort Miller: where Judge Dewer (Duer) procur’d me a sleigh to go to Stillwater… , and then crossed the river by ferry to the west side and arrived at Saratoga (Schuylerville) where he stopped and had dinner: We dined & set off about three OClock it still snowing exceeding fast… after the utmost efforts (of the) horses we reach’d Ensign’s tavern (just at the Saratoga/Stillwater town line) 8 miles beyond Saratoga – we lodg’d.” The images contained in this digital Faces and Places collection document Town of Saratoga’s past through its villages, buildings, and events. They are drawn from the Town of Saratoga Historian’s Collection. The majority of these photos were taken by former Town Historian Thomas N. Wood or Deputy Historian Veronica Wood. The images on Faces and Places collection are part of the Town of Saratoga Historian’s Photographic Archives. They are the property of the Town of Saratoga, which retains all right thereto. No publication or reproduction, electronic or otherwise, is allowed without the expressed permission of the Town of Saratoga Historian’s Office. The collection is opened by appointment. You may contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com The vast majority of the collections with Town of Saratoga Historian have been donated by many generous individuals and organizations throughout our community. We greatly appreciate such generosity and continue to rely heavily on this support in order to continue building collections for future generations. If you are interested in making a donation, contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com

Frueh and the Fife and Drums

This photo from the Old Saratoga – New Schuylerville 1st Annual 18th Century Weekend on 10 and 11 August 1991. The photo seems to be at the Schuyler House (based on the fences)

This group performed under various names including 13th regiment Albany County., Charleston Militia Fife & Drum and Sons and Daughters of Liberty.  The musicians from the left to the right include Kevin Rudolph, Shari Cramer, unknown, unknown, William Frueh, Charles Brennan, and Ralph Rudolph.  Brennan is wearing a drum major’s coat based on a on an erroneous Company of Military Historian’s MUIA plate. The photo is from the Gamache Scrapbook Collection.

One of the drummer, William Frueh was very active at many historical sites in the Hudson Valley.  (Town Historian Sean Kelleher remembers Frueh in the late 1970s and 1980s playing his drum in the Hudson Highlands and Mohawk Valley, when he would travel from his hometown outside of Boston for various reenactments.) 

William H. Frueh Jr., (21 August 1942 – 9 February 2013) was from Delmar, NY.  Bill (who was legally blind) worked as a social worker for nearly 40 years at Northeast Career Planning in Menands. Since 1960, Bill had been a devoted participant in historical reenacting, and in presenting educational programs wherever the opportunity arose.  In 2011, Saratogian reporter Paul Post asked Frueh and his wife, “Why is it important to have music at historical re-enactments?”  They answered that “Music was very important in the periods we portray. It was the communication tool of the military especially. Field music is how officers told soldiers what to do — when to load, when to fire, when to retreat, when to get up, when to work and when to go to bed. Music was their radio, their clock and their telephone. It was also their metronome for marching. It helped them march together from one point to another. We try to keep our music extremely authentic. Music was soldiers’ entertainment, too. We play a lot of tavern music because that’s what they’d do at night. They didn’t have television. Bill plays the guitar for these songs. He’s never read music. He plays by ear. Fortunately, he did have sight as a youth. He saw the world so he knows what things look like.”

Gamache Scrapbook Collection Leneta E. Gamache  (21 Nov 1928 – 24 Feb 2017) was born in Hudson Falls, NY and grew up in Bald Mountain section of Greenwich, NY.  She married Joseph Gamache on 7 July 1946 and moved to Schuylerville, where she lived for 60 years.   She was active in many church and community activities.  She was employed at the Oneida Markets in Schuylerville then the Mary McClellan Hospital in Cambridge, NY. Her family was very important to her and she loved large family gatherings and took numerous pictures of every occasion.  These 14 scrapbooks from 1986 to 2002 focus on her son’s Kim Gamache term as Mayor of Schuylerville. Many of the photos were taken by Joseph Gamache. The Gamache Scrapbook Collection is part of the Town of Saratoga Historian’s collection. The collection is opened by appointment.  You may contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com

The vast majority of the collections with Town of Saratoga Historian have been donated by many generous individuals and organizations throughout our community. We greatly appreciate such generosity and continue to rely heavily on this support in order to continue building collections for future generations.  If you are interested in making a donation, contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com

1991 Antique Carriage Parade and Champagne Reception

This photo of an Antique Carriage Parade and Champagne Reception on the lawn of the Schuyler House on 7 August 1991.  This was a program put on by A Weekend in Old Saratoga, Inc. and the Friends of the Saratoga Battlefield to benefit the Friends’ Education Fun and to celebrate the 7th Anniversary of the National Park Service.  This photo is from the Gamache Scrapbook Collection.   Gamache Scrapbook Collection Leneta E. Gamache  (21 Nov 1928 – 24 Feb 2017) was born in Hudson Falls, NY and grew up in Bald Mountain section of Greenwich, NY.  She married Joseph Gamache on 7 July 1946 and moved to Schuylerville, where she lived for 60 years.   She was active in many church and community activities.  She was employed at the Oneida Markets in Schuylerville then the Mary McClellan Hospital in Cambridge, NY. Her family was very important to her and she loved large family gatherings and took numerous pictures of every occasion.  These 14 scrapbooks from 1986 to 2002 focus on her son’s Kim Gamache term as Mayor of Schuylerville. Many of the photos were taken by Joseph Gamache.   The Gamache Scrapbook Collection is part of the Town of Saratoga Historian’s collection. The collection is opened by appointment.  You may contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com   The vast majority of the collections with Town of Saratoga Historian have been donated by many generous individuals and organizations throughout our community. We greatly appreciate such generosity and continue to rely heavily on this support in order to continue building collections for future generations.  If you are interested in making a donation, contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com

1991 Antique Carriage Parade and Champagne Reception

This photo of an Antique Carriage Parade and Champagne Reception on the lawn of the Schuyler House on 7 August 1991.  This was a program put on by A Weekend in Old Saratoga, Inc. and the Friends of the Saratoga Battlefield to benefit the Friends’ Education Fun and to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the National Park Service.  This photo is from the Gamache Scrapbook Collection.   Gamache Scrapbook Collection Leneta E. Gamache  (21 Nov 1928 – 24 Feb 2017) was born in Hudson Falls, NY and grew up in Bald Mountain section of Greenwich, NY.  She married Joseph Gamache on 7 July 1946 and moved to Schuylerville, where she lived for 60 years.   She was active in many church and community activities.  She was employed at the Oneida Markets in Schuylerville then the Mary McClellan Hospital in Cambridge, NY. Her family was very important to her and she loved large family gatherings and took numerous pictures of every occasion.  These 14 scrapbooks from 1986 to 2002 focus on her son’s Kim Gamache term as Mayor of Schuylerville. Many of the photos were taken by Joseph Gamache.   The Gamache Scrapbook Collection is part of the Town of Saratoga Historian’s collection. The collection is opened by appointment.  You may contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com   The vast majority of the collections with Town of Saratoga Historian have been donated by many generous individuals and organizations throughout our community. We greatly appreciate such generosity and continue to rely heavily on this support in order to continue building collections for future generations.  If you are interested in making a donation, contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com

1991 Antique Carriage Parade and Champagne Reception

This photo of an Antique Carriage Parade and Champagne Reception on the lawn of the Schuyler House on 7 August 1991.  This was a program put on by A Weekend in Old Saratoga, Inc. and the Friends of the Saratoga Battlefield to benefit the Friends’ Education Fun and to celebrate the 7th Anniversary of the National Park Service.  This photo is from the Gamache Scrapbook Collection.   Gamache Scrapbook Collection Leneta E. Gamache  (21 Nov 1928 – 24 Feb 2017) was born in Hudson Falls, NY and grew up in Bald Mountain section of Greenwich, NY.  She married Joseph Gamache on 7 July 1946 and moved to Schuylerville, where she lived for 60 years.   She was active in many church and community activities.  She was employed at the Oneida Markets in Schuylerville then the Mary McClellan Hospital in Cambridge, NY. Her family was very important to her and she loved large family gatherings and took numerous pictures of every occasion.  These 14 scrapbooks from 1986 to 2002 focus on her son’s Kim Gamache term as Mayor of Schuylerville. Many of the photos were taken by Joseph Gamache.   The Gamache Scrapbook Collection is part of the Town of Saratoga Historian’s collection. The collection is opened by appointment.  You may contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com   The vast majority of the collections with Town of Saratoga Historian have been donated by many generous individuals and organizations throughout our community. We greatly appreciate such generosity and continue to rely heavily on this support in order to continue building collections for future generations.  If you are interested in making a donation, contact us by e-mail at historiantosaratoga@gmail.com

Schuyler House

The Schuyler House is the country home of General Philip Schuyler, a businessman, politician, and entrepreneur, and father-in-law to Alexander Hamilton. The present Schuyler House is the third to be built on the Schuyler family property in Saratoga. A two-story wood frame structure, the house sits on a 30.38-acre parcel owned by the National Park Service that was the core of a 3,000-acre tract intended to function as a largely self-contained productive unit. General Schuyler and his family lived at this estate periodically both before and after the 1777 campaign. The present house was built following the surrender, as General Burgoyne had the house and outbuildings burned as he retreated. A privy stands behind the house. The National Park Service has restored both the house exterior and interior. The completed exterior appearance reflects a circa 1804 period (the year Schuyler died). Interior restoration work seeks to reflect conditions circa 1777–87 (the General turned the house over to his son, John Bradstreet Schuyler, in 1787). The Schuyler family, mainly General Philip Schuyler, was instrumental in the development of the Village of Saratoga, now Schuylerville, as an agricultural and industrial village that relied on milling, farming and fishing. Fish Creek was at the center of the development and housed the milling and fishing operations. Today, the Schuyler Estate site is administrated as a house museum and public park that interprets the history of General Schuyler, his family, his manor and its relation to the two battles of Saratoga in 1777. The community has strong ties to the Schuyler Estate as a source of pride and tourism. Most years the Schuyler House is opened most weekends in the summer and limited times in the fall. However, in 2020 it is closed due to the pandemic. The estate grounds are open from sunrise to sunset. For details on the Schuyler House please visit http://www.nps.gov/sara or call 518 670-2985.