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TOWN OF SARATOGA.
The town of Saratoga, commonly known as Old Saratoga, to distinguish it from the
town of Saratoga Springs, which originally formed a part of this, town, occupies the centre of the eastern tier
of towns.. It is bounded on the north by Wilton and Northumberland, on the east by the county line (the Hudson
river), on the south by Stiliwater, and on the west by Saratoga Springs and Malta, part of the two latter towns
consisting of the water of Saratoga lake. The Revised Statutes describe the town as follows:
The town of Saratoga shall contain all that part of said county bounded northerly by Northumberland and Wilton,
easterly by the east bounds of the county, southerly by Stillwater, and westerly by Saratoga Springs and Malta.
The eastern part of the county, bordering on the Hudson river, is fiat. The central and western parts are occupied
by a range of hills extending north and south. Most of the land is productive. Saratoga lake forms the southern
half of the western boundary. Fish creek, the principal stream, is the outlet of the lake, and flows easterly into
the Hudson through the northern part of the town. The Quaker mineral springs, three in number, lie a short distance
southeast of the centre of the town.
Saratoga is the most historic town in the county. Settlement was begun in the latter part of the seventeenth century.
As early as 1687 Governor Dongan endeavored to persuade a band of Christian Iroquois, whom the French missionaries
had led to Caughnawaga, on the St. Lawrence, to return and settle in Saratoga under English protection, that they
might form a barrier between Albany and the hostile French and Indians of the north. Here, in February, 1690, Lieut.
Le Moyne de St. Helene with his band of Canadian Indians left for Schenectady, where they committed the historic
massacre. Here, too, in the summer of the same year Major Peter Schuyler of Albany, with some Dutch troops, erected
a small fort and named the place Seraghtoga. In 1709 Schuyler, now a colonel in command of the advance guard of
the second great army of northern invasion, built another fort, on the east side of the river. It was in this town,
too, that one of the most important battles in the world’s history was fought—the conflict which resulted in the
surrender of Burgoyne’s army of invasion in 1777. During the French and Indian wars Saratoga was in the direct
path trod by many armies whose operations resulted in transferring all the territory south of Canada to the English
crown.
The pioneer settler in the town probably was Bartel Vroman, who located on the bank of the river as early as
1689, perhaps before that date. As early as 1709 or 1710 it is believed that representatives of the famous Schuyler
family built mills and other buildings on the south side of Fish creek, near the historic Schuyler mansion. In
1745, at the attack upon old Fort Saratoga, several saw mills and other buildings upon Fish creek and the Hudson
river were burned, and about thirty families were killed or taken prisoners. At this time Captain Peter Schuyler
was killed in his own house. But we have no record of the names of these victims, most, or all of whom may have
been settlers in this town. After the peace of 1763 between France and England settlers began coming into the town
in large numbers. Among them were Abraham Marshall, Thomas Jordan, John Strover, Haze kiah Dunham and James I.
Brisbin. The western part of the town was not settled until the close of the Revolution. About 1790 Jesse Toll
built mills at Grangerville. The first tavern in Schuylerville was opeiied about 1800 by Mrs. Taylor, a widow.
About 1812 Daniel Patterson built a tavern on the site of the Schuylerville house. Madame Riedesel’s letters refer
to a. tavern just below Schuylerville kept by a man named Smith. The first store in town was probably kept by John
Douglas. Two branches of the Fitchburg railroad run through the town, and the Champlain canal traverses the eastern
part of the town, running north and south.
Schuylerville is the most important village in the town. It was incorporated April 16, 1831. The first officers,
elected June 7, following, were: Trustees, Gilbert Purdy, Richard W. Livingston, James Strang, Cornelius Letcher,
John Fonda; treasurer, Ira Lawrence; collector, David Williams. The trustees elected ‘Gilbert Purdy president and
James Strang clerk. The village enjoyed a great impetus to its industries upon the opening of the Champlain canal,
and is now a manufacturing town of considerable importance. It contains six churches— the Reformed Dutch church,
organized in 1772; the Baptist church, 1790; the M. E. church, 1827; the Episcopal church, 1846; the Roman Catholic
Church of the Visitation, 1845—1847; and Notre Dame Catholie church, 1889. It also contains a fine public school
system under the direction of Prof. R. H. Whitbeck. The National bank was organized in 1853. There are several
thriving fraternal organizations in town. The paper mills were founded by D. A. Bullard & Co. in 1863. In 1832
David B. French established a foundry there. The Horicon cotton mills were established in 1828. The State dam across
the Hudson at this point was built in 1871—1873 by Dennison, Belden & Gale of Syracuse. Following its construction
numerous new industries were established at or near Schuylerville. One of the most important of these is the concern
known as the Thomson Pulp and Paper company, incorporated June 11, 1888, by Lemon Thomson, John A. Dix, Curtis
N. Douglass and J. D. Powers. The capital stock is $100,000. The village has an excellent fire department, which
has made itself famous. The first company was organized August 15, 1836. The hand engine owned by the village for
many years held the world’s record, having thrown a stream of water 235 feet in the air several years ago, at Coney
Island, N. Y.
Victory Mills is a suburb of SchuylervilIe, lying just south of that village. Here the Saratoga Victory Manufacturing
company estab lished immense mills in 1846. The original capital invested was $425, 000, but large amounts have
since been expended. The village was incorporated in 1849, when William E. Miner, Patrick Cooney, George McCreedy,
Russell Carr and Benjamin Kelsey were chosen trustees, William E. Miner, president and James Cavanaugh, clerk.
Coveville, Grangervile, Quaker Springs and Dean’s Corners are hamlets. Coveville is on the Champlain canal’ in
the southern part of the town. Quaker Springs is southeast of the centre and Dean’s Corners west of the centre.
Grangerville is on Fish creek.
The town was organized March 7, 1788, as a town of Albany county. It had a district organization as early as. 1772.
In 1791 it became a town of the newly erected county of Saratoga, but then comprised the territory now within the
towns of Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, Northumberland, Moreau and Wilton, and parts of Malta and Greenfield. In 1789
the town of Easton, in Washington county, had been taken off. A part of Greenfield was taken off in 1793, all of
Northumberland (which then included Moreau and Wilton) in 1798, a part of Malta in 1805, and Saratoga Springs in
1819. The records of the first and many other town meetings have been lost. The following is a list of the supervisors
of Saratoga since 1789:
1789—91, John B. Schuyler; 1792-94, Alexander Bryan; 1795, John B. Schuyler; 1796—1800,Daniel Bull; 1801—04, Jesse
Mott; 1805, James Brisbin, jr.; 1806, Thomas Ostrander; 1807—09, George Cramer; 1810—13, William Wait; 1814, George
Cramer; 1815, Jonas Olmstead; 1816—17, William Wait; 1818—19, Jesse Mott; 1820, Harvey Grauger; 1821, George Cramer;
1822, Philip Schuyler; 1823, Daniel Morgan. jr. ; 1824, George Cramer; 1825—30, Daniel Morgan. Jr.; 1831—32, Walter
Van Veghten; 1833, James Mott; 1834, Henry D. Chapman; 1835-36, Daniel Morgan, jr.; 1837, William Wilcox; 1838,
John B. Wright; 1839, Daniel Morgan; 1840, Samuel J. Mott; 1841, Henry D. Chapman;. 1842-43, William Wilcox; 1844,
Mayo Pond; 1845, Daniel Morgan; 1846. Phineas Richardson ; 1847, George W. Lester; 1848-49, Henry Holmes; 1850—51,
S. H. Dillingham; 1852, Henry Holmes; 1853, Samuel S. Mott; 1854, Phineas Richardson; 1855, John Lewis; 1856, Peter
J. Cook; 1857, Ralph Brisbin; 1858— 59, Peter 3. Cook; 1860, George W. Wilcox; 1861, Samuel J. Mott; 1862—66, William
P. Ostrander; 1867, Thomas Sweet; 1868—69, Edmond Raymond; 1870, George F. Watson; 1871—72, Henry C. Holmes; 1873—75,
Douw F. Winney; 1876, John H. De Ridder; 1877, William H. Smith; 1878, Daniel A. Bullard; 1879—81, Charles H. Atwell;
1882, James B. Bailey; 1883, John H. De Ridder; 1884-86, Charles H. Sarle; 1887—88, Hector A. McRae; 1889, Edward
C. Ballard; 1890, James Mealey, 1891, Hector A. McRae; 1892, Charles M. Doolittle; 1893—95, George R. Salisbury;
1896— 97, Elmer E. Baker; 1898, ——— Jaquith.
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