Saratoga County History
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“Hillside of a great river, place of the swift water”
The fruitful grounds of the Iroquois Indians was called Sarach-tongue, “hillside of a great river, place of the swift water” until February 7, 1791 when it became Saratoga County. Because of its favorable position in the angle of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, Indian trails crossed it north and south, east and west.
Much of the county lies in the Hudson Valley within an area that lay under the Albany Lake some thousands of years ago. Near the eastern part of the county are the Palmertown Mountains, rising in North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, and including Mt. McGregor, the highest peak of that range. Farther west is the Kayaderosseras range and across the northwest corner of the county runs the Schroon range. All are part of the Adirondack Mountains, a section of the Laurentian chain with some of the oldest mountains in the world. The principal stream of the county, entirely contained within its borders, is the Kayaderosseras. The important lakes are Saratoga Lake, Ballston Lake, Round Lake and Lake Desolation.
Early fur trading with the Indians on the southern border of the county was indicative of its fur and game potential. The mineral springs were used as medicine by the Indians and the superior quality of the fur was attributed to the saline springs from which the animals drank.
Legend gives Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, credit for being the first white man to visit the area springs. In search of a cure for an unhealed military wound, he was brought through the dense forest by littler and canoe to drink from the springs. He may have been the first of many to “take the waters.” It is highly possible, however, that white fur trappers had been in the area and had come upon these springs long before Sir William, but were unaware of their therapeutic value as claimed by the Native American tribes..
The accessibility to the north and west was not always an advantage. During the French and Indian Wars and the Revolution this area was crisscrossed by warring parties and marauding bands of renegades. Colonization of the area was slow. Only a few had settled prior to the Revolution and many of them left during the war to escape danger. One of the decisive battles of the Revolution was fought at what was then called Saratoga, now the Scuylerville-Stillwater area. There Burgoyne and the British, with their Hessian mercenaries and Indian cohorts, were defeated by the American army, with General Eates in command.
After the war colonization accelerated and the great forest, then covering a large part of Saratoga County was lumbered for timber and to clear the land. Because of the density of the forest the white pine trees grew tall and straight and were in great demand for ship masts.
Clearing of the land led to the establishment of mills. The tanning industry developed. Flax, fulling, and other types of mills sprang up as use was made of the abundant water power of the area. In 1770 population of the county was 17,077. By 1810, it had increased to 33,147.
The mineral springs in Ballston Spa and Saratoga Springs became the lodestar for fashionable society and the two villages vied for the title “Queen of the Spas.” Famous names from all over the United States joined Jerome Bonaparte on the hotel registers. With the influx of the socially elite and wealthy, horse racing was a natural development which flourished until the name Saratoga became internationally synonymous with racing.
Today because of its proximity with the tri-city metropolitan are and its network of excellent roads, the county is rapidly increasing and a residential and cultural center. The mineral waters, the horse-racing, the Performing Arts Center, and three colleges plus the richness of local history, draw thousands of visitors to the lovely long ago hunting grounds of the Iroquois Indians.